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

Mamiya-Sekor Z 500mm f/8 W (RZ67)

Mamiya · Mamiya RZ67 · 1982

single source, unconfirmed

Also known as: Mamiya-Sekor Z 500mm f/8 W · Mamiya Sekor Z 500mm F8 W · Mamiya Sekor Z 500mm f/8 · Mamiya Sekor Z 500mm f/8.0 · Mamiya RZ67 500mm f/8 · Mamiya RZ 500mm 8 W · Z500mm f/8.0W · マミヤ セコール Z 500mm F8 W · マミヤセコールZ 500mm F8 · マミヤ RZ67 500mm F8

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Mamiya-Sekor Z 500mm f/8 (1982, full-stop aperture ring) Mamiya RZ67 1982 — —
Mamiya-Sekor Z 500mm f/8 W (half-stop aperture ring) Mamiya RZ67 — — —
  1. The W designation is explained by Japanese Wikipedia (絞り目盛の間隔が広くなり、1/2段絞りが追加された: wider aperture-scale spacing, half stops added) and by Emulsive (half-stop markings, optics unchanged). No Mamiya document consulted dates the W.
  2. Construction, angle of view, minimum aperture and closest focus for the 1982 lens are from the RZ67 Professional instruction manual's lens table, which prints construction as groups-elements (6-6) and marks the 500 with an asterisk: not presently available. The manual gives no weights.
  3. Weight, dimensions and magnification are from Mamiya's Mamiya-Sekor Z Interchangeable Lenses sheet, whose minimum-focus column is measured from the lens front rim with the bellows fully extended (46 mm), not from the film plane; the 6.6 m in the spec fields is the 1982 manual's figure, which Japanese Wikipedia gives as 6.598 m. The sheet's dimension column is read here as diameter × length. camera-wiki's 7 elements in 7 groups disagrees with both Mamiya documents and is not used.
  4. This is the plain 500 and is not an APO lens; Mamiya's apochromat at this focal length is the APO-Sekor Z 500mm f/6, a different design with its own page. No Mamiya document, encyclopaedia or dealer consulted lists a 500mm f/8 with the APO designation.
  5. No aperture-blade count, coating description or list price in any currency was found in a Mamiya document. The single-source flag covers the non-W barrel as a separate marking, which rests on the 1982 manual's photographs rather than on a Mamiya statement, and the weight, which comes from Mamiya's sheet alone.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Every version: RZ bayonet with electrical contacts and a Seiko #1 electronic leaf shutter; no shutter-speed ring on the lens. A 500mm f/8 with its own speed ring is the RB67's Sekor C 500mm f/8, a different lens
  • Two name rings: plain Z (full-stop ring, announced 1982) and W (half stops, same 6-in-6 optics); neither carries APO
  • Minimum aperture f/32, not the f/45 of the RZ's other long lenses; 105 mm front with a slip-on hood (Mamiya's Lens Hood ø108 No. 1); 299 mm long
  • The APO-Sekor Z 500mm f/6 is 19 mm shorter, 355 g heavier and stops down to f/45

Mamiya-Sekor Z 500mm f/8 (1982, full-stop aperture ring):

  • Engraved MAMIYA-SEKOR Z f=500mm 1:8 with no W after the aperture; aperture ring clicks at full stops only¹
  • 1982 RZ67 instruction manual: 6 groups, 6 elements, 10° angle of view, f/32 minimum, 6.60 m closest focus, 105 mm filter, slip-on hood; marked with an asterisk as not yet available²
  • Pictured with its cross-section on page 41 of the 1982 manual beside the 360mm f/6: a long front tube stepping down to the mount section

Mamiya-Sekor Z 500mm f/8 W (half-stop aperture ring):

  • W after the aperture on the name ring; half-stop aperture clicks and wider scale spacing¹
  • Mamiya-Sekor Z lens sheet: 6 elements in 6 groups, 10°, f/32, 0.09× at full bellows extension (6150 mm from the front rim), 242 mm equivalent, 105 mm filter, slip-on hood, 108 × 299 mm, 1960 g³
  • Japanese Wikipedia: セコールZ 500mmF8, 6群6枚, closest focus 6.598 m, φ105 mm screw-in
  • Supplied in a case with hood, cap and the Lens Holder for the 500mm (Emulsive)

Specifications

Formula
Telephoto, 6 elements in 6 groups (1982 RZ67 manual; Mamiya lens sheet)
Construction
6 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/8–f/32
Shutter
Seiko #1 electronic leaf shutter in the lens, 8s–1/400 plus B and T, set from the body dial; a mechanical 1/400 works without a battery
Min. focus
6.6 m
Dimensions
108 × 299 mm
Weight
1960 g
Filter
105 mm
Years manufactured
1982
Country
Japan

What reviewers say

Optical formula — Telephoto, 6 elements in 6 groups (1982 RZ67 manual; Mamiya lens sheet)

History

The 500mm f/8 is the longest of the original RZ67 lenses, 242 mm in 35 mm terms by Mamiya’s conversion, and the plain telephoto that the APO-Sekor Z 500mm f/6 later joined and eventually replaced. The 1982 RZ67 Professional manual lists it at 6 groups and 6 elements, 10°, f/8 to f/32, a closest focus of 6.60 m, a 105 mm filter and a slip-on hood, pictures it with its cross-section beside the 360mm f/6, and marks both with the asterisk that means not yet available. Mamiya’s later Mamiya-Sekor Z lens sheet gives the same construction for the Z500mm f/8.0W, with 1960 g, a 108 × 299 mm barrel and 0.09× at full bellows extension. Japanese Wikipedia carries 6群6枚 and 6.598 m; camera-wiki’s 7 elements in 7 groups matches neither Mamiya document. It is the one long RZ lens that stops at f/32 rather than f/45.

The two name rings are plain Z and W. The Z has a full-stop aperture ring; the W, per Japanese Wikipedia and Emulsive, added half-stop clicks and a wider scale with the optics unchanged, which the identical figures in the two Mamiya documents support. No source dates the W. Neither ring carries APO: the apochromat at this focal length is the f/6, which Mamiya’s sheet lists in the next row at 108 × 280 mm and 2315 g, and no Mamiya document, encyclopaedia or dealer consulted knows a 500mm f/8 with the APO designation. The 2004 Pro IID brochure lists only the APO f/6, and English Wikipedia calls the f/8 the older model. The RB67’s Sekor C 500mm f/8, with its own shutter-speed ring, is a different lens.

Pierre-Gilles Lucain’s Emulsive guide is the one review found and he owns the lens. He calls it huge, heavy at two kilos and cumbersome, and the images incredibly sharp; it goes up mountains with him, lives in its own case with hood, cap and the lens support bracket, and, in his words, needs that support to avoid damaging the body. The 360, which weighs half as much, is what he reaches for when weight matters. No reviewer consulted reports a fault in the glass; the only complaint anywhere is the mass. Jeffrey Kampman notes in passing that the 500 f/8 and the 75mm shift are the RZ lenses that break the 77 mm filter standard.

Buying checks are the RZ system’s, with the weight added. The Seiko #1 electronic leaf shutter fires only with a working 6 V battery in the body; without one it gives a mechanical 1/400 and nothing else. The lens comes off only when the body’s lever has cocked it with the mirror down, so a lens that will not release is usually a cocking-state matter. Run the shutter at 8 s and 1/400 and watch the blades, work the depth-of-field preview and T levers, and check the rear contacts. Ask whether the Lens Holder for the 500mm and the ø108 slip-on hood come with it, because both are listed by Mamiya as separate accessories and the lens is not meant to hang two kilos from the bayonet on a tripod. Lucain’s list of lenses that take the 1.4× teleconverter omits the 500.

What could not be sourced: the year of the W, a weight for the 1982 barrel from a Mamiya document, the number of aperture blades, the coating, a list price in any currency, and the year production ended. No designer is named anywhere.

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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-Sekor Z 500mm f/8 W (RZ67)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $550 across 5 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-21 (middle half $530–$600). First day tracked.

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

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

Related: Mamiya-Sekor Z 180mm f/4.5 W-N (RZ67) · Mamiya-Sekor Z 250mm f/4.5 W / APO (RZ67) · Mamiya APO-Sekor Z 350mm f/5.6 (RZ67) · Mamiya-Sekor Z 360mm f/6 W (RZ67) · Mamiya APO-Sekor Z 500mm f/6 (RZ67)

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.