Mamiya-Sekor 250mm f/8 (Press)
Mamiya · Mamiya Press · 1970
single source, unconfirmedAlso known as: Mamiya-Sekor 250mm f/8 · Mamiya Sekor 250mm f8 Press · Mamiya Press 250mm f/8 · Mamiya Universal 250mm f8 · Mamiya Super 23 250mm f/8 · Sekor 250/8 Press · マミヤプレス 250mm F8 · マミヤ セコール 250mm F8 · セコール 250mm F8
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mamiya-Sekor 250mm f/8 (not rangefinder-coupled) · Leaf shutter in the lens, M-X synchro, 1s–1/500 and B, cocked by hand, lockable open for ground-glass focusing (July 1970 lens sheet) | Mamiya Press | 1970 | — | — |
- Construction (6 in 4), the 55 mm filter and the absence of rangefinder coupling are agreed by the July 1970 lens sheet (filter and coupling), Japanese Wikipedia and camera-wiki. The weight (650 g) is camera-wiki's alone and the picture angles and catalogue number the 1970 sheet's alone, so the page carries the single-source flag. No source consulted gives a minimum aperture, a length or a shutter name beyond the sheet's general M-X synchro, 1 to 1/500 and B.
- Closest focus: 12 feet (3.66 m) in the US sheet, 3.3 m in Japanese Wikipedia. The Japanese figure is carried; on the Press lenses the US literature measures from the film plane and the Japanese sources give rounder metric figures, as the 100mm f/3.5's 3.5 ft against 1 m shows.
- No source consulted dates the lens or gives a price. The July 1970 sheet is the earliest document read that lists it, so 1970 is a floor; its note that the f/8 is usable on any Mamiya 23 camera, unlike the f/5, is consistent with the f/8 predating the Super 23 of 1967, but no source says so.
- The 250mm f/5 is a different lens: also 6 elements in 4 groups, but 105 mm filter, about 1.8 kg, rangefinder-coupled, and limited to the Universal and Super 23 (1970 sheet). Its titles are excluded from this page's listings by aperture.
How to tell them apart
- 1:8 on the ring and a 55 mm front thread: the coupled 250mm f/5 takes 105 mm filters and weighs nearly three times as much
- No rangefinder cam: focusing is on the ground glass with the shutter locked open, or by scale, and the sportsfinder's 250 field, listed on the 1970 sheet for the Universal and Super 23, frames it but nothing focuses it
- Leaf shutter cocked by hand on the lens, M-X sync, 1 to 1/500 and B, as on every Press lens of the 1970 sheet; hood supplied
Mamiya-Sekor 250mm f/8 (not rangefinder-coupled):
- Engraved Mamiya-Sekor 1:8 f=250mm; 55 mm filter thread and about 650 g, against the rangefinder-coupled 250mm f/5's 105 mm thread and 1.8 kg (July 1970 lens sheet; camera-wiki)
- Not coupled to the rangefinder: the 1970 sheet marks it 'not rf-coupled' and Japanese Wikipedia says focusing is on the ground glass
- Catalogue number 60107; picture angles 20°10' on 6×7 and 22°50' on 6×9; closest focus 12 feet by the US sheet, 3.3 m by Japanese Wikipedia; hood included (1970 sheet)
- Usable on any Mamiya 23 camera, where the 250mm f/5 is for the Universal and Super 23 only (1970 sheet)
- Mamiya-Sekor 250mm f/8 (not rangefinder-coupled): The only version recorded. Mamiya's July 1970 lens sheet lists it as one of nine interchangeable lenses for the Universal and Press 23, the one lens in the table that does not couple to the rangefinder, with a 55 mm filter and a 12-foot closest focus; Japanese Wikipedia and camera-wiki give 6 elements in 4 groups, and camera-wiki 650 g. No source consulted dates it; the 1970 sheet is the earliest document read that lists it, so 1970 is a floor, and the sheet's note that the f/8 fits any Mamiya 23 body while the f/5 fits only the Universal and Super 23 suggests it is the older of the two 250s.
Specifications
- Formula
- 6 elements in 4 groups (Japanese Wikipedia 4群6枚; camera-wiki)
- Construction
- 6 elements / 4 groups
- Aperture range
- f/8
- Shutter
- Leaf shutter in the lens: M-X synchro, 1s–1/500 and B, cocked by hand on the lens, lockable open for ground-glass viewing (July 1970 lens sheet, for all nine Press lenses)
- Min. focus
- 3.3 m
- Weight
- 650 g
- Filter
- 55 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1970
- Country
- Japan
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 250mm f/8 is the small 250 of the Mamiya Press system, the long lens for photographers who would focus on the ground glass rather than carry the rangefinder-coupled 250mm f/5. Mamiya’s July 1970 lens sheet lists it among nine interchangeable lenses for the Universal and Press 23 with catalogue number 60107, picture angles of 20°10’ on 6×7 and 22°50’ on 6×9, a closest focus of 12 feet, a 55 mm filter and a hood in the box, and marks it, alone in the table, ‘not rf-coupled’. Japanese Wikipedia and camera-wiki give the construction as 6 elements in 4 groups, the same count as the f/5, and camera-wiki puts the weight at 650 g against the f/5’s 1,825 g. Its shutter is the Press lenses’ M-X synchro leaf shutter, 1 second to 1/500 plus B, cocked by hand and lockable open for focusing on the glass.
There is one version and no date. The 1970 sheet is the earliest document read for this page that lists it, so 1970 is a floor rather than a launch year. The sheet’s own note that the 250mm f/5 is for the Universal and Super 23 only while the f/8 can be used with any Mamiya 23 camera is consistent with the f/8 being the older lens, from the Press and Press 23 years before the Super 23’s larger finder and coupled 250 of 1967, but no source consulted says so. Nothing consulted gives a minimum aperture, a length, a list price or a discontinuation year. The closest-focus figures differ in the usual Press way, 12 feet in the US sheet and 3.3 m in the Japanese list.
No review of the lens was found by the searches made for this page; the Press reviewers write about the 100s, the 65 and the 75, and when they mention a 250 it is the f/5 and its thin depth of field at 8 feet. What the documents describe is a lens built for the opposite trade: a third of the weight, a 55 mm filter shared with the 100mm f/3.5, 127 and 150, and the loss of the rangefinder, which means framing by the sportsfinder’s 250 field and focusing by the scale or by the glass.
Buying one means checking the shutter and understanding what the lens cannot do. Cock the shutter by hand, run it at 1 second and 1/500, and push the lever that locks it open and then back, since a shutter left open will not expose. The lens has no rangefinder cam, so no amount of adjustment will make the Super 23’s or Universal’s rangefinder read it; a ground-glass back or the focusing back is the way to focus it close. Read the ring: 1:8 and a 55 mm thread is this lens, 1:5 and a 105 mm thread the coupled one. What remains open: the launch year, the minimum aperture, a Mamiya weight and length, the shutter’s maker, and a price in any currency.
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-Sekor 250mm f/8 (Press)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
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