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

Mamiya A 150mm f/3.8 N/L (645)

Mamiya · Mamiya 645 · 1992

Also known as: Mamiya A 150mm f/3.8 N/L · Mamiya 150mm f/3.8 N/L · Mamiya 645 150mm f3.8 leaf shutter · Mamiya 150mm f3.8 LS · Mamiya Sekor 150mm f/3.8 N/L · マミヤ A 150mm F3.8 N/L · マミヤ 645 150mm F3.8 レンズシャッター · マミヤ A150mm F3.8N/L

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Mamiya A 150mm f/3.8 N/L (leaf shutter) · Seiko #0 leaf shutter, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 and 1/500 s, flash sync at every speed (Mamiya 645 Pro instruction book); cocked by hand, or by the Power Drive Grip WG401 on the Pro and Pro TL Mamiya 645 — — —
  1. Optical construction, angle of view, minimum aperture, closest focus, magnification, filter size, hood, dimensions and weight are from Mamiya's own table in the 645 Interchangeable Lenses product sheet. Wikipedia's table gives f/3.8–22 and 82 × 79 mm; Mamiya's f/32 and 82 × 78.9 mm are used here. Shutter type and speeds are from the 645 Pro instruction book.
  2. The family year is the first Mamiya document consulted that lists the lens, the 645 Pro instruction book (the Pro was introduced in April 1992 per camera-wiki), which calls the three N/L lenses recently developed. The lens is absent from the N-era Sekor C sheet, so it was introduced between about 1985 and 1992; the exact year is not found.
  3. Mamiya's figures for this lens (5 elements in 5 groups, 26°, 150 cm, 0.14×) match those of the Sekor C 150mm f/3.5 N except for the maximum aperture, the 67 mm filter and the weight. Dealer copy calls the two optically identical; no Mamiya document consulted says so, and the claim is left as an observation about the tables.
  4. The blade count (5 per Wikipedia's table) is carried by one source and left out of the specifications. No review of this lens from a site on the project's list was found.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • The only 645 150 with a shutter-speed ring (1/30 to 1/500) and a PC flash socket on the barrel; the Sekor C 150mm f/3.5 and the A 150mm f/2.8 have neither
  • A ... N/L on the name ring, 67 mm filter thread, f/32 minimum aperture and a screw-in rather than built-in hood (Mamiya's product sheet)
  • 620 g: heavier than the f/3.5 N's 420 g, lighter than the f/2.8's 740 g

Mamiya A 150mm f/3.8 N/L (leaf shutter):

  • Engraved A before the focal length and N/L after the aperture; a shutter-speed ring and a cable-release socket on the barrel (camera-wiki)
  • Mamiya's table: 5 elements in 5 groups, 26° angle of view, f/3.8–32, 150 cm closest focus, 0.14×, 344 × 465 mm field, 67 mm filter, screw-in hood, 82 × 78.9 mm, 620 g

Specifications

Construction
5 elements / 5 groups
Aperture range
f/3.8–f/32
Shutter
Seiko #0 leaf shutter, 1/30–1/500 s, flash sync at every speed (Mamiya 645 Pro instruction book); the body's focal-plane shutter is set to 1/8 s for it
Min. focus
1.5 m
Dimensions
78.9 × 82 mm
Weight
620 g
Filter
67 mm
Country
Japan
Coating
Multi-coated: Mamiya's 645 lens instructions say all the lenses for the M645 have been multi-coated

What reviewers say

No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.

Optical formula

Mamiya's 645 Interchangeable Lenses product sheet tabulates 5 elements in 5 groups but prints no cross-section for this lens, and no other Mamiya document with a diagram for it was found.

History

The A 150mm f/3.8 N/L is the leaf-shutter telephoto of Mamiya’s manual-focus 645 system, built because the focal-plane bodies sync electronic flash only at 1/60 s. Mamiya’s own table gives 5 elements in 5 groups, a 26° angle of view, f/3.8 to f/32, closest focus at 150 cm for 0.14×, a 67 mm filter thread, a screw-in hood, and 620 g in a barrel 78.9 mm across and 82 mm long. The 645 Pro instruction book describes the shutter: a Seiko #0 with speeds of 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 and 1/500 s, all of them flash-synchronised, with the body’s own shutter set to 1/8 s to stay open while the lens does the exposure.

There is one version, and its date is only bracketed. The N-era Sekor C sheet of about 1985 lists a single leaf-shutter lens, the 70mm f/2.8; the 645 Pro book of 1992 lists the 55mm f/2.8 N/L, 80mm f/2.8 N/L and this lens as ‘three recently developed leaf shutter lenses’. The page carries 1992 as the family year on that evidence. Mamiya’s figures for the optics match those of the Sekor C 150mm f/3.5 N line for line except the maximum aperture, the filter thread and the weight, which is consistent with the dealer description of the same glass behind a shutter, but no Mamiya document consulted says so outright.

The shutter changes how the lens is used. On the M645, 1000S and Super, or on a Pro without the Power Drive Grip WG401, the leaf shutter is cocked by hand for every frame; the WG401 grip on the Pro and Pro TL cocks it as it winds, through the grip connector. The Pro TL book says that fitting a leaf-shutter lens sets the focal-plane shutter to 1/8 s automatically on that body, and warns to store the lens with its shutter uncocked. The camera-wiki page notes the speed ring and the cable-release socket on the barrel, which are the quickest way to tell this lens from the plain f/3.5.

No review of this lens from a site on the project’s list was found, and the reviews section is empty rather than padded. What can be said from the sources is what it is for: fill flash outdoors at 1/250 or 1/500 s with a 150 mm lens, which the plain 150s cannot do on any 645 body. When buying, fire the leaf shutter at every speed and listen for the change in pitch, check that it cocks and releases cleanly, confirm that the body drops to 1/8 s or is set there, and check the PC socket and the aperture blades as on any leaf-shutter lens. A copy that has been stored cocked for years is the usual suspect for a slow 1/500.

What remains open: the year of introduction, a discontinuation date, a launch price in any currency, and the blade count beyond Wikipedia’s figure of five.

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 wanted — shot with a Mamiya A 150mm f/3.8 N/L (645)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $250 across 4 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-21 (middle half $240–$280). 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 C 150mm f/3.5 (645) · Mamiya A 150mm f/2.8 (645) · Mamiya-Sekor C 80mm f/2.8 (645) · Mamiya-Sekor C 55mm f/2.8 (645) · Mamiya-Sekor C 70mm f/2.8 Leaf Shutter (645)

Sources (8)

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.