Mamiya Sekor 500mm f/6 APO vs Mamiya Sekor 500mm f/8

amellice · Jul 22, 2016

Is there huge difference between t hem in terms of quality? the f/8 has 6 elements/6 groups and the f/6 has 7 elements/7 groups. f/6 weighs 2360g and the f/8 weighs 1980g. The price of the f/6 is usually almost the double of the f/8.

I'm looking to get one on my Mamiya RZ Pro ii

EdSawyer · Jul 22, 2016

I have the 500 APO. I am sure it's better than the non-APO. given the price difference (not bad really), just get the APO one. They have come down by 50% or so since I bought one a few years ago. I think I paid $1700-1800 at the time (maybe 3-4 yrs ago?), which was a good deal. Now I see multiple ones on ebay in the $900 range. It's a steal, this lens was $8-12k back in the day I believe. (late 90s, early-2000s)

Another option is the 350 APO with the 1.4x converter, which is still optically a good combination.

amellice · Jul 22, 2016

EdSawyer said:
I have the 500 APO. I am sure it's better than the non-APO. given the price difference (not bad really), just get the APO one. They have come down by 50% or so since I bought one a few years ago. I think I paid $1700-1800 at the time (maybe 3-4 yrs ago?), which was a good deal. Now I see multiple ones on ebay in the $900 range. It's a steal, this lens was $8-12k back in the day I believe. (late 90s, early-2000s)

Another option is the 350 APO with the 1.4x converter, which is still optically a good combination.

thanks for the reply, the problem with the 350 is that it doesn't have lens holder and I think it's quite long and the camera won't be stable on the tripod with this lens on it

EdSawyer · Jul 22, 2016

The 350 APO comes with a lens holder, similar to the 500 APO but not a full circle around the end of the lens.

That said, I've shot both of them (350 APO and 500 APO) handheld in the past with no problems.

-Ed

amellice · Jul 26, 2016

EdSawyer said:
That said, I've shot both of them (350 APO and 500 APO) handheld in the past with no problems.

-Ed

That's impressive

M Carter · Jul 27, 2016

The holders come up on eBay, I think there's one now in fact. Don't know if they differ from lens to lens (or RB vs. RZ) - you'd hope there was just one for all the longer glass.

EdSawyer · Jul 28, 2016

The holders differ between RB and RZ I believe (since the flange-focal distance varies between them) but overall the APO lenses for RB are pretty rare so it's probably an RZ one. There are a couple of holes for adjustment of the holder too, to allow for use with a 1.4x I think.Plus they are just aluminum so it's easy to fab up some modifications if need be. I think both the 500mm RZ lenses share the same diameter of the outer barrel but not 100% sure on that.

orbitaldebris · Nov 21, 2019

Sorry to resurrect this thread. Can anyone tell me how good the lens is? Any sample images?

MsLing · Feb 26, 2024

Sorry to resurrect this thread.Could anyone tell me if both these two 500mm lens use Seiko #1 shutter or not?And do they have 2 parts in front of and behind the shutter like large format lenses?

Mamiya Sekor 500mm f/6 APO vs Mamiya Sekor 500mm f/8

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