looksharp65
Well-known member
Recently I acquired a rare binocular made by the Japanese camera manufacturer Mamiya.
Mamiya has a solid reputation for its professional-grade medium format cameras that were made to compete with the world famous Swedish Hasselblad cameras, which they did successfully.
Their line was extensive with 6x6 TLR system cameras with interchangeable twin lenses, 6x7 SLR system cameras, 6x4.5 SLR system cameras, 6x7 rangefinder system cameras, 35 mm SLR and 35 mm compact cameras.
They were most successful with the medium format cameras and are still in the business (2014).
Like quite a few other Japanese camera brands Mamiya also manufactured binoculars, even if the selection of models does not seem to be as extensive as the more renowned brands like Nikon/Mikron, Asahi Pentax, Minolta and to some extent Olympus, just to name a few.
A couple of years ago I saw a 10x40 Mamiya roof sold locally. It reminded me about the Swift Trilyte models in appearance, if I remember correctly.
I have also seen pictures of one or two 7x20 or 7x21 reverse porro or possibly porro II models.
Oddly, the model I obtained does not specify objective lens diameter. Only the magnification (7x) and the FOV, a whooping 155 m, is engraved on the end cap.
The objectives seem to be about 28 mm, and the 7x seems correct. The exit pupil diameter seems to be 4 mm, so this is a 7x28 or very close to that configuration.
There seems to be very few 7x roofs with a wide angle view, and among vintage roofs this is the only model I have encountered that could be described as ”wide angle”.
With the simplified way to calculate AFOV, this would be 62 degrees. This is considerably wider than the current bunch of 7x roofs, with the Zen-Ray 7x36 and the 7x42 FL as the main exceptions.
Lifting up the Mamiya immediately reveals this is a product made with a quality unsurpassed.
Anyone who has handled a '70s Japanese SLR like a Nikon FM, Olympus OM-1 or similar know what I mean. The build is very tight, solid without being chunky, delicate but not fragile, substantial without being too heavy.
The focus knob moves as smoothly as it did the day it left the factory.
The resistance is the same throughout the entire focus range.
The diopter moves with the same smooth action and the central hinge requires a fair deal of effort to change the IPD. I prefer this over a too loose action.
The eyecups are of the ”box” type and cannot be adjusted. They could be compared to 13 millimeter diaphragms that float about 3 or 4 millimeters above a slightly larger ocular lens.
They are not solid (hard) and don't seem to be ordinary rubber, rather some vinyl plastic.
The leatherette has not been worn anywhere and has a ”dry hand” with considerable friction.
The strap lugs are small chrome or nickel plated knobs with a small hole where a spring ring is fastened. The thin strap is made of solid plastic and cannot be adjusted in length.
Apart from the vinyl eyecups, which I suspect might be susceptible to wear and to drying out, although it has not happened with this sample, and the cheap plastic strap, everything oozes quality. The mechanics are absolutely first-rate, at least of Leitz class and I can't see what there would be to improve.
The lenses seem to be single-coated or possibly double-coated, showing a blue and a peach-coloured reflection. The front lenses are situated behind plano cover glass like the original Swarovski SLC 8x30, possibly indicating this is a weather-proofed model.
When I bought these, it was from sheer curiosity since I don't really need any more binoculars.
Well aware that they would not be multicoated or phase-coated, and that the wide angle design would probably mean very poor edges, my expectations weren't set too high.
The view is however very decent, keeping all the possible drawbacks in mind. In fact, it has surprisingly good characteristics as a whole, but then also some drawbacks when compared to modern roofs.
As expected, their eye relief is very short. On the other hand, it doesn't need to be pushed towards the eyes and it is fairly forgiving with eye placement.
The calculated AFOV seems to be about right, compared to the Meostar 8x32 that has a similar AFOV.
Central sharpness is very, very good. Sweet spot is nothing to write home about but a reasonable part of the FOV is usable with a direct view.
The curvature of field is very pronounced, not to say exaggerated, but with some astuteness this can be used for obtaining an extremely massive depth of field.
One of the most remarkable things about the optics is that the edges are super sharp when focused.
Collimation is perfect. There is a pincushion distortion that begins quite close to the center and gets stronger the closer to the edge you get.
The lack of modern multicoatings and its (presumably) aluminium prism coatings effectively ensure that this binocular could not be used during the night hours.
It is simply quite dim.
However, the colour rendition is unbelievably accurate, so whatever the Mamiya engineers did, they had natural colour rendition in mind.
With the limited choice of lens coatings and prism coatings, they did better than many of their younger colleagues do today. It would be very interesting to see a transmission graph from these, but I do know what my eyes tell me. So far, I have found no colour it doesn't reproduce correctly.
Since the weather is overcast I haven't had much possibility to evaluate its backlight properties.
I have seen some ghosting that probably emanates from the flat cover glasses in front of the objectives. The roof spikes are very discrete. If it means anything to anyone, they are located exactly 90 degrees to each other.
The close focus is poor, very poor, maybe 6 meters. But the strong field curvature and the easily adjusted diopter can be used to get a decent view at about 3 meters, albeit not the ideal solution for close views.
Summary:
This is a model I haven't seen described anywhere else.
It is apparently made in the late sixties, seventies or early eighties and undoubtedly represents state-of-the-art of its era.
It may have been made to compete with the premium brands or as a proof of concept.
The fact that it isn't mentioned anywhere may suggest that very few of these were made and sold.
Possible reasons for this may be too high production costs or low sales due to a high asking price.
It may also have been released too late, meaning that its style was slightly out of fashion.
The impression of quality in every detail is a hallmark of Japanese camera manufacturers, and it is very apparent that this model follows that tradition.
It is made to last forever but not to be handled carelessly, and this may be one of the reasons why this is a rare model. Binoculars are often handled with less care than cameras, so they could either be made with generous dimensions like the Russian binoculars or (in particular) the Iron Curtain binocular Zeiss Jena 7x40, or cheaply made like many of the Japanese porros. I believe that the current average build is adequate for the task, though.
I feel privileged to own this binocular, not because it's the most expensive or ”best” binocular ever made, but because it is a greeting from the past and a mark of honour to the engineers and craftsmen who constructed and put it together.
For some reasons Mamiya's binoculars weren't, or maybe supposedly weren't competitive.
Who knows what they may have achieved and what status they would have had today if they hadn't discontinued the sport optics division.
//L
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/VINTAGE-PAIRE-DE-JUMELLES-MAMIYA-2-8-687019-7X-155-1000M-BINOCULARS-COMPACT-ZOOM-/201040747435?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC
E:3160
Mamiya has a solid reputation for its professional-grade medium format cameras that were made to compete with the world famous Swedish Hasselblad cameras, which they did successfully.
Their line was extensive with 6x6 TLR system cameras with interchangeable twin lenses, 6x7 SLR system cameras, 6x4.5 SLR system cameras, 6x7 rangefinder system cameras, 35 mm SLR and 35 mm compact cameras.
They were most successful with the medium format cameras and are still in the business (2014).
Like quite a few other Japanese camera brands Mamiya also manufactured binoculars, even if the selection of models does not seem to be as extensive as the more renowned brands like Nikon/Mikron, Asahi Pentax, Minolta and to some extent Olympus, just to name a few.
A couple of years ago I saw a 10x40 Mamiya roof sold locally. It reminded me about the Swift Trilyte models in appearance, if I remember correctly.
I have also seen pictures of one or two 7x20 or 7x21 reverse porro or possibly porro II models.
Oddly, the model I obtained does not specify objective lens diameter. Only the magnification (7x) and the FOV, a whooping 155 m, is engraved on the end cap.
The objectives seem to be about 28 mm, and the 7x seems correct. The exit pupil diameter seems to be 4 mm, so this is a 7x28 or very close to that configuration.
There seems to be very few 7x roofs with a wide angle view, and among vintage roofs this is the only model I have encountered that could be described as ”wide angle”.
With the simplified way to calculate AFOV, this would be 62 degrees. This is considerably wider than the current bunch of 7x roofs, with the Zen-Ray 7x36 and the 7x42 FL as the main exceptions.
Lifting up the Mamiya immediately reveals this is a product made with a quality unsurpassed.
Anyone who has handled a '70s Japanese SLR like a Nikon FM, Olympus OM-1 or similar know what I mean. The build is very tight, solid without being chunky, delicate but not fragile, substantial without being too heavy.
The focus knob moves as smoothly as it did the day it left the factory.
The resistance is the same throughout the entire focus range.
The diopter moves with the same smooth action and the central hinge requires a fair deal of effort to change the IPD. I prefer this over a too loose action.
The eyecups are of the ”box” type and cannot be adjusted. They could be compared to 13 millimeter diaphragms that float about 3 or 4 millimeters above a slightly larger ocular lens.
They are not solid (hard) and don't seem to be ordinary rubber, rather some vinyl plastic.
The leatherette has not been worn anywhere and has a ”dry hand” with considerable friction.
The strap lugs are small chrome or nickel plated knobs with a small hole where a spring ring is fastened. The thin strap is made of solid plastic and cannot be adjusted in length.
Apart from the vinyl eyecups, which I suspect might be susceptible to wear and to drying out, although it has not happened with this sample, and the cheap plastic strap, everything oozes quality. The mechanics are absolutely first-rate, at least of Leitz class and I can't see what there would be to improve.
The lenses seem to be single-coated or possibly double-coated, showing a blue and a peach-coloured reflection. The front lenses are situated behind plano cover glass like the original Swarovski SLC 8x30, possibly indicating this is a weather-proofed model.
When I bought these, it was from sheer curiosity since I don't really need any more binoculars.
Well aware that they would not be multicoated or phase-coated, and that the wide angle design would probably mean very poor edges, my expectations weren't set too high.
The view is however very decent, keeping all the possible drawbacks in mind. In fact, it has surprisingly good characteristics as a whole, but then also some drawbacks when compared to modern roofs.
As expected, their eye relief is very short. On the other hand, it doesn't need to be pushed towards the eyes and it is fairly forgiving with eye placement.
The calculated AFOV seems to be about right, compared to the Meostar 8x32 that has a similar AFOV.
Central sharpness is very, very good. Sweet spot is nothing to write home about but a reasonable part of the FOV is usable with a direct view.
The curvature of field is very pronounced, not to say exaggerated, but with some astuteness this can be used for obtaining an extremely massive depth of field.
One of the most remarkable things about the optics is that the edges are super sharp when focused.
Collimation is perfect. There is a pincushion distortion that begins quite close to the center and gets stronger the closer to the edge you get.
The lack of modern multicoatings and its (presumably) aluminium prism coatings effectively ensure that this binocular could not be used during the night hours.
It is simply quite dim.
However, the colour rendition is unbelievably accurate, so whatever the Mamiya engineers did, they had natural colour rendition in mind.
With the limited choice of lens coatings and prism coatings, they did better than many of their younger colleagues do today. It would be very interesting to see a transmission graph from these, but I do know what my eyes tell me. So far, I have found no colour it doesn't reproduce correctly.
Since the weather is overcast I haven't had much possibility to evaluate its backlight properties.
I have seen some ghosting that probably emanates from the flat cover glasses in front of the objectives. The roof spikes are very discrete. If it means anything to anyone, they are located exactly 90 degrees to each other.
The close focus is poor, very poor, maybe 6 meters. But the strong field curvature and the easily adjusted diopter can be used to get a decent view at about 3 meters, albeit not the ideal solution for close views.
Summary:
This is a model I haven't seen described anywhere else.
It is apparently made in the late sixties, seventies or early eighties and undoubtedly represents state-of-the-art of its era.
It may have been made to compete with the premium brands or as a proof of concept.
The fact that it isn't mentioned anywhere may suggest that very few of these were made and sold.
Possible reasons for this may be too high production costs or low sales due to a high asking price.
It may also have been released too late, meaning that its style was slightly out of fashion.
The impression of quality in every detail is a hallmark of Japanese camera manufacturers, and it is very apparent that this model follows that tradition.
It is made to last forever but not to be handled carelessly, and this may be one of the reasons why this is a rare model. Binoculars are often handled with less care than cameras, so they could either be made with generous dimensions like the Russian binoculars or (in particular) the Iron Curtain binocular Zeiss Jena 7x40, or cheaply made like many of the Japanese porros. I believe that the current average build is adequate for the task, though.
I feel privileged to own this binocular, not because it's the most expensive or ”best” binocular ever made, but because it is a greeting from the past and a mark of honour to the engineers and craftsmen who constructed and put it together.
For some reasons Mamiya's binoculars weren't, or maybe supposedly weren't competitive.
Who knows what they may have achieved and what status they would have had today if they hadn't discontinued the sport optics division.
//L
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/VINTAGE-PAIRE-DE-JUMELLES-MAMIYA-2-8-687019-7X-155-1000M-BINOCULARS-COMPACT-ZOOM-/201040747435?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC
E:3160Attachments
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