Mamiya Koki Seisakusho, later to become the Mamiya Camera Company, was launched in 1940 by businessman Tsunejiro Sugawara and engineer Seichi Mamiya. The company’s first camera, launched the same year, was the Mamiya Six. In 1995 the Mamiya 7 was introduced. In between, over the course of 55 years, the company produced cameras that ranged from singe lens reflexes (SLRs) to twin lens reflexes (TLRs), subminiature to medium format, as well as unique designs and cameras made for other well-known manufacturers to rebadge under their own names.

In short, Mamiya was one of the most prolific and innovative camera companies to emerge from Japan. Although the company ventured into the digital world in later years, it’s the earlier film cameras that hold a fascination for collectors and users alike. Here are some of the company’s more notable offerings.

1940: The first camera

The Mamiya Six was a folding camera in which a bed dropped down from the body with a self-erecting lens that jumped forward on struts ready for action. It shot 12 6x6cm pictures on 120 roll film. So far, so conventional. But designer Seichi Mamiya had a trick up his sleeve. Instead of the lens moving backwards and forwards for focusing, he patented a new design in which the lens remained static while the film plane moved backwards and forwards by means of a knurled wheel on the back of the body while coupled to a rangefinder in the viewfinder.

It was not, however, the best time for launching a new company because Japan was soon embroiled in World War II, placing a lot of restrictions on manufacturers like Mamiya. After the war, in an effort to get the country back on its feet, many camera companies were forced to work together. Which is why the Mamiya Six shown here is fitted with an Olympus Zuiko lens. It also explains why there were about a dozen different models right up to 1957, each looking very much alike but with slightly different specifications, including waist-level alongside eye-level viewfinders on early models and some with an option for 6×4.5mm images.

1949-1962: Subminiature cameras

In the 1950s and into the early 1960s, cameras that took 16mm film proliferated, and it seemed for a while that 16mm would usurp the popularity of 35mm. It didn’t happen of course, but while the craze was riding high, Mamiya rode along with it.

The original 1947 Mamiya-16 was about the size and shape of a matchbox. It had a fixed focus 25mm f/3.5 lens and small range of shutter speeds. By 1951 when the Super 16 model shown here was launched, shutter speeds ran 1/2-1/200sec, apertures gave f/3.5-f/11 and the lens focused from 0.3 metres to infinity. The camera could also be equipped with its own flashgun. The problem was that while it was possible to miniaturise a camera and its film, the size of flashbulbs and batteries remained constant. Hence the Mamiya 16 flashgun is about five times the size of the camera.

Also illustrated is the Mamiya-16 Automatic from 1959, Larger than the original camera, it featured a built-in selenium meter, bright-frame viewfinder that hinged up from the back of the body, a 25mm f/2.8 lens and shutter speeded 1/2-1/200sec.

1953: One Bolta camera

Bolta film was the same width as 35mm film without sprocket holes and wound onto spools with backing paper like miniature 120 roll films. It began in Germany in 1921, but found more fame when taken up by Japanese manufacturers. Mamiya’s only venture into a camera for Bolta film was a step above its rivals. While many of those were little more than snapshot cameras, the Mamiya Mammy was well specified with a 45mm f/3.5 lens that focused down to 1 metre with apertures stopped down to f/22 and a shutter speeded 1/25-1/100sec. The centrally-placed red window allowed Bolta film to be wound to its first frame, after which the wind knob was turned until it stopped, then firing the shutter released it to be wound again. In this way, the Mammy produced ten 24x28mm images.

1954: Police camera

The demand for this unusual Pistol Camera originated at the Osaka police headquarters in Tokyo where a need was identified for catching criminal behaviour in the act, especially during mass demonstrations. The use of a conventional camera meant that the operative, distracted by the necessity of keeping an eye to the viewfinder, risked being attacked. What was required was a camera which could be aimed like a pistol without the need for a viewfinder.

The Mamiya solution, shaped like a pistol and supplied with its own leather holster, used standard 35mm film, loaded through one side. A lever running along the opposite side of the body advanced the film and tensioned the shutter which was fired by a trigger like a real pistol. The fixed focus 50mm f/5.6 lens gave a slightly telephoto effect on half-frame 18x24mm negatives. Exposures were set by a series of numbers from 1-6 on a ring around the lens barrel which set combinations of three shutter speeds of 1/50-1/150sec and four apertures of f/5.6-16.

The Pistol Camera was produced in a limited number of about 300. Today it is very rare.

1957: Interchangeable magazine camera

At first glance, the Magazine 35 looks very ordinary, almost boring. It’s a slightly larger-than-normal 35mm camera with a bright viewfinder incorporating a coincident image rangefinder coupled to a focusing 5cm f/2.8 lens and shutter speeds of 1-1/500sec. Shutter and aperture rings can be tethered so that two turn together, maintaining the same overall exposure regardless of how shutter speeds or apertures are changed.

What sets the camera apart is a control on the base which, when turned, releases not just the back but an entire film magazine. Turning the knob also slides a dark slide up in front of the film. In this way, the photographer could keep various films – mono, colour negative, transparency – pe-loaded into different magazines and change them at random mid-roll.

Unfortunately the camera was launched at a time when SLRs with interchangeable lenses and reflex viewing were becoming popular and the Magazine 35 couldn’t compete. It didn’t sell well and today, it’s a rare camera.

1957-1983: Mamiya twin lens reflexes

Mamiya’s first TLRs were similar in style to their German Rolleiflex rivals. But when the company introduced the C-series, things took a different turn. Like most TLRs, the Mamiya C-series cameras took 120 roll film. Unlike many of their rivals some models also accepted 220 roll film and even cut sheet film in special backs. But the big difference between the Mamiya cameras and most others was the ability to accept interchangeable lenses and viewfinders. The lenses were sold in pairs, ready to be dropped into a panel on the front of the camera with a sprung wire clip to secure them. Shutters were built into the lower lenses, and both were moved backwards and forwards for focusing on bellows by a knob on the side of the body.

The first C-series camera was simply called the Mamiyaflex C. Then followed a series of similarly-styles TLRs, each with a with slightly different specification. They included the C2, C3 (shown here), C22, C23, C220, C220f, C330, C330f and C330S. Lens pairs included focal lengths of 65mm wide-angle, 80mm standard, 105mm portrait, 135mm and 180mm telephotos. The cameras were usually seen with their waist-level viewfinders, but also available were eye-level prism, porroflex and magnifying types.

Because twin lens reflexes are prone to parallax problems especially at close distances, the Mamiyaflex cameras could be used with their paramender. This was a device to fit between the camera and a tripod, with a knob on the side to wind the camera up and down the exact distance required to correct the parallax between the viewing and the taking lenses.

1960-1980: Mamiya 35mm SLRs

As late as the 1980s, Mamiya was making the Z-series of electronic 35mm SLRs. Although successful, they took a back seat to their more popular rivals of the day. But back in the 1960s, when the craze for 35mm SLRs was just beginning, Mamiya commanded a better slice of the market with both fixed lens and interchangeable lens SLRs.

The 1963 Mamiya Auto-Lux 35 is an interesting example of the first type. The fixed lens is a Mamiya-Sekor 48mm f/2.8, incorporating a leaf shutter speeded 1/15-1/500sec and an instant return mirror, which wasn’t common with SLRs using this type of shutter. A selenium cell above the lens offered match-needle metering in the viewfinder or, with the aperture ring turned to its ‘A’ setting, the camera provided shutter priority – something that wouldn’t be commonly available in SLRs for another decade.

The 1961 Mamiya Prismat NP was a notable example of the company’s range of interchangeable lens 35mm SLRs. It was usually found with a Mamiya-Sekor 58mm f/1.7 standard lens, interchangeable with others that included 35mm and 48mm f/2.8 plus 135mm f/2.8 lenses. The camera had a shutter release in the conventional place on the top plate which activated a small bolt that emerged from the body to operate an aperture stop-down lever on the lens as the exposure was made. The iris was opened manually to full aperture for viewing with a sprung lever on the side. There was no metering but an accessory meter clipped onto the pentaprism and mated with the shutter speed dial to offer 1-1/1,000sec. The Prismat NP wasn’t a particularly remarkable camera in itself, but it proved to have an interesting legacy…

1961-1964: Rebadged variations

First, Mamiya produced a Prismat variation which was sold with a Canon 50mm f/1.9 lens, strangely mounted to the camera in an Exakta-style mount. To confuse things even more, when the camera was exported, it was renamed the Reflexa.

Then, in 1962, Mamiya remade the Prismat with a unique bayonet lens mount for Argus, who badged it as the Argus 35. After that, Sears, the famous American department store, rebadged versions of the Prismat NP as the Sears 32A and 32B, as well as the Tower 32B. But there was more…

Launched by Nikon but made by Mamiya, the Nikkorex F also arrived in 1962. At its heart the camera was a Mamiya Prismat NP, beefed up with a few improvements that included a vertically-running metal focal plane shutter, automatic aperture stop-down and re-opening after exposure and a Nikon F lens mount, making the camera accessible to the wide range of Nikkor lenses. Then, when Nikon made the Nikkormat, the Nikkorex F became redundant. So Mamiya sold the design to Ricoh. The result was the first Singlex, produced in 1964. The standard lens was a Rikenon 55mm f/1.4 and the mount was very similar to, though not quite the same as, the Nikon F. This gave the advantage of being able to mount Nikkor lenses on the Singlex, although Rikenon lenses were less likely to happily mount with a Nikon. The Singlex then went on to be rebadged by the Sears department store and sold as the Sears SLII.

1960-1969: Roll film rangefinder cameras

Now we come to one of the more unusual offerings from Mamiya. It’s a series of medium format camera for 120 roll film with interchangeable lenses, interchangeable film backs and coupled rangefinders. The series began with the Mamiya Press in 1960 and, five models later, culminated in the Mamiya Press Universal, shown here.

The shutter is in the lens and fired by a cable attached to a trigger in the handgrip, which also incorporates an accessory shoe, principally for the use of a flashgun. According to the film back and the model of camera that accepted it, formats available include 6x9cm, 6x7cm, 6x6cm, 6×4.5cm, plus cut film/plate holders and a Polaroid instant peel-apart film holder. Lenses are attached to the body via a breach lock. They eventually included a 50mm f/6.3, 65mm f/6.3, 75mm f/5.6, 100mm f/2.8, 100mm f/3.5, 127mm f/4.7, 150mm f/5.6, 250mm f/8 and 250mm f/5. Accessories included viewfinder masks for the different focal lengths, rear-mounted bellows, rear spacers, a range of viewfinders and more.

In 1978, the Mamiya Press was rebadged as the Polaroid 600 and then the 600SE, the first with a fixed 127mm lens, the second with a range of 75mm, 127mm and 150mm interchangeable lenses. Both used Polaroid film backs to produce instant peel-apart mono and colour prints.

1970-2004: Roll film reflexes

By the 1970s, professional medium format photographers were abandoning the old 6x9cm format and turning to 6x7cm. With ten pictures to a roll of 120 film, it was more economical and its shape scaled up to the traditional 10x8in print format without any wastage or cropping. The Mamiya RB67, launched in 1970, fitted nicely into this new world.

With a modular design, the camera comprises a body with a reflex mirror inside, a focusing screen on top, a fitting for a film holder at the back and a knob on the side connected to a rack and pinion drive to move the lens panel in and out on bellows at the front. Lenses, each with their own in-built shutters, ranged in focal length from 37mm f/4.5 fish-eye to 500mm f/8 telephoto. Film is loaded into a cradle that slips into a holder that can be rotated for horizontal or vertical pictures. Apart from the standard 120 film back for 6x7cm images, other interchangeable backs include a 220 back for 6x7cm, another 120 back for 6×4.5cm pictures, a 70mm film holder, a Polaroid back and plate or cut film holders. Accessories include six focusing screens, viewfinders, extension tubes, hand grips, rubber and bellows-type lens hoods, the latter of which doubles as a square filter holder. There are four cameras in the RB range, all totally mechanical and manual.

In 1982, the RB67 was replaced by the RZ67. The spec was much the same, but now the shutter, which was still in the lens, was electronically controlled by a knob on the side of the body. When that knob is set to a kind of bullseye symbol and an AE Prism Finder is fitted, the RZ67 turns into an aperture priority camera. There were three models in the range.

Between these two heavyweights, in 1975, Mamiya launched the first of the M645 cameras. At about two-thirds the size of their bigger brothers, M645 cameras took the same 120 size film, but produced 15 (not 16 as might be expected) 6×4.5cm images to a roll. Unlike the larger cameras, the M645 models used instant return mirrors and focal plane shutters. The range of cameras was larger than the others too: seven in all, the latter models featuring newly-styled plastic bodies over metal frameworks which were less attractive visually, but technically offered interchangeable film holders among other improvements.

1989-1999: The last cameras

Having gone about as far as they could go with roll film reflexes, Mamiya unexpectedly returned to the world of rangefinder cameras for the last of the film models. The Mamiya 6, introduced in 1989 and not to be confused with the 1940 Mamiya Six, is a medium format camera for use with 120 or 220 roll film on which it produces 6x6cm images. The 75mm collapsible standard lens is interchangeable with 50mm wide-angle and 150mm medium telephoto. All have their fields of view indicated in the viewfinder.

In 1995, the Mamiya 7 was introduced for 6x7cm images on 120 or 220 film, or for panoramic images of 24x65mm using a 35mm adapter. A new range of lenses cover 43mm, 50mm, 65mm, 80mm, 150mm and 210mm focal lengths. Unlike its predecessor the lenses are not collapsible, and the two wide-angle lenses require accessory viewfinders. In 1999 a new model, the Mamiya 7II was introduced with a multiple exposure facility.

There are those who consider the Mamiya 6 and 7 the best cameras Mamiya ever made – and it has been said that the Mamiya 7 is still the world’s best film camera. Whether either opinion is or isn’t correct, what’s true is that the two cameras made a fitting finale to the Mamiya film. camera story.

What to pay

Mamiya Six: £180-220
Mamya 16: £70-90
Mamiya-16 Automatic: £30-60
Mamiya Mammy: £100-150
Mamiya Pistol Camera: £10,000-12,000
Mamiya Magazine 35: £80-120
Mamiya C3: £80-120
Mamiya Auto-Lux 35: £10-15
Mamiya Prismat NP: £15-25
Reflexa: £80-120
Nikkorex F: £30-60
Ricoh Singlex: £50-80
Argus 35: £50-80
Mamiya Press Universal: £150-250
Mamiya RB67 Pro S: £350-500
Mamiya RZ67 Professional: £600-800
Mamiya 645 1000S: £300-400
Mamiya 6: £1,000-1,500
Mamiya 7: £2,000-2,500

Related reading

• Here’s why I ditched digital for analog film – and I’m not going back
• How to get started in film photography – a beginners guide
• How to check if a film camera works

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