Mamiya TLR Lenses

Stoogley · Apr 16, 2011

Are the lenses for Mamiya TLRs interchangeable across the body models?
ie. will a set that fits a C220 fit a C330 and a C33, etc?

Thanks

stoog

2F/2F · Apr 16, 2011

They should be, yes. However, my early model 18cm lens does not fit my C33, while it does fit my C220. It is strange, because it is an early lens, and the C33 is an older camera than the C220.

MattKing · Apr 16, 2011

The only incompatibilities that you might encounter (as far as I'm aware) concern the functions on the bodies (C3, C33 and C330) that automatically cock the shutters on the lenses when the film is wound. 2F/2F's example is most likely one of those, because the C220 does not include this feature. Have you seen Graham Patterson's excellent resource on all things Mamiya TLR?: Dead Link Removed

Stoogley · Apr 16, 2011

Have not seen that resource. Looks to be the Mamiya TLR Fount of Knowledge.
Thanks!

grahamp · Apr 16, 2011

Or http://www.gapatterson.com/grahamp
I still need to find time for a final re-write and regenerate the web pages.

mgb74 · Apr 16, 2011

I've had some body/lens combinations where the body would not properly cock the lens. I had to put a very short piece of aquarium tubing on the end of the cocking mechanism. That body would work with some lenses but not others. Could have been an adjustment issue.

grahamp · Apr 17, 2011

The arc needed to cock the shutter is quite precise. If the taking lens/shutter is not positioned correctly, or there is wear on the camera arm, the cocking arm does not latch. This is possibly due to a little slack in the mounting that allowed repeated cocking to rotate the assembly. If all lenses have the same problem, sleeving the cocking arm is a good choice.

This is one of the reasons certain early 180mm lenses have trouble on auto-cocking bodies - the shutter cocking stroke is different.

2F/2F · Apr 17, 2011

grahamp said:
This is one of the reasons certain early 180mm lenses have trouble on auto-cocking bodies - the shutter cocking stroke is different.

In the case of my 18cm lens on my C33, that is not the problem. The lens simply won't mount, as the retaining ring at the rear of the taking lens is too large to fit the hole on the body.

paul ron · Apr 17, 2011

Ias that the origianl retaining ring? Maybe it's been changed? Can be changed to a smaller one? See if the threads are the same as your other lenses?

2F/2F · Apr 17, 2011

I'm not sure if the retaining rings are original. They seem like it, though, and I used to have another 18cm lens that acted the same way. It would not fit my C33, but it fit a C220 fine.

What/when was the first model that had auto shutter cocking? Was this feature there on the C3, or did it start with the C33 (or maybe even the plain Mamiyaflex)? And what was the first year that the 18cm lens came out? What I am thinking is that perhaps my lens is very early, maybe made when auto shutter cocking was not yet available on any model. Since the auto shutter cocking mechanism makes the mounting hole in the body smaller, perhaps Mamiya started using smaller retaining rings when the first self-cocking model was introduced. If this is the case, then knowing whether or not this can be indicated by the use of 180mm as opposed to 18cm would also be a good thing to know. It would also be good to know if this is the case with any other early lenses.

Sirius Glass · Apr 18, 2011

The 250mm lens that I had for the C330 had to be cocked by hand, since advancing the film would not cock the lens.

Steve

benjiboy · Apr 18, 2011

Sirius Glass said:
The 250mm lens that I had for the C330 had to be cocked by hand, since advancing the film would not cock the lens.

Steve

The 250mm lens pair wasn't designed to cock automatically.

Maxsame · Apr 18, 2011

There are two separate problems with mounting earlier C lenses on C33 later auto cocking bodies. With the 180mm (18cm) it is the diameter of the lens mount not clearing the cocking arm. Later 180mm have a cut away portion and a cocking extension to accomplish that task. I have an otherwise nice 180 where someone has ground away part of the base of the lens to clear that arm but it still needs to be cocked manually. I tried to retrofit the newer lens mount from a damaged lens but it doesn't seem to fit. None of the very early Seikosha MX shutters (1 - 400s) will work on an auto cocking body because the the cocking stroke (if you will pardon the expression) is too short on the MX. I can say (and correct me if I am wrong) that all Mamiya TLR lenses will successfully mount on any non auto cocking bodies; that would be the C, C2, C3, C22, C220 and C220f.

2F/2F · Apr 18, 2011

Good to know I am not crazy. But both of my 18cm lenses that did not fit did have an extension. Very weird.

Maxsame · Apr 19, 2011

The extensions on your 18cm lenses are probably on the shutter release side not the cocking side; all the 180s and the 250s have that; although I am sure many pre C33 18cm were retrofitted with the auto cocking mount.

Mamiya TLR Lenses

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