[punkrachmaninov]

so... anyone have any experience with mamiya 35mm slr cameras—like the 60s stuff? found a “mamiya cwp” from 1964-‘66 yesterday with a few minor issues—it needed a realignment of the meter wheel, the shutter speed dial was loose and came right off. oh—and the lens and viewfinder seem to be irradiated. no big deal.

anyway, it’s in the shop now—but i’ve never used a camera like this before—it has a cloth shutter and no diopter... as i wear glasses—i’ve heard this old-school no-diopter business is a deal breaker for focus.

wondering if i should just sell it (the CWP seems to be relatively rare! like i found only one or two on ebay... attached a photo of the only one on there in decent shape)—or should i shoot my m42 lenses on this puppy until i develop serious cataracts? have heard from wiser photogs that the only mamiya cameras worth shooting are medium format, but i would venture a guess that the ancient “mamiya/sekor 50mm f2” included with this old moose will be rather underrated. not 100% sure what the kit was, but according to what i can find online, it was kitted with the 55mm 1.8 (which was MIA...), but there is very little information online.

surely nobody cares about such a potentially deadly old camera, but i thought i would query for opinions...

Attached Images

 

[stevebrot]

I don't know about the radiation, but Ron Herron's Mamiya 35mm camera site has a section about your camera. It may also be in his price reference list. It was not Mamiya's first SLR, but it is early.

Mamiya Prismat 35mm Cameras

Have fun!


Steve

[punkrachmaninov]

I don't know about the radiation, but Ron Herron's Mamiya 35mm camera site has a section about your camera. It may also be in his price reference list. It was not Mamiya's first SLR, but it is early.

Mamiya Prismat 35mm Cameras

Have fun!


Steve

yeah i found that site last night. much appreciated just the same.

guess i was hoping for more experiential information... but i am sure nobody uses mamiya 35mm when the 645 is relatively affordable.

[stevebrot]

yeah i found that site last night. much appreciated just the same.

guess i was hoping for more experiential information... but i am sure nobody uses mamiya 35mm when the 645 is relatively affordable.

I own a late-60s vintage Mamiya/Sekor 1000DTL. It is a nicely turned-out M42 camera with dual TTL metering (spot and average) and while a bit bigger and heavier than Spotmatics of the time, it was moderately priced and came attached to quite competent glass.




Steve

[ramseybuckeye]

They made a lot of nice M42 lenses. But be careful of putting an SX series lens on a Pentax DSLR, they need modded, which is a shame since they are such beautiful lenses.

[ChrisPlatt]

As a child I lusted for a Mamiya with the "Creative Switch"
as advertised in the back of National Geographic Magazine
(along with The Folbot)...

Chris

[TomB_tx]

The 1000 & 500 DTL models had both spot and averaging metering. However, they used a delicate chain linkage in for metering that is often broken by now. The f1.4 normal lens on a 1000DTL i acquired tests better than my SuperTak f1.4, which was a surprise.

[ChrisPlatt]

The 1000 & 500 DTL models had both spot and averaging metering.
However, they used a delicate chain linkage in for metering that is often broken by now.

Does the chain move a mask or condensor lens over the meter cell?
I'm curious; please describe.

TIA,
Chris

[Neuse River Sailor]

As a child I lusted for a Mamiya with the "Creative Switch"
as advertised in the back of National Geographic Magazine
(along with The Folbot)...

Chris

You're making me feel sentimental for the grand old days of the film SLR -

Pentax, Nikkormat, Mamiya-Sekor, Minolta, Leica, Rolleiflex, Petri, Miranda, Yashica, Konica, Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Contax...

[TomB_tx]

Does the chain move a mask or condensor lens over the meter cell?
I'm curious; please describe.

TIA,
Chris

Sorry, it's been many years since I worked on one, but I believe the chain transfers the shutter speed setting from the knob to the meter mechanism.

[stevebrot]

Does the chain move a mask or condensor lens over the meter cell?
I'm curious; please describe.

TIA,
Chris

Sorry, it's been many years since I worked on one, but I believe the chain transfers the shutter speed setting from the knob to the meter mechanism.

That sounds familiar.

As for the dual metering mode, that is an interesting piece of work. The averaging meter is conventional with the sensors (2) reading off the focus screen through the pentaprism. A second sensor for spot metering reads through the surface of the main mirror with the cell itself mounted on the back of the mirror. The "spot" is not at center, but is instead at bottom center of the righted image in the viewfinder and is marketed off with an etched zone on the focus screen. Spot or averaging mode are selected with a slider switch on the left side of the lens mount. The viewfinder image is slightly dimmer in the region of the "spot" due to the mirror being half-silvered there. The half-silvered area is readily visible on examination. Ron Herron's page on the TL/DTL models has diagrams of both the viewfinder layout and metering system.

Mamiya TL and DTL 35mm Cameras


Steve

[edom31]

i do own one, but haven't got around to testing it...

I was in awe when I decided to try out the glass it came with on my K-50 (Mamiya Sekor 55/1.8 Silver) = that lens blew my mind and it is my favorite right now (see the post for "lens of the year 2018). It was so good, that I went ahead and got a 35/2.8 Mamiya Sekor, which albeit not that great, still provided awesome results (it shot my most popular flickr shot, if it means something)...

Their 35mm camera glass is underrated as my 2 experiences... Like some Chinon glass out there.