Bronica
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Zenza Bronica ETRS camera, with Bronica Zenzanon EII 75mm f2.8 lens
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Formerly called
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Zenza Bronica Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Zenza Bronica Industries, Inc) |
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| Camera and lens manufacturer | |
| Industry | photography |
| Fate | Acquired by Tamron Co., Ltd. (July 1998) |
| Successor | Tamron Co., Ltd. |
| Founded | Tokyo, Japan (June 31, 1956) |
| Founder | Zenzaburō Yoshino |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Products | Cameras, optical lenses and other products |
Bronica also Zenza Bronica (in Japanese: ゼンザブロニカ) was a Japanese manufacturer of classic medium-format roll film cameras and photographic equipment based in Tokyo, Japan. Their single-lens reflex (SLR) system-cameras competed with Pentax, Hasselblad, Mamiya and others in the medium-format camera market.
Before introduction of the first of what would become a dynasty of Zenza Bronica cameras in 1959, the Latinized Zenza Bronica name was already a popular Japanese luxury goods brand of the Shinkodo Works (in Japanese: 新光堂製作所) since 1947, specialized in the production of intricate crafted and decorated personal accessories, such as metal cigarette lighters and cases, cosmetic compacts, and watches, of diverse styles and designs.
The company's founder Zenzaburō Yoshino (in Japanese: 吉野善三郎, b. 25 January 1911 — d. 23 November 1988), wherefrom the Latinized Zenza Bronica brand name is derived, was the third son born into a Japanese rice merchant family. At an early age Yoshino showed deep reverence for the technical innovation and mechanics of world-renowned cameras produced by the likes of Leica, Contax and Rollei. Both fascinated and yet increasingly frustrated by the limitations of the cameras produced at that time period, where each camera's merits and demerits were not solved by just one camera, Yoshino visioned creating a high-precision interchangeable single-lens reflex camera modular system of his own design.
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