Mamiya/Sekor 500 TL

[T_Man]

I just bought a Mamiya/Sekor 500 TL off ebay. Anyone familiar with this
camera? I found a pretty good website with instructions for
Mamiya/Sekor, I was just kind of curious if anybody had any general
thoughts about the camera or the brand or any tips. It came with a
Zykkor 135mm f/3.5 lens. This is my first SLR and it looks like it might
be a pretty good deal for a camera to play around with as I got it for
under $70.00 and everything appears to work.

(Heck, I paid more than that for my Maxima.)

[T_Man]

Oops, I just posted and forgot to disable sigs making it impossible for
many PC users to read what I wrote. Anyway, I bought one of these
particular cameras off ebay and was curious if anyone had any thoughts
about it. It's my first SLR.

[Jeremy]

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"T_Man" <tman63841@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:14474-3F4C2317-468@storefull-2352.public.lawson.webtv.net...

> I just bought a Mamiya/Sekor 500 TL off ebay. Anyone familiar with this
> camera? I found a pretty good website with instructions for
> Mamiya/Sekor, I was just kind of curious if anybody had any general
> thoughts about the camera or the brand or any tips. It came with a
> Zykkor 135mm f/3.5 lens. This is my first SLR and it looks like it might
> be a pretty good deal for a camera to play around with as I got it for
> under $70.00 and everything appears to work.
>
> (Heck, I paid more than that for my Maxima.)

That is the one with the dual metering "spot / averaging" isn't it?

I knew someone that had one back in the seventies. The Zykor lens doesn't
sound like it was the OEM normal lens, though. I believe that the camera
came with a "Mamiya Sekor" lens.

I do remember loaning out my SMC Takumar normal lens to the friend that had
the Mamiya camera, when he took a vacation to California. The slides he
brought back showed the Mamiya Sekor lens to be markedly inferior in terms
of flare.

The camera body seemed a bit plainer and less sturdily built than my
Spotmatic IIa, but I can't remember if the difference was great. All I do
know is that there are relatively few of the Mamiya Sekor camera bodies
still in use today--30 years later--while there are huge numbers of
Spotmatic bodies out there.

Still, it can be a fun camera, although it probably won't replace your
Maxima. In its day, it represented a unique achievement with its dual
metering system.

[T_Man]

Well, I was hoping that it would replace my Maxima. I bought a Maxima
105Ti thinking it would be a step up from garage sale cameras and
disposables, and figuring I'd use it for awhile before I invested in a
good digital and an entry level SLR. It's got the zoom lens and a bunch
of features, yet the pictures (from the Maxima) don't seem any better
than a good disposable Kodak except for being able to frame them better,
even when I use quality film.

This one was $53 +s/h. I could have afforded to spend more, and maybe
could have found a better deal, but oh well. I like trading on ebay and
that was the cheapest SLR that night.

Am I correct in thinking that it's probably not worth it to have this
camera profesionally checked out, but maybe fool around and take a few
rolls, and keep an eye out for some cheap, compatible lenses before
investing in something newer? I've googled a lot of people saying this
is a real good beginner's camera and expressing those sentiments. I
don't see how it could be any worse than disposables and focus frees.

[Just Me]

Your thinking is correct about not spending any money to have the camera checked
out.
I would go to [url]www.photo.net[/url] , and look at what recommendations others have about
the subject.
I have been trying to sell a Pentax Super Program with 4 lenses with a range of
from 24 to 300 mm with flash for $300.00 for eight months with no takers.
It is a shame to see just how much the old classic manual equipment has dropped
over just the last year and a half. Compared to my wife's EOS elan I get many
more in focus properly exposed slides, go figure? It is not the camera many
times it is the person behind it.
The Samsung Maxima is a great little point and shoot. They make the cameras for
Rollei and they have a great name to uphold.
Spend your time doing research on the subject and enjoy the hobby.

[Jeremy]

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"T_Man" <tman63841@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:22176-3F4CDD65-3@storefull-2353.public.lawson.webtv.net...

> Well, I was hoping that it would replace my Maxima. I bought a Maxima
> 105Ti thinking it would be a step up from garage sale cameras and
> disposables, and figuring I'd use it for awhile before I invested in a
> good digital and an entry level SLR. It's got the zoom lens and a bunch
> of features, yet the pictures (from the Maxima) don't seem any better
> than a good disposable Kodak except for being able to frame them better,
> even when I use quality film.
>
> This one was $53 +s/h. I could have afforded to spend more, and maybe
> could have found a better deal, but oh well. I like trading on ebay and
> that was the cheapest SLR that night.
>
> Am I correct in thinking that it's probably not worth it to have this
> camera profesionally checked out, but maybe fool around and take a few
> rolls, and keep an eye out for some cheap, compatible lenses before
> investing in something newer? I've googled a lot of people saying this
> is a real good beginner's camera and expressing those sentiments. I
> don't see how it could be any worse than disposables and focus frees.
>

The camera itself, if everything works, is fine. It's the LENS that is the
real tool of the photographer. I'd replace that lens.

An excellent screw mount lens would be either the SMC Takumar 55mm f/1.8 or
the SMC Takumar 55mm f/2.0. They were made when Pentax was competing with
Carl Zeiss, and they are legendary performers (DO NOT mount the SMC Takumar
50mm f/1.4 lens on your camera--the rear element protrudes out too close to
the camera's mirror, and may be damaged. The two lenses I named above do not
have that problem).

For information about the lenses click on this link:

[url]http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-02-11-24.shtml[/url]

For a discussion of flare control characteristics of SMC Takumar lenses
click this link:

[url]http://digilander.libero.it/aohc/selart07e.htm[/url]

For an interesting comparison test, where the SMC Takumar normal lens blew
away Leica lenses have a look at this link:

[url]http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/rangefinder.html#keppler[/url]

Price comparison: an SMC Takumar 55mm f/2.0 lens on eBay costs under $50.00.
The Leica equivalent, new, costs just under $900.00! If you like the lens
(and I KNOW that you will) you might want to trade up to a new Voightlander
Bessaflex body, which takes screw mount lenses. Or you can buy a goof
Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic F and have it CLAed and probably get another 15
years' worth of use out of it!

But, for now, have fun with your Mamiya Sekor body, and try to pick up one
of those superb SMC Takumars to go with it. As long as you can do without
autofocus, you will be able to shoot images second to no other system, at
dirt-cheap prices.

[T_Man]

Thanks for those links, and yeah, I can do without autofocus. I'm nearly
sick of it. I look at pictures in photo albums from decades ago taken
with manual SLRs and they were much crisper than the point and shoot
pictures I've taken in the last few years.

[T_Man]

>The Samsung Maxima is a great little point and

>shoot. They make the cameras for Rollei and
>they have a great name to uphold.

It's got a lot of great features, it's totally automatic and looks
really neat (one of those that you set out on the table, and then forget
about it, and the zoom retracts in to the body on its own) , but I was
just disappointed with some of the pics. I'm not positive I'd recommend
it except for it's convenience. For example, it has redeye reduction,
but I've taken some pictures with this feature on that consistently
brought out redeye as bad as I've ever seen. (A Polaroid would put it to
shame.) Not much fun when you get back 3 or 4 sets of prints you've
taken of the family and nearly all the indoor pics have redeye.

But loading film takes about 2 seconds, it just sucks it right in.
However, I have to say that a Kodak HQ disposable will often take
crisper pictures than my camera loaded with good film (yes, even when
I'm the one using both). Even when I use the timer to prevent vibration,
and regardless of film speed.

So I know you guys probably don't use many point and shoot cameras, but
you might consider that when somebody asks you to recommend one.

[Louie Powell]

This is a real antique - dating back to the late 1960's or early 1970's.
In 1971 I purchased (new) the big brother to this model, the 1000 DTL that
was functionally similar but with a switch to select between averaging and
spot metering - the TL is average only. Match needle exposure, the old
Pentax/Practica screw mount for lenses. And, FWIW, very heavy!

> I just bought a Mamiya/Sekor 500 TL off ebay. Anyone familiar with this
> camera? I found a pretty good website with instructions for
> Mamiya/Sekor, I was just kind of curious if anybody had any general
> thoughts about the camera or the brand or any tips. It came with a
> Zykkor 135mm f/3.5 lens. This is my first SLR and it looks like it might
> be a pretty good deal for a camera to play around with as I got it for
> under $70.00 and everything appears to work.
>
> (Heck, I paid more than that for my Maxima.)

[Jeremy]

x-no-archive: yes
"Louie Powell" <lpowell1@nycap.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Xns93E4BA63C18C5lpowell1nycaprrcom@24.24.2.16 6...

> This is a real antique - dating back to the late 1960's or early 1970's.
> In 1971 I purchased (new) the big brother to this model, the 1000 DTL that
> was functionally similar but with a switch to select between averaging and
> spot metering - the TL is average only.

I thought that they both had dual metering--and that the 1000 DTL had a
higher shutter speed. It has been a while since I held one, but the one I
did see definitely had the dual metering.

[T_Man]

Heavy is right! It's one heavy camera. And yeah, from what I've read
this camera might even date all the way back to 1964. It does have a
meter though, and get this- I popped a new battery in it and it appears
to work just fine. I took a few pictures while ago and it all seems to
be in working order.

All manual except for that meter on there. But I think that's kind of
neat. I like the stuff made before I was born (1976). I'm fascinated
when anything old fashioned can produce results comparable to today's
stuff, and sometimes better like my shaving mug and brush.

I think the camera is about as old fashioned and simplistic as a camera
can get and still be usable by me.

[T_Man]

I went back and checked the ad and the shutter speeds have already been
checked for accuracy according to seller, so that shouldn't be a
problem. And here is a pic of the ACTUAL camera that I bought:
[url]http://domania.us/tmanx//i-1.JPG[/url]


Anyway, that's enough for me blabbing about this camera.

[Jeremy]

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See this link for Mamiya Collector Site:

[url]http://www.herron.50megs.com/index.htm[/url]

[Unregistered]

What is the website for the instructions?