was introduced in 1974 and had
a double exposure prevention
interlock and an improved
landscape/portrait orientation
indicator as well an auto erecting
(i.e. one-touch) focusing hood.
The Pro-S model remained in
production until 1990 when it was
replaced by the Professional SD
which introduced a larger diameter
lens mount for a new generation
of higher-performance K and L
Series lenses, and could also be
fitted with a 6x8cm format film
magazine. The Pro-SD remained in
production until relatively recently,
only discontinued in 2012.
In May 1982, Mamiya launched
the RZ67 Professional which
retained the RB-type revolving film
backs and bellows-type focusing,
but had the new RZ lenses
which incorporated electronically-
controlled Seiko leaf shutters, LED
displays and provision for aperture-
priority auto exposure control
(when fitted with the AE prism
finder). The RZ has a polycarbonate
bodyshell, rather than metal and
also being battery-dependent, at
the time, it was viewed with some
scepticism by traditionalist pros
and never quite gained the same
popularity as the RB67 which it
was originally intended to replace.
As it happened, the RB67 stayed
in production alongside the RZ67
and, in fact, ended up outlasting
it by quite a few years. An RZ67
Pro II model was introduced in
1995 and has focusing knobs on
both sides as well as provisions for
half-stop adjustments of shutter
speeds. The RZ67 Pro IID appeared
in 2004 and was designed to
better integrate with digital capture
backs, eliminating the need for an
external sync cable. Production
finished in 2010.Growing The Market
In an effort to expand the medium
format camera market, in 1975
Mamiya introduced a whole new
category... the 6x4.5cm format
SLR. The attraction was a smaller,
lighter and more affordable camera
body (likewise the lenses), but
with an image area that was still a
significant 2.7x larger than 35mm.
To make its M645 model even
more compact and affordable,
Mamiya didn’t use interchangeable
film backs, but the viewfinders
could still be changed between a
prism and a waistlevel hood. There
were eventually three models; thestandard camera being flanked
by the M645 1000S (1976) with
a faster 1/1000 second shutter
and additional features (including
a self-timer) and, in reverse, the
stripped-down M645J (1979) which
was designed as a more affordable
entry-level model.
A completely new 6x4.5 cm
design called the M645 Super
was introduced in late 1985 with
a polycarbonate bodyshell and
interchangeable film magazines
plus a host of convenience features
to bring operation more into line
that of the 35mm SLRs from the
period. This included the option of
adding an autowinder which was
housed in an accessory handgrip.
Subsequent models were the 645
PRO (1992, and when the ‘M’
prefix was dropped), the 645 PRO
TL (1997) and the 645E (1999, with
a fixed prism-type viewfinder).
At roughly the same time as the
645E, Mamiya launched the 645AF,
again with an all-new bodyshell
and, of course, autofocusing. The
645AF has subsequently spawned
the 645AFD, 645AFD II, 645AFD
III, 645DF and 645DF+; the latter
three also being marketed as
Phase One models and primarily
designed for use with digital
capture backs. As noted earlier,
Phase One has now moved on
to its own ZF platform, but the
Mamiya 645DF+ appears to be
currently still in limited production.
As noted earlier, in late 1989,
just in time for its 50th anniversary,
Mamiya returned to the idea of
a 6x6cm format rangefinder, but
this time with interchangeable
lenses, another world first. The
new camera assumed the original
Mamiya 6 model name – Mamiya’s
own literature called it the “New
Mamiya 6” – and it combined
compactness with the versatility
of the square format and a choice
of 50mm (equivalent to 28mm),
70mm (40mm) and 150mm
(82mm) lenses. It also offered the
conveniences of automatic parallax
correction, a built-in dark slide and
aperture-priority auto exposure
control. In 1993 the MF version
was introduced which could be
adapted to shoot 6x4.5cm and
panoramic 35mm frames.
The Mamiya 6 was very popular
for a wide range of applications
from street photography to
landscapes, and this prompted the
introduction of a 6x7cm version
in 1995. The Mamiya 7 offeredthe larger image size without
being marked bigger or bulkier
itself, and there were eventually
six lenses, from a 43mm ultra-
wide (equivalent to 21mm) to a
210mm short telephoto (105mm).
The updated Mamiya 7 II was
introduced in 1999 and had a
multiple exposure facility, an
improved viewfinder layout and
slightly revised ergonomics. It
stayed in production until 2012,
and both the 6x6cm and 6x7cm
models remain highly sought-after
by film shooters.The Digital Challenge
At the start of the 21st century, like
all its competitors in the medium
format camera business, Mamiya
had to face up to the challenge of
developing digital capture systems.
It’s fair to say it’s not been hugely
successful in its own right.
The ZD, unveiled at the 2004
Photokina, was the first fully-
integrated medium format digital
SLR – ahead of Leica’s S2 and the
Pentax 645D – but it didn’t actually
get to market until mid-2006 (later
in some markets), during which
time a lot of progress was made
elsewhere. Consequently, over
it loomed the spectre of ever-
increasing pixel counts which
would now quickly render it
obsolete. At the time, the Dalsa-
made 22 megapixels 36x48 mm
CCD sensor was still reasonably
competitive, but the camera was
hampered by a tiny LCD monitor
screen (just 4.6 cm), challenging
ergonomics and, worse, a number
of reliability and performance
issues. To hedge its bets, Mamiya
put the same sensor in an
interchangeable camera back for
use on the 645 AFD series bodies
and the RZ67 Pro IID, making
upgrading to a higher resolution
in the future less of a financial
burden. However, the ZD back was
similarly hampered by a tiny LCD
monitor screen, only 12-bit colour
RAW capture and a very small
buffer memory.
Mamiya was struggling both
financially and technically, but what
it had going for it was its medium
format camera systems, especially
the 645 AFD line.
After Danish capture back
maker Imacon bought into
Hasselblad and then closed off
this platform to its competitors,
rival Phase One needed to find a
co-operative camera manufacturerfast. There was really only one
choice... Mamiya. In 2009, Phase
One purchased a controlling
interest in Mamiya and, in 2011,
launched a new line of Mamiya-
badged capture backs called the
DM Series. These were, in fact,
Leaf products, but they were
packaged with a 645DF body
and accessories as a one-box kit
with the idea of making digital
medium format photography
more accessible and trading
on the heritage of the Mamiya
brand. There was a choice of six
kits – for 22, 28, 33, 40, 56 or
80 megapixels – all attractively
packaged, particularly to appeal
to non-professional users, but the
program met with limited success.
One issue – which I wrote about at
the time – was that the Leaf backs
had been designed prior to Phase
One’s acquisition of the company
so the level of integration with the
Mamiya camera body was basic...
something non-professional
users, in particular, would find
problematic. You were, in fact,
better off with one of Phase One’s
own P Series backs on the same
Mamiya body.
So what lies ahead for Mamiya?
Most likely, not very much. It’s
hard to see it being re-instated as
a stand-alone brand and it’s hard
to see any resources being put
into developing a new camera
platform. It would make sense to
use the Mamiya badge on a new
mirrorless digital medium format
camera in the spirit of the 6 or 7
interchangeable lens rangefinders,
but this is pure wishful thinking
and hard-nosed marketing almost
certainly means any such model
will carry the Phase One name.
What needs to be celebrated
then, is the rich and varied history
of Mamiya across a wide variety
of camera types and film formats,
recognising that the company’s
35mm aspirations – an autofocus
SLR would definitely have
happened – were stymied through
no fault of its own, but that its
many achievements in medium
format rollfilm cameras were
second to none.
Sadly, on-going financial
difficulties meant this didn’t
translate into an equally
accomplished career in digital
medium format. There could have
been so much more, but what has
been from Mamiya is arguably
more than enough.67
MaMiya CLASSICS
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