Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Mamiya G 50mm f/4 L (Mamiya 6)

Mamiya · Mamiya 6 · 1989

Also known as: Mamiya G 50mm f/4 L · Mamiya G 50mm f4 L · Mamiya 50mm f/4 L · Mamiya G4/50L · Mamiya 6 50mm · New Mamiya 6 50mm f/4 · Mamiya 6 MF 50mm · マミヤ G 50mm F4 L · ニューマミヤ6 50mm · マミヤ6 50mm F4

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Mamiya G 50mm f/4 L (G4/50L) · #00 electronic leaf shutter in the lens, B, 4 s–1/500, X sync at all speeds, electronic self-timer (New Mamiya 6 manual) Mamiya 6 1989 — —
  1. Construction, angle of view, minimum aperture, closest distance, filter size, dimensions and weight are from Mamiya's own lens leaflet and the New Mamiya 6 manual (butkus.org). Neither gives a blade count or a launch price for the lens on its own.
  2. Mike Eckman quotes a December 1992 US retail of $2,570 for the body with the 75mm and $1,450 body only; the difference is a kit discount, not the price of any lens, so no lens price is carried here.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • One version, engraved as a G lens with the L suffix; fits only the Mamiya 6 (1989) and 6 MF (1993), not the Mamiya 7
  • 58 mm filter and bayonet hood shared with the 75; the 150 takes 67 mm and a screw-in hood

Mamiya G 50mm f/4 L (G4/50L):

  • Catalogued as G4/50L; the only version made, and it fits the Mamiya 6 and 6 MF alone: the Mamiya 7 has a different mount and its own 50mm f/4.5
  • Bayonet lens hood; 58 mm filter thread; aperture ring f/4–22, distance scale in metres and feet with an infrared index (manual)
  • The lens leaflet warns that the rear rim of the 50 must not touch the body's rangefinder coupling cam when mounting
  • Gold-plated electrical contacts on the rear of every lens carry the aperture and shutter data to the body

Specifications

Formula
Symmetrical (non-retrofocus) wide angle, 8 elements in 5 groups (Mamiya lens leaflet)
Construction
8 elements / 5 groups
Aperture range
f/4–f/22
Shutter
#00 electronic leaf shutter in the lens: B, 4 s–1/500, electromagnetic release, X sync at all speeds, electronic self-timer; needs the body's two SR44 cells
Min. focus
1 m
Dimensions
64 × 55 mm
Weight
335 g
Filter
58 mm
Years manufactured
1989
Country
Japan
Original price
No separate lens price found. Mike Eckman gives the December 1992 US retail of the Mamiya 6 as $2,570 with the 75mm f/3.5 or $1,450 body only; no yen price was found.

What reviewers say

Optical formula — Symmetrical (non-retrofocus) wide angle, 8 elements in 5 groups (Mamiya lens leaflet)

History

The 50mm f/4 is the wide angle of the three lenses made for the New Mamiya 6, the 6×6 rangefinder Mamiya showed at Photokina in 1986 and sold from 1989 (camera-wiki). Its 75° angle of view is about that of a 28mm on 35mm film, and Mamiya’s leaflet makes a point of how it gets there: a symmetrical design rather than the retrofocus type an SLR needs, which the company says reduces corner fall-off, eliminates lateral colour and leaves the image virtually free of distortion at any distance. The published construction is 8 elements in 5 groups, closest focus 1 m at 0.059×, covering 945 mm square, with a 58 mm filter thread, a bayonet hood, 55 mm length by 64 mm diameter and 335 g.

Like the 75 and 150 it carries its own #00 electronic leaf shutter, B and 4 s to 1/500, released electromagnetically by the body and synchronised for flash at every speed, with an electronic self-timer. The body’s two SR44 cells power the shutter, so a Mamiya 6 lens does nothing without them. Gold-plated contacts on the rear of the lens pass the aperture to the body’s meter, and the leaflet warns that the 50’s rear rim must clear the rangefinder coupling cam when mounting. There is one version only: Mamiya changed nothing between the 1989 camera and the 1993 6 MF, and the lens does not fit the Mamiya 7, which has its own 50mm f/4.5 on a different mount.

Reviewers agree on the glass and differ only on what to shoot with it. Mike Eckman used the 50 alone for his review and found incredible sharpness, no vignetting and only mild corner softness, the kind of result Mamiya’s symmetrical-design claim predicts. Charlie Tadlock at Emulsive rates all three lenses as equally sharp with strong micro-contrast, and Michael Nguyen at Japan Camera Hunter counts the 50 and 150 as the rest of a travel kit built around the 75. The Commons photographs on this page, two by Thomas Depenbusch on Provia and one by rachel_thecat on Velvia, show the lens used as landscape photographers use it, stopped down on a tripod.

When buying, the electronics come first. Fit fresh SR44 cells, check that the shutter fires at every speed and that the LEDs in the finder respond to the aperture ring, and clean the contacts with a dry cloth as the manual says. The advance lever and the film-start interlock are the body’s known weak points, and Aloysius Chow’s 35mmc piece notes the flimsy lever and the difficulty of finding repairers; Eckman says the same. The rangefinder is accurate enough for a 50 at f/4, so a slight misalignment matters less here than on the 150. Check the rear element for marks, since it sits close to the internal dark slide, and make sure the retractable mount locks in the extended position before the shutter will release.

What could not be sourced: a launch price for the lens by itself (Eckman’s December 1992 figures are for the body and the 75 kit), a blade count, the coating, a production total, and what the letters G and L stand for. No Mamiya document consulted explains them.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo taken with the Mamiya G 50mm f/4 L (Mamiya 6)
Summer fog over the Bigge valley, Mamiya 6 MF with the G 50mm f/4, Fuji Provia (Thomas Depenbusch) — Thomas Depenbusch, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Sample photo taken with the Mamiya G 50mm f/4 L (Mamiya 6)
Forest path to the Hubertushütte, Attendorn, Mamiya 6 with the 4/50mm, Fuji Provia (Thomas Depenbusch) — Thomas Depenbusch, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Sample photo taken with the Mamiya G 50mm f/4 L (Mamiya 6)
Fanes, Dolomites, Mamiya 6 with the 50mm, Velvia 50, 2 s at f/22 with a 0.6 hard grad (rachel_thecat) — rachel_thecat, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Mamiya G 50mm f/4 L (Mamiya 6)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $2,600 across 11 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-19 (middle half $1,000–$3,100). First day tracked.

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Show 5 more listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-09-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Mamiya G 150mm f/4.5 L (Mamiya 6) · Mamiya G 75mm f/3.5 L (Mamiya 6)

Sources (9)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.