Mamiya APO-L 500mm f/6 L (RB67)
Mamiya · Mamiya RB67 · 1990
single source, unconfirmedAlso known as: Mamiya 500mm f/6 APO RB67 · Mamiya RB67 500mm APO · Mamiya APO-L 500mm f/6 L · Mamiya L 500mm f/6 APO · APO KL 500mm F6 L · Mamiya K/L 500mm f/6 APO · Mamiya 500 6 APO RB SD · マミヤ L 500mm F6 APO · マミヤ RB67 500mm アポ · アポ 500mm F6 RB
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mamiya APO-L 500mm f/6 L (Pro-SD only, the only version) · Seiko #1 mechanical leaf shutter, 1s–1/400, T and B | Mamiya RB67 (Pro-SD only) | 1990 | — | — |
- Optical and physical figures are from Mamiya's APO lens booklet at butkus.org; the closest focus of 6,064 mm there is measured from the front rim, and Japanese Wikipedia's 6.493 m (the figure in the table) does not say from where. The RB67 Camera Guide repeats the booklet's 7/7, 10°, 105 mm, 6,064 mm, 2,360 g and f/45. Mamiya's Pro SD lens page of 2011–2013 no longer lists the lens, so the booklet is the only maker document for it.
- The 1990 date is the RB67 Pro-SD's, the only body the lens fits; no source consulted dates the 500 APO separately, gives a last year, or gives a Mamiya list price.
- The Mamiya-Sekor C 500mm f/8 (6 elements in 6 groups, 105 mm filter, slip-on hood, f/32 by camera-wiki and the RB67 Camera Guide, about 1,980 g) is the earlier lens at this focal length and a different family; it fits every RB body. The booklet's 'RB500mm' is that lens. Scott McClarin's 'pristine 500mm telephoto lenses' at US$600 and up does not say which 500 he means.
- Reviews on the listed sites do not cover the RB 500 APO; the Emulsive guide quoted is about the RZ67's APO 500mm, which the RZ67 Pro IID brochure lists as the same 7-element, 7-group design at 278.5 × 108 mm and 2,315 g.
How to tell them apart
- One version only: APO and L on the barrel, no Sekor name, no adapter ring at the rear because it fits only the Pro-SD's 61 mm throat (and the RZ67, whose mount is the same size)
- 271.5 mm long, 108 mm across and 2,360 g, with a 105 mm filter thread; the Pro-SD manual lists a 108 mm slip-on hood for it and the RZ brochure a lens holder for the 500
- Against the Sekor C 500mm f/8: the APO is 20.5 mm shorter, 7 elements in 7 groups against 6 in 6, f/6 against f/8, and closes to f/45 against f/32
- Focuses on the body's bellows; the booklet warns that vignetting may occur with the auto extension tubes
Mamiya APO-L 500mm f/6 L (Pro-SD only, the only version):
- APO on the barrel and the L designation without a Sekor name; the Pro-SD manual says 'Both the 75mm shift and APO 500mm lenses are L lenses', meaning they have no adapter ring and fit only the 61 mm throat of the Pro-SD
- Mamiya's APO booklet: 7 elements in 7 groups, automatic diaphragm, minimum aperture f/45, closest focus 6,064 mm from the front rim, area covered 597 × 740 mm, 105 mm filter, screw-in hood attached, 271.5 mm long × 108 mm across, 2,360 g; angle of view 10°20' diagonal; '20.5mm shorter than the RB500mm'
- Japanese Wikipedia: マミヤL 500mmF6アポ/L, 7群7枚, 6.493 m, φ105 mm, 'RB67 Professional SD 専用'
- The Pro-SD manual lists a 108 mm slip-on hood for the 500; camera-wiki also says slip-on, where the booklet says a screw-in hood is attached
- Mamiya APO-L 500mm f/6 L (Pro-SD only, the only version): The only RB lens with no way onto a Pro or Pro-S: the APO booklet says the "APO 500mm f/6 lens cannot be used with the RB Pro-S", Reznitsky's chart marks it No on the Pro-S and Pro and Yes on the Pro-SD, RZ67 and RZ67 Pro II, and the RB67 Camera Guide gives the reason, the larger lens throat. The booklet presents it as a compact telephoto, 20.5 mm shorter than the RB 500mm f/8 it succeeded, corrected from 400 to 1,000 nm like the 350 APO.
Serial-range notes
- two-letter sticker on the rear of the lens
- Mamiya dated RB and RZ lenses with a two-letter code stuck to the back of the lens: the first letter is the year, the second the month, A = January. Year letters run A–T for 1981–2000 and A–N for 2001–2014, which covers the whole life of this lens (Mamiya Repair). No serial-to-year table for the 500 APO has been published.
Specifications
- Formula
- 7 elements in 7 groups; two elements of ultra-low dispersion glass and four of anomalous dispersion glass (Mamiya APO lens booklet)
- Construction
- 7 elements / 7 groups
- Aperture range
- f/6–f/45
- Shutter
- Seiko #1 mechanical leaf shutter, 1s–1/400 and T, X sync at all speeds (RB67 Camera Guide, camera-wiki); the Pro-SD generation's lenses add a built-in bulb (B) unit (Pro-SD manual). Focusing is by the body's bellows, so the lens has no helicoid.
- Min. focus
- 6.493 m
- Dimensions
- 108 × 271.5 mm
- Weight
- 2360 g
- Filter
- 105 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1990
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Multicoated (camera-wiki: the K/L and L lenses have better coatings than the C lenses)
What reviewers say
- Pierre-gilles Lucain (Emulsive), A complete guide to the Mamiya RZ67, part three (blog) — On the RZ's APO 500, the same design: "a real monument! Huge, heavy (2kg!) and cumbersome but produces incredible quality and sharp images"; it "needs the lens support to avoid damaging your RZ".
- Scott McClarin (Emulsive), RB67 Pro-S review (blog) — Most RB lenses sit between US$75 and $280; only the hard-to-find 37mm C and "pristine 500mm telephoto lenses exist at the US$600 mark and up", without saying which 500.
- Mark Foster (Japan Camera Hunter), Camera Geekery: Mamiya RB67 (blog) — Whether the C lenses are inferior to the later K/L models is "a division among photographers"; he warns of the price and compatibility differences between generations.
Optical formula — 7 elements in 7 groups; two elements of ultra-low dispersion glass and four of anomalous dispersion glass (Mamiya APO lens booklet)
History
The 500mm f/6 APO is the longest lens of the RB67 system and the only one that fits a single body. The RB67 Pro-SD of 1990 enlarged the lens throat from 54 to 61 mm, the same as the RZ67’s, and while the other K/L lenses bridge the difference with a removable 7 mm adapter ring, the Pro-SD manual says “Both the 75mm shift and APO 500mm lenses are L lenses”: no ring, no way onto a Pro or Pro-S. Mamiya’s APO booklet states it flatly, “The APO 500mm f/6 lens cannot be used with the RB Pro-S”, and Reznitsky’s compatibility chart marks the “RB 500mm APO/L” Yes on the Pro-SD, RZ67 and RZ67 Pro II and No on the two older bodies. The RB67 Camera Guide gives the reason, the larger throat.
The booklet’s case for the lens is compactness. It says that shortening a telephoto normally increases its aberrations, that the 500mm f/6 is “20.5mm shorter than the RB500mm”, the Sekor C 500mm f/8 it succeeded, and that like the 350 APO it combines two ultra-low dispersion elements with four of anomalous dispersion glass, corrected from 400 to 1,000 nm so that focus does not shift into the infrared, with spherical aberration, astigmatism and field curvature held under 0.1 mm and pincushion distortion under 1%. The construction is 7 elements in 7 groups, the diaphragm automatic to f/45, the filter thread 105 mm, the length 271.5 mm by 108 mm across and the weight 2,360 g; closest focus is 6,064 mm from the front rim by the booklet, or 6.493 m by Japanese Wikipedia, which does not say from where. The Seiko #1 leaf shutter runs 1 second to 1/400 with sync at every speed and the Pro-SD generation’s bulb unit adds B; there is no helicoid, and the booklet warns that the auto extension tubes may vignette with the APO lenses. The RZ67’s APO 500mm is the same 7/7 design at 278.5 mm and 2,315 g by the Pro IID brochure, which lists a lens holder for it, as the Pro-SD manual lists a 108 mm slip-on hood; Mamiya’s Pro SD accessory page of 2011 to 2013 no longer carries the lens but still excludes it from the sun shield and the G-3 front hood.
There is one version and one lens to separate it from. The Mamiya-Sekor C 500mm f/8 is the earlier lens at this focal length, 6 elements in 6 groups, 105 mm filter, slip-on hood, f/32 minimum aperture and about 1,980 g by camera-wiki and the Camera Guide, and it fits every RB body; the APO has APO and L on the barrel, opens to f/6, closes to f/45 and has no adapter ring at the rear. A 500 offered for a Pro-S is the f/8.
No review on the sites consulted covers the RB 500 APO itself. Pierre-gilles Lucain’s Emulsive guide to the RZ67 describes its APO 500, the same design, as “a real monument! Huge, heavy (2kg!) and cumbersome but produces incredible quality and sharp images”, and says it needs the lens support to avoid damaging the camera. Scott McClarin at Emulsive puts pristine 500mm lenses at US$600 and up without saying which 500, and Mark Foster at Japan Camera Hunter warns of price and compatibility differences between generations. What to check when buying is the body first, a Pro-SD or an RZ, then every shutter speed, the slow ones especially, the cocking action, the diaphragm blades, the 105 mm front element, and that a lens support is with it. Open questions: the first and last years of production beyond the Pro-SD’s 1990, and any list price from Mamiya, none having been found.
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 APO-L 500mm f/6 L (RB67)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
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