Mamiya A 500mm f/4.5 APO (645)
Mamiya · Mamiya 645 · 1997
single source, unconfirmedAlso known as: Mamiya A 500mm f/4.5 APO · Mamiya A500mm f4.5 APO · Mamiya 645 500mm f/4.5 APO · Mamiya APO 500mm f/4.5 · Mamiya 645 A 500/4.5 · マミヤA 500mm F4.5 APO · マミヤ645 アポ 500mm F4.5 · マミヤ 500mm F4.5 APO
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mamiya A 500mm f/4.5 APO | Mamiya 645 | 1997 | — | — |
- Construction (11 in 9) and closest focus (5 m) are agreed by Japanese Wikipedia and the English Wikipedia table. The f/32 minimum, the 43.5 mm rear filter size, the built-in hood, the dimensions (378 × 162 mm) and the weight (5,410 g) come only from the English table, so the page carries the single-source flag; Japanese Wikipedia gives the filter count (six) and not the size.
- No source consulted gives a launch year. The 645 Pro TL instruction book of July 1997 is the earliest Mamiya document consulted that lists the lens, so 1997 is carried as a floor; the lens may be a few years older. Wikipedia's lens table gives no date and its aperture-blade cell reads N.A.
- The Sekor C 500mm f/5.6 (refracting, 105 mm filter) and the Reflex C 500mm f/8 (mirror) are different lenses at the same focal length; the A 200mm f/2.8 APO and A 300mm f/2.8 APO are its siblings in the A series.
How to tell them apart
- A and APO on the barrel, 1:4.5 maximum aperture; the plain 500 is a Sekor C f/5.6 and the mirror lens a Reflex C f/8
- Rear drop-in filters and a built-in hood; 5.4 kg, four times the weight of the 500mm f/5.6 by the Wikipedia table
- One version only; no N or Sekor C barrel exists
Mamiya A 500mm f/4.5 APO:
- A before the focal length and APO after the aperture on the barrel, as on the A 200mm f/2.8 APO and A 300mm f/2.8 APO; no Sekor C name
- The largest lens of the system: 378 mm long, 162 mm across, 5,410 g, with a built-in hood (Wikipedia table)
- Filters drop into the rear, 43.5 mm by the Wikipedia table; Japanese Wikipedia says six filters are supplied
- No infrared index mark: the 645 Pro TL book says the 300mm and 500mm APO lenses are corrected for infrared and need none
- Mamiya A 500mm f/4.5 APO: The one version. The 645 Pro TL instruction book of July 1997 lists 'A500mm f/4.5 APO' beside the 500mm f/5.6 among the telephotos, and is the earliest Mamiya document consulted that does; Japanese Wikipedia files it in the Mamiya A series with 9群11枚, 5 m closest focus and six filters supplied. No source consulted gives a launch year, so the Pro TL's is carried. Apochromatic, f/4.5 to f/32, and heavy enough that it is sold with a tripod mount as a matter of course.
Specifications
- Formula
- Apochromatic telephoto, 11 elements in 9 groups (Japanese Wikipedia 9群11枚; Wikipedia table)
- Construction
- 11 elements / 9 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4.5–f/32
- Min. focus
- 5 m
- Dimensions
- 162 × 378 mm
- Weight
- 5410 g
- Filter
- 43.5 mm rear drop-in (Wikipedia table); six filters supplied (Japanese Wikipedia)
- Years manufactured
- 1997
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Multi-coated: Mamiya's 645 literature describes all its lenses as multi-coated; the Pro TL book adds that the 300mm and 500mm APO lenses are corrected for infrared and need no index mark
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The A 500mm f/4.5 APO is the longest and heaviest lens of Mamiya’s manual-focus 645 system and the third of its apochromatic A series, after the A 200mm f/2.8 APO and A 300mm f/2.8 APO. Japanese Wikipedia and the English Wikipedia table agree on 11 elements in 9 groups and a closest focus of 5 m; the English table adds f/4.5 to f/32, a built-in hood, rear drop-in filters of 43.5 mm, a barrel 378 mm long and 162 mm across, and 5,410 g, four times the weight of the Sekor C 500mm f/5.6 it sat beside in the catalogue. Japanese Wikipedia says six filters were supplied with it. The 645 Pro TL instruction book adds the one operational note Mamiya thought worth printing: the 300mm and 500mm APO lenses, being corrected for infrared as well as visible light, carry no infrared focusing index.
It has one version and no launch date in anything consulted. The Pro TL book of July 1997 lists ‘A500mm f/4.5 APO’ with the 500mm f/5.6 among the telephotos and is the earliest Mamiya document read for this page that does, so 1997 is carried as a floor; the lens may be a few years older, from the 645 Pro years, and Wikipedia’s table gives no date for it. There is no N barrel and no Sekor C version: the A series carried Mamiya’s name without the Sekor mark from the start.
No review of this lens was found by the searches made for this page, which is what its weight and price would predict: it was a studio and sports lens sold in small numbers, and the search results are dealer listings. What the documents establish is the design intent shared with the A 300mm f/2.8 APO, apochromatic correction across the visible and into the infrared, and nothing about how it draws.
When buying, the questions are mechanical. Check the tripod mount and its rotating collar for stripped threads, the rear filter drawer for the clear filter the optical path expects, the long helicoid for stiffness, and the front element, which no screw-in filter protects. The lens mounts on the 645 AF bodies with stop-down metering but will not autofocus there. What remains open: the launch year, a list price in any currency, the aperture blade count, which Wikipedia’s table leaves blank, and any independent test.
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 500mm f/4.5 APO (645)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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