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

Mamiya Macro A 120mm f/4 M (645)

Mamiya · Mamiya 645 · 1997

single source, unconfirmed

Also known as: Mamiya A 120mm f/4 M · Mamiya Macro A 120mm f/4 · Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro A M · Mamiya 645 120mm f4 Macro · Mamiya 120mm f/4 APO Macro 645 · MACRO A 120mm F4 · マミヤ マクロA 120mm F4 · マミヤ645 120mm F4 マクロ

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Mamiya Macro A 120mm f/4 M Mamiya 645 1997 — —
  1. Element counts, angle of view, minimum aperture, closest focus, magnification, filter size, dimensions and weight are from Mamiya's N-era 645 Interchangeable Lenses instruction sheet (Butkus library), later edition, which lists the lens as Macro A 120mm f/4M; an earlier printing of the same sheet, with 21 lenses ending at the A 300mm f/2.8, does not yet have it.
  2. The July 1997 launch and the glass (three anomalous-dispersion elements and one ULD element) come only from Japanese Wikipedia; no Mamiya document consulted dates the lens, though its absence from the earlier sheet and Popular Photography's November 2000 test bracket it.
  3. Aperture blade count (9) comes only from the Wikipedia lens table; no Mamiya document consulted gives it.
  4. Hens's list gives a 'Sekor C 120mm f/4 APO' and a 'Sekor Macro 120mm f/4 N' with the same figures (111 × 77.4 mm, 745 g); camera-wiki lists a 'C 120mm f4 macro' among the original C lenses. No Mamiya document consulted shows a 120mm macro before the A lens, and those entries are read as the same lens under other names.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • The only manual-focus 645 lens that reaches 1:1 on its own helicoid; the Macro C 80mm f/4 stops at 1:2 without its spacer (Mamiya's N-era sheet)
  • Marked Mamiya A, not Mamiya-Sekor C; 67 mm filter thread, no hood; 111 mm long at infinity and 745 g
  • A 120mm f/4 macro with electrical contacts on the mount and a D in the name is the later MF D lens for the autofocus bodies

Mamiya Macro A 120mm f/4 M:

  • Mamiya A and Macro on the name ring with M after the aperture, and no Sekor or C: the A series of the 1990s dropped the Sekor name (Japanese Wikipedia; KEH title)
  • Second-generation cosmetics: rubberised focusing ring, plastic aperture ring, a long barrel that extends to 1:1 (Popular Photography, November 2000)
  • Mamiya's N-era sheet: 9 elements in 8 groups, 33°, f/32, automatic diaphragm, 40 cm, 1.00×, 42 × 56 mm field, 67 mm filter, no hood, 111 mm long, 77.4 mm diameter, 745 g

Specifications

Formula
Apochromatic macro with three anomalous-dispersion and one ultra-low-dispersion element, focusing to 1:1 without accessories, 9 elements in 8 groups (Mamiya's N-era 645 Interchangeable Lenses sheet; Japanese Wikipedia)
Construction
9 elements / 8 groups
Aperture range
f/4–f/32
Diaphragm blades
9
Min. focus
0.4 m
Dimensions
77.4 × 111 mm
Weight
745 g
Filter
67 mm
Years manufactured
1997
Country
Japan
Coating
Multicoated (Mamiya's N-era sheet: all 645 lenses multicoated)

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

Aggregated from the reviews above — follow the links for the full picture.

Chromatic aberration
low, APO
Distortion
minimal barrel

History

The Macro A 120mm f/4 M is the true macro lens of the manual-focus Mamiya 645 system, the only one that reaches life size on its own helicoid; the older Macro C 80mm f/4 stops at 1:2 without its Auto Macro Spacer. It is a nine-element, eight-group apochromatic design, a 73 mm equivalent with a 33° angle of view, that focuses from infinity to 0.4 m and 1:1 with the barrel extending from 111 mm, and it weighs 745 g with a 67 mm filter thread and no hood. Japanese Wikipedia gives the glass as three anomalous-dispersion elements and one ultra-low-dispersion element and the release as July 1997, which fits the record: an earlier printing of Mamiya’s second-generation lens sheet, with 21 lenses ending at the A 300mm f/2.8, does not have it, the later printing does, and Popular Photography tested it in November 2000.

It belongs to the A series of the 1990s, the lenses Mamiya marked Mamiya A rather than Mamiya-Sekor C, with the second-generation rubberised focusing ring and plastic aperture ring. There is one version for the 1975 bayonet. Philip Hens’s list names a Sekor C 120mm f/4 APO and a Macro 120mm f/4 N with identical figures, and camera-wiki puts a C 120mm f/4 macro among the original lenses; no Mamiya document consulted shows a 120mm macro before this one, and those are read as the same lens under other names. The Macro MF 120mm f/4 D, a manual-focus lens with electrical contacts for the 645AF and AFD bodies and later the Phase One DF, and the autofocus 120mm f/4 are different lenses for the 645 AF system.

Popular Photography’s test, the one bench test found, measured minimal barrel distortion (0.15%) and, at the measured 1:1 closest focus, an excellent centre at f/4, very good at f/5.6, good from f/8 to f/22 and below average at f/32, with corners acceptable at f/4 and f/5.6 and good from f/8 to f/16 and the optimum at f/16; light falloff was gone by f/8 and flare well controlled. Tony Howell, using it on a 39 MP Phase One back at ordinary distances, found superb resolution across the frame with stunning corners at f/8 and called it the best Mamiya or Phase One lens he had used, one he prefers for landscapes. The two agree that f/8 to f/16 is where it lives and that f/32 is for depth of field alone.

When buying, run the helicoid all the way out to 1:1 and back and look for play in the extended barrel, check that the A/M lever stops the diaphragm down and returns, and that the meter coupling prong is intact. The name ring settles what is being sold: Mamiya A and M with no contacts on the mount is this lens; a D in the name and gold contacts is the AF-body lens, heavier at 845 g by Hens’s list.

What remains open: the launch date from a Mamiya document, the end of production, any list price, the blade count, which only the Wikipedia table gives, and whether any earlier 120mm macro ever existed behind the Hens and camera-wiki entries.

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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 wanted — shot with a Mamiya Macro A 120mm f/4 M (645)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $600 across 6 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-21 (middle half $230–$600). First day tracked.

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

Listings updated 2026-09-21. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Mamiya-Sekor Fisheye ULD C 24mm f/4 (645) · Mamiya-Sekor C 35mm f/3.5 (645) · Mamiya-Sekor Shift C 50mm f/4 (645) · Mamiya-Sekor C 70mm f/2.8 Leaf Shutter (645)

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.