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Mamiya

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Mamiya is a Japanese camera maker, founded in 1940 and that progressively specialized itself in professional medium format cameras.

Contents

Company history Edit

Mamiya was founded in May 1940 by Mamiya Seiichi (間宮精一)[1] and Sugawara Tsunejirō (菅原恒二郎)[1] as Mamiya Kōki Seisakusho (マミヤ光機製作所, Mamiya Optical Works).[2] It was based in Tokyo, Hongo, and its first camera was the Mamiya Six, a 6×6 folder with coupled rangefinder that focused by moving the film plane. There were many versions in the Mamiya Six series, and it was the only Mamiya model for eight years. Despite the onset of World War II a year after the release of the first Mamiya Six model, the company continued to thrive, expanding production facilities in February 1942 and again in February 1944, employing 150 staff.[3] By March 1944, a secondary factory was opened at Tokyo University for the manufacture and assembly of lenses.[4] The company closed the facility in Tokyo in March 1945 and relocated. As early as October 1945, a month after Japanese surrender, Mamiya was the first Japanese company to receive a substantial order from the Central Purchasing Office of SCAP,[5] which allowed the company to resume full-scale production in January 1946 at new facilities in Tokyo.[6]

To ensure a reliable supply of lenses, Mamiya bought an optical company at Setagaya, Tokyo.[7] Mamiya began to make its own Stamina shutters and Neocon ('new con[struction][8]) lenses in 1947 at the Setagaya (世田谷) plant. In 1950, the Setagaya plant became Setagaya Kōki K.K. (世田谷光機㈱), making shutters and lenses. The name Sekor that appears on most Mamiya lenses comes from Setagaya Kōki, with r probably for renzu (レンズ, lens). Setagaya Kōki was merged into Mamiya Kōki in 1963.

After 1948 the Mamiya range became more diversified, with the introduction of the Mamiyaflex series of 6×6 TLRs in 1948, the Mamiya 35 series of 35mm fixed lens rangefinder in 1949 and the Mamiya 16 series of 16mm film subminiature cameras in the same year. Together with the Mamiya Six, these four series were the basis of the Mamiya range throughout the 1950s. In 1950, the company name was changed to Mamiya Kōki Kabushiki Kaisha (マミヤ光機㈱, Mamiya Optical Co., Ltd.). The last Mamiya Six version appeared in 1958.

In 1957 Mamiya introduced two innovative designs, the Magazine 35, a 35mm camera with interchangeable backs and the Mamiyaflex C, a 6×6 TLR with interchangeable lens pairs. Despite being an exciting innovation, the Mamiya Magazine 35 was only a limited success, while the Mamiyaflex C would become the first of a long series.

The first Mamiya 35mm SLR was the Prismat, launched in 1960. The same year Mamiya introduced the Mamiya Press, a medium format press camera inspired by some Linhof models. Mamiya dropped the 35mm rangefinders around the mid 1960s, and the range of the Mamiya series at the end of the 1960s was formed by the Press, the Mamiya C and the 35mm SLRs.

The RB67 Professional 6×7 SLR in 1970, the Mamiya M645 4.5×6 SLR in 1975 and the RZ67 Professional 6×7 SLR in 1982 confirmed Mamiya's orientation towards the medium format professional market. Mamiya made a last attempt towards the amateur market at the end of the 1970s with some rangefinder and point and shoot 35mm cameras, together with their continuing series of 35mm SLRs, but following the collapse of one of their major international distributors, Osawa, the company went bankrupt in 1984.[9] As part part of the restructuring, Mamiya stopped producing 35mm cameras and terminated a number of its medium format offerings (such as the Rapid Omega).

Mamiya continued as a specialized medium format camera maker, with the M645 Super 4.5×6 SLR from 1985, new versions of the RB67, RZ67 and Mamiya C, the new Mamiya 6 6×6 format rangefinder from 1989 and its successor the Mamiya 7 6×7 rangefinder from 1995. In 1993, the company name was changed to Mamiya-OP K.K. (マミヤ・オーピー㈱).

Mamiya introduced the autofocus in the 645 AF 4.5×6 SLR in 1999, and tried to catch on the digital move with the release of the Mamiya ZD 22 megapixel "digital medium format camera" in 2004.

On Apr 21st, 2006, Mamiya announced that it transfered all the camera activity to a company called Cosmo Digital Imaging (コスモ・デジタル・イメージング㈱).

Digital Edit

  • Mamiya ZD
  • Mamiya ZDb
  • Mamiya DL28

Medium format Edit

6×6 TLR Edit

6×4.5 SLR Edit


6×7 SLR Edit

6×6 Folder Edit

6×6 Rangefinder Edit

6×7 Rangefinder Edit


6×9 Rangefinder Edit

See also Polaroid 600 and Polaroid 600SE.

35mm film Edit

SLREdit

Fixed Lens Mamiya Edit

Mamiya Prismat Edit

  • Mamiya Prism Flex
  • Mamiya Pentaflex
  • Mamiya Prismat
  • Mamiya Prismat NP
  • Mamiya Prismat PH
  • Mamiya Prismat CPH
  • Mamiya Prismat CWP (Mamiya/Sekor CWP)

Mamiya TL/DTL-Series Edit

Mamiya X-Series Edit

Mamiya SX-Series Edit

Mamiya NC-Series Edit

Mamiya Z-Series Edit

Fixed lens rangefinder Edit

Fixed lens viewfinder Edit

  • Mammy
  • Mamiya Automatic 35 EEF
  • Mamiya 35 EE Merit
  • Mamiya 135EF
  • Mamiya M Autofocus
  • Mamiya U
  • Mamiya EF2

Wide angle fixed lens Edit

  • Mamiya Wide (with rangefinder)
  • Mamiya Wide E (no rangefinder)

AF point and shoot Edit

  • Mamiya 135AF
  • Mamiya M
  • Mamiya M Time Memory

24×24mm format Edit

  • Mamiya Sketch

18×24mm format Edit

  • Mamiya Myrapid

16mm film Edit

  • Mamiya 16
  • Mamiya Super 16
  • Mamiya Super 16 II
  • Mamiya Super 16 III
  • Mamiya 16 Automat
  • Mamiya 16 Automatic
  • Mamiya 16 Deluxe
  • Mamiya 16 EE Deluxe

LensesEdit

  • Tōwa Kōki Neocon f/3.5 75mm (July 1947— ) used in Mamiyaflex,[10] Mamiya Six
  • Setagaya Kōki Sekor T f/3.5 silver face (1948— ) used in Mamiya Six
  • Setagaya Kōki Sekor S f/3.5 black face used in Mamiya Six
  • Mamiya Kominar f/3.5 used in Mamiya Six
  • Mamiya Sekor f/3.5 used in Mamiya Six

Notes Edit

  1. ↑ The name is given in the Japanese order, with family name followed by the given name.
  2. ↑ As a partnership between the inventor and designer Mamiya Seiichi and the investor Sugawara Tsunejirō (Mamiya. A History of Innovation. Mamiya 50th Anniversary. Produced by the Mamiya-History of Innovation Editorial Committee. Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo: Mamiya Camera Co. Ltd. p. ii).—The significance of the role played by Mamiya's financier becomes obvious if we consider that his initials comes first in the Mamiya Logo (which was designed by the Japan Fine Arts School in Tokyo).—Also, according to the official company history (cited earlier), Mamiya Seiichi was 'Chief Engineer' (retired December 1954; † 6 January 1989; p. 7; 15), while Sugawara Tsunejirō was 'President' (retired June 1966; † April 1988; p. 10; 14).
  3. ↑ Mamiya. A History of Innovation. Mamiya 50th Anniversary. Produced by the Mamiya-History of Innovation Editorial Committee. Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo: Mamiya Camera Co. Ltd. p. 4
  4. ↑ Mamiya. A History of Innovation. Mamiya 50th Anniversary. Produced by the Mamiya-History of Innovation Editorial Committee. Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo: Mamiya Camera Co. Ltd. p. 4
  5. ↑ Supreme Command of the Allied Powers in Japan
  6. ↑ Mamiya. A History of Innovation. Mamiya 50th Anniversary. Produced by the Mamiya-History of Innovation Editorial Committee. Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo: Mamiya Camera Co. Ltd. p.4
  7. ↑ Mamiya. A History of Innovation. Mamiya 50th Anniversary. Produced by the Mamiya-History of Innovation Editorial Committee. Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo: Mamiya Camera Co. Ltd. p. 4.
  8. ↑ Mamiya. A History of Innovation. Mamiya 50th Anniversary. Produced by the Mamiya-History of Innovation Editorial Committee. Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo: Mamiya Camera Co. Ltd. p. 5
  9. ↑ Mamiya. A History of Innovation. Mamiya 50th Anniversary. Produced by the Mamiya-History of Innovation Editorial Committee. Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo: Mamiya Camera Co. Ltd. p. iv
  10. ↑ With a Stamina shutter: [1].

Bibliography Edit

Links Edit

In English:

In German:

In French:

In Japanese:

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