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

Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 (C-series TLR)

Mamiya · Mamiya TLR · 1962

Also known as: Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 · Mamiya Sekor 105mm f3.5 · Mamiya Sekor 1:3.5 f=105mm · Mamiya 105mm f/3.5 TLR · Mamiya C330 105mm · Mamiya C220 105mm · Mamiya Sekor 105mm DS · Mamiya Sekor 105mm D · マミヤ セコール 105mm F3.5 · マミヤC330 105mm · マミヤ 二眼 105mm

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5, chrome, Seikosha-S · 4 elements in 3 groups (Mamiya C3 manual) · Seikosha-S, 1s–1/500, B, M-X sync Mamiya TLR 1962 — —
Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5, black, Seiko (4-element) · 4 elements in 3 groups (Mamiya C220 manual) · Seiko, 1s–1/500, B, M-X sync Mamiya TLR 1966 — —
Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 D (5-element) · 5 elements in 3 groups (Mamiya C330 manual) · Seiko, 1s–1/500, B, M-X sync Mamiya TLR 1969 — —
Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 DS (viewing-lens diaphragm, self-timer) · 5 elements in 3 groups (Mamiya C330S manual) · Seiko, 1s–1/500, B, M-X sync, with self-timer Mamiya TLR 1983 — —
  1. Element counts, picture angles, filter and hood sizes and closest distances are from Mamiya's own body manuals hosted by Mike Butkus (C3, C220, C330, C330S); Mamiya published no separate data sheet for the TLR lenses that was found. No manual gives a weight or a blade count, so none is listed.
  2. Variant start years are the years of the bodies whose manuals first show each version (C3 1962, C22 1966, C330 1969, C330S 1983, per camera-wiki). Mamiya did not date the lenses themselves, and old stock overlapped the new.
  3. The 'Blue Dot' lenses (a blue dot on the shutter cocking lever, taken to mark the latest shutters) are reported by reviewers, not by any Mamiya document consulted; treat the blue dot as a shutter-era mark, not an optical one.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Chrome lens boards with SEIKOSHA-S on the shutter are the 1960s version; black boards with SEIKO are 1966 onward
  • The letters after f/3.5 sort the black lenses: none (4 elements, C220 era), D (5 elements, C330 era), DS (5 elements, viewing-lens diaphragm and self-timer)
  • Only the DS has an aperture ring on the upper, viewing lens
  • Front-reading versions (scales on the lens front) take 40.5 mm filters; side-reading versions (scales read from above) take 46 mm; the D and DS are 46 mm

Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5, chrome, Seikosha-S:

  • Chrome-finished shutter and lens boards; shutter face marked SEIKOSHA-S
  • The Mamiya C3 manual (1962) tables it as one of two 'Standard' lenses beside the 80mm f/2.8, 4 elements in 3 groups, picture angle 41°
  • Closest film-to-subject distance 1 ft 10 13/16 in on the C3's bellows, covering 7 1/16 × 7 1/16 in

Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5, black, Seiko (4-element):

  • Black lens boards, shutter face marked SEIKO; no D or DS after the focal length
  • The C220 manual lists it in two forms: Side Reading System (scales read from above, 46 mm filter, 48 mm hood) and Front Reading System (scales on the lens front, 40.5 mm filter, 42 mm hood)
  • Still 4 elements in 3 groups; picture angle 41°20′; closest film-to-subject 2 ft 1 25/64 in (64.5 cm) on the C220

Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 D (5-element):

  • D engraved after the aperture on the name ring; black Seiko shutter
  • 5 elements in 3 groups, minimum aperture f/32, 46 mm filter, 48 mm hood; closest film-to-subject 1 ft 11 in (58.4 cm) on the C330 (Lens Specifications Table)
  • The C330 manual's depth-of-field page shows the 105mm f/3.5 D cross-section: a cemented pair behind the diaphragm in place of the earlier single rear element

Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 DS (viewing-lens diaphragm, self-timer):

  • DS on the name ring; an aperture ring on the VIEWING lens as well as the taking lens, with a distance scale on the viewing lens for reading depth of field
  • Self-timer lever on the shutter; the C330S manual: 'this lens-shutter has a built-in self-timer'
  • 5 elements in 3 groups, f/3.5–32, 46 mm filter, closest film-to-subject 58.4 cm (C330S manual; Japanese Wikipedia gives 0.584 m and a 46 mm screw-in attachment)

Specifications

Formula
Tessar-type: 4 elements in 3 groups (chrome and early black Seiko lenses), recomputed to 5 elements in 3 groups for the D and DS
Construction
5 elements / 3 groups
Aperture range
f/3.5–f/32
Shutter
In the lens: Seikosha-S on the chrome lenses, Seiko on the black lenses, 1s–1/500 and B, M-X flash sync at every speed; the DS adds a self-timer
Min. focus
0.584 m
Filter
46 mm
Years manufactured
1962
Country
Japan

What reviewers say

Optical formula — Tessar-type: 4 elements in 3 groups (chrome and early black Seiko lenses), recomputed to 5 elements in 3 groups for the D and DS

History

The 105mm f/3.5 is the longer of the two lenses Mamiya called standard for its interchangeable-lens twin-lens reflexes. The 1962 C3 manual tables it beside the 80mm f/2.8 under the heading Standard, a four-element, three-group anastigmat with a 41° picture angle, and describes it as an all-purpose lens for portraiture and general landscapes. On the C-series bellows it reaches 1 ft 10 13/16 in from film to subject, covering about 7 in square, which is closer than any fixed-lens TLR of the day. The lens pair sits on a single board with its own leaf shutter, Seikosha-S on the chrome lenses, and the shutter is cocked by hand on the C3, C33 and C220 or by the body’s crank on the C330.

The generations are read from the shutter finish and the letters after the aperture. The chrome Seikosha-S lens is the 1960s version, the only chrome 105 that camera-wiki lists (the 80 and 180 had an earlier Seikosha-MX, 1 to 1/400, but no MX 105 is recorded). The black Seiko lens that arrived with the C22 and C220 kept the four-element optics; the C220 manual lists it in both front-reading and side-reading forms, which take 40.5 mm and 46 mm filters respectively. The C330 manual of 1969 then tables a 105mm f/3.5 D at five elements in three groups, f/3.5 to f/32, closest distance 58.4 cm, and its depth-of-field page shows the new section with a cemented pair behind the diaphragm. The DS, shown in the C330S manual of 1983 and in Japanese Wikipedia’s product list at 3 groups 5 elements and 0.584 m, keeps those optics and adds a diaphragm on the viewing lens, so depth of field can be judged on the screen, plus a self-timer in the shutter. The manual warns that the viewing-lens aperture does not interlock with the taking lens.

Reviewers do not test the 105 in isolation, but the notes that exist agree. Tony Warren, who used a C33 for architecture and portraits, calls the 105 very sharp and extremely sharp in two 35mmc pieces, prefers its perspective to the 80’s, and notes only that the screen is dim at full aperture. Anton McCloud’s C330 review rates the whole range highly and airs the collector argument over Blue Dot lenses: whether the blue dot on the cocking lever marks better glass or simply the last shutters. No Mamiya document consulted mentions the blue dot, and the C330S manual’s lens table gives the DS the same five-element formula as the D, so the dot is best read as a shutter-era mark.

When buying, the shutter matters more than the glass. These are Seiko and Seikosha leaf shutters from the 1960s to 1980s, and a slow 1 s or a lazy 1/500 is common; Warren’s 105 had needed a stripped gear replaced before he bought it. Check that the cocking lever returns and that the M-X selector is on X for electronic flash. Check the viewing lens too, because a fogged or scratched upper element ruins focusing though not the negative. A DS on a C220 or earlier body works, but its self-timer and viewing-lens diaphragm are the only reasons to pay the premium over a D, and a chrome lens on a C330 needs the body’s older 105 distance scale rather than the DS scale.

What could not be sourced: a weight or blade count for any version (Mamiya’s manuals give neither), a launch price in yen or dollars, the years the D and DS actually went on sale rather than the years of the bodies whose manuals first show them, and whether a 105 was offered with the 1956 Mamiyaflex C.

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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 taken with the Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 (C-series TLR)
Mamiya C33 Professional fitted with the chrome 105mm f/3.5 pair (Rémi Kaupp) — Rémi Kaupp, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 (C-series TLR)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $170 across 46 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-19 (middle half $140–$250). 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 2026-09-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Mamiya-Sekor 180mm f/4.5 (C-series TLR) · Mamiya-Sekor 55mm f/4.5 (C-series TLR) · Mamiya-Sekor 80mm f/2.8 (C-series TLR)

Sources (12)

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.