Help identifying old rangefinder ...

[Unregistered]

Hi, I hope this is the correct forum to ask this.

I am trying to identify a camera I once had 30-some years ago when I was in my late teens. It was my first "real" camera, and it was a Mamiya-Sekor rangefinder of some kind. I can't remember the model name or number to save my life, and lately I've been kicking myself for selling it years ago.

I've looked on some websites, and the closest I can come is the Auto-Deluxe model, but the photos of that model just don't look right. Again, this was 30-some years ago.

It had a 1.7 lens (I remember very specifically since it was one digit faster than my brother's Pentax 1.8) and the distinguishing feature I remember most was a meter switch that was circular on the rear that I was always leaving on.

I bought it from a friend of my brother, who brought it back from overseas, so it may be a model that wasn't common here in the States. I don't think I've ever seen another one like it. This was (not to show my true age) about 1970. The camera was not new then, I always assumed mid-late 60's in vintage.

I am hoping to identify what it was, and maybe even find another one like it. Yes, I've searched Ebay for the past month or so with nothing like it showing up.

I'm now realizing that there are things you can do with something like that which you can't with a SLR or a point-and-shoot.

Anyway, any help would be appreciated.

TIA

 

[dmr]

Oops!

Oops!

That was me who just posted the query for help identifying, and I guess I wan't logged in properly. Sorry. Hey, I'm new here.

 

[jlw]

Info is sparse, but according to my references the "Mamiya/Sekor" name was used only on the SLRs and lenses; the 35mm RFs, medium-format cameras etc. were just called "Mamiya." That may be one reason you've had trouble finding info.

Having said that: Could it have been the Mamiya 35 Super Deluxe? Here's a picture (click this.)

The one pictured has a 48mm f/1.5 (!) lens, although it wouldn't surprise me if there had been a slightly less expensive model with an f/1.7 as used on most other Mamiya RFs. Note that this lens is marked "Mamiya-Sekor" (although the camera body itself was just marked "Mamiya") which could be why you recalled this as the name.

It looks as if the Super Deluxe was a follow-on model to the Auto Deluxe, which you said was not your target camera. That would make sense, since the Auto Deluxe had a selenium meter (which needs no batteries) and therefore wouldn't have needed a meter switch on the back. The Super Deluxe had a battery-powered CdS meter, and there's a cover-off picture on the above site which suggests that the power switch WAS indeed on the back cover, just as you remember.

The Super Deluxe was introduced circa 1965, and the website for Britain's Amateur Photographer magazine would be happy to sell you a copy of their original test report, a copy of the original instruction manual, or even a repair manual.

As to finding the actual camera, well, that might be a bit harder. Good luck and good hunting! It looks like an interesting beast well worth tracking down, especially the f/1.5-lens model.


PS -- I see there's one for sale right now on the Ritz Collectibles website, with a missing meter window, for a fast twelve bucks!

 

[dmr]

Thanks

Thanks

Wow, thanks for the quick reply.

That photo looks closer than the Auto-Deluxe, but just doesn't look 100% right. I think I would have remembered the superlative "Super-Deluxe" in the model name, but again, this was wayyyyy back. The film advance lever does look like the one I had. If there was a photo of the rear showing the top eyepiece and meter switch I'm sure I could tell for sure.

I *swear* the lens was 1.7 and not 1.5, I think, anyway. {searching back thru rusty brain cells}

You are probably correct that the "Sekor" only appeared on the lens and not on the body.

Anyway, this is more promising that I saw before, and that one might be a good one to look for.

I would *love* to get a Leica, but there's absolutely no way I can justify the expense.

I was also looking at that newer Voigtlander as a possible option as I would like to get a rangefinder again. I would kinda like to get the same one I had and loved, but ... oh well.

Anyway, thanks again for the quick response and photo.

 

[jlw]

Did you visit this page? (click this text for link.) It has the most information I've seen anywhere on Mamiya RFs.

Turns out there was an f/1.7 version of the Super Deluxe, with slightly different trim, and a couple of other variants near the same era that also could have been your camera.

Looks as if Mamiya made a lot of interesting 35mm RF designs! Maybe you should think about becoming our site's first Mamiya RF collector -- it would be an interesting challenge to track down all the variants -- and because collectors seem to have ignored most of them, it might not be very expensive...

 

[rover]

I have given up trying to ID the old Yashica RF camera we had, my first real camera. My father gave it to my uncle, who says it is hanging on a hook at his house, but he keeps forgetting to take it down for me to look at. I have shown my father pictures of Yashica RF cameras and he can't remember which it was, and I have no memory.

 

[wierdcollector]

If you decide to collect Mamiyas, you'll also need to collect Mansfield Eye-tronic, Pro Pro-Matic, Tower 18-A, Tower 18B, as well as several other variants. Trust me, GAS is a slippery slope. Been there, done that, got the cameras for proof, lol. By the way, I think your camera would have been the Super Deluxe since most other Mamiyas with f1.7 were selenium metered and didn't need a battery, so no metering switch. Hope this helps.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The "super-Deluxe" model also carries the "Mamiya/Sekor" name, so your memory of it must be good. These must be on the rare side, at least in the US. Patience on EBay will turn one up, but in the meantime there are some very fine/common RF's on EBay that can be had for ~$30 or so.

The Konica S2 is a full-size RF with a great finder and very sharp lens, even wide-open. Get one from a seller that has REALLY tested it, not just "I can't see why it won't work just fine" type.

Konica s2 Gallery is here: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/719

I kept my 1st good camera, a Minolta Hi-Matic 9 from 1969. It would have been easy to find!

ROVER: Good excuse to visit your Uncle!

 

[dmr]

Did you visit this page? (click this text for link.) It has the most information I've seen anywhere on Mamiya RFs.

Turns out there was an f/1.7 version of the Super Deluxe, with slightly different trim, and a couple of other variants near the same era that also could have been your camera.

Looks as if Mamiya made a lot of interesting 35mm RF designs! Maybe you should think about becoming our site's first Mamiya RF collector -- it would be an interesting challenge to track down all the variants -- and because collectors seem to have ignored most of them, it might not be very expensive...

I've visited it now, thanks. This one looks the closest to what I remember, so this is probably it. I think I'll just keep looking at Ebay and other used places.

As for collecting, I don't know. If I get one of these, I plan to use it. The one thing I'm finding that a rangefinder will give you that a SLR will not is one more speed slower for hand-held shots. Urban scenes is kinda my thing, and a couple times in the past few years I was shooting in the Chicago subway (SLR) and in a couple cases I sure could have used an extra f-stop.

The SLR has that very percussive >THWACK< which does intriduce vibration.

Anyway, thanks for everybody's quick replies here.