Mamiya C33 Twin Lens Reflex
Mamiya C33 Professional is an interchangable lens TLR camera manufactured by Mamiya and produced between 1965-69.
Mamiya C series is a professional level of TLR medium format cameras. They have interchangeable lens system. This feature is on very few TLR cameras like Contaflex TLR and Koni-Omegaflex. Bellows focusing allows extreme close up photography, which is not easy with other TLRs. Auto cocking of the shutter feature is existent only on the C33 and the C330 series cameras.
Specifications
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- Film 120 roll, picture size 6x6cm
- Lens-Shutter assembly: interchangeable, accepts all Mamiya C-series TLR lenses
- Taking Lens: (in the pictures) Mamiya-Sekor 180 mm f/4.5, iris diaphragm, 4 elements in 3 groups, (an unique telephoto lens)
- Aperture: f/4.5-f/32, settings: on the lens-shutter assembly
- Focus range: 1.2-10m +inf
- Standart lens is 105mm f/3.5
- Focusing: Fresnel ground glass screen, bellows focusing
- Pointer in the viewfinder shows exposure increase which metered a hand posemeter, as bellows are extended and,
- Auto Parallax correction scale for the lens beeing used (for this purpose the parallax correction lever must be set as to the lens, left side of the camera)
- Focus knobs: two, bilateral, on the lowest front side of the camera
- Finder lens: (in the pictures) Mamiya-Sekor 180 mm, f/4.5
- Shutter: (in the pictures) [1] Seiko MX; Speeds: 1-1/500 +B, settings on the lens-shutter assembly
- Shutter release button: right lower front side of the camera, only works after film advance and operate once when Multiple exposure/film stop selector must be on Rollfilm (double exposure prevention), w/ cable release socket
- Shutter releasing is also possible by the lever on the Lens-Shutter assembly
- Caution: If there is no film in the camera the Shutter release button do not work, even with the shutter cocked
- Winding lever: also auto cocking of the shutter on the lens by an advance stroke, right side of the camera
- The shutter can be cocked by a lever on the lens/shutter assembly, but no film advance.
- Multiple exposure / film stop selector: in front of the winding lever,
- Viewfinder: (in the pictures) Porroflex finder Pat.Pend. M, eye level reflex mirror, image in correct orientation, manufactured by Nippon Kogaku(Nikon), Japan, Tokyo, an early version
- Interchangeable such as Waist level, Metered CDS Porrofinder, Prism finder and some others
- Standart finder is Waist level finder.
- Frame counter: left side, advance type, resets via opening the back cover
- Flash PC socket: on the lens-shutter assembly, beneath right side of the finder lens
- Flash sync: M, X, via a lever on the lens-shutter assembly
- Back cover: removable, w/ red window and built-in lid, to ascertain whether or not the camera contains film
- Cold-shoe
- Strap lugs
- Tripod socket: 1/4″
- Body: steel, very solid as rock; Weight: +2 kilograms
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Mamiya C33 c.1965 image by Süleyman Demir (Image rights) |
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Mamiya C33 c.1965 Images by Süleyman Demir (Image rights) |


Notes and references
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- ↑ There is different objectives between 55mm and 250mm which can be divided roughly into two series as chrome and black. The chrome series heve three different Seikosha shutters as MX, S and SLV. The black series have Seiko shutter. The only exception is black 80mm f//3.7 which has Copal shutter. The Seikosha-MX’s max speed is 1/400, all the others 1/500. In general all variations fit on all cameras.
Smaole photos:
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by 21millimeter
by 21millimeter
by Leonard…
by Leonard…
by s.goovy…
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Video Review:
Yashica Mat 124 Review
When I took this step forward, back to film, I wanted something more than what I could get from 35mm.
So I started looking at medium format cameras.
The Yashica Mat-124 was one of the first medium format cameras that I got, a birthday present from my wife.
Yashica Mat-124
Review:
The Yashica Mat-124 is a twin lens reflex (TLR) waist level finder medium format camera.
This is a Rolleiflex clone, maybe the optics are not in the same league, but I’m very pleased with the results that the four elements in three groups, 80mm 1:3.5, Yashinon lens delivers.
In the lens-board it has the viewing, top, and taking, bottom, lenses.
The shutter speed and aperture controls, round dials on each side of the lenses.
The flash socket, top right and flash synchronizer lever, the yellow dot behind the aperture control dial.
The red dot, at five o’clock of the taking lens is the delayed shutter release lever.
On the bottom left there is the shutter release and lock lever, in lock position.
Above the lens-board, to the right of the embossed brand and model, that round “eye” is the window of the CdS light meter, powered by a defunct PX625 mercury battery.
I solved the problem, in this and other cameras with an adapter to zinc-air batteries, used in hearing aid devices.
That big round knob is the focus control, turning it makes the lens-board go back or forth allowing the user to control the focus on the ground glass.
On this kind of cameras the focus achieved in the ground glass is the same of the taking lens, at full aperture, due to the solidary movement of the lenses. One has to be careful with the parallax error, at close range, caused by the distance between the lenses.
The distance scale is engraved on the outer rim opposite the depth of field scale engraved on the chrome plate.
The two smaller knobs, top right and bottom left are the spool locking knobs.
On the bottom right is the battery compartment with its chrome lid.
Probably you have already noticed something missing on the top left. I removed the accessory shoe, for two reasons: one, I don’t plan to use a flash with this camera and two, the camera doesn’t fit the case with it on place.
The big film wind crank, that doubles its function cocking the shutter, dominates the scene on this side.
When its winded all the way clockwise it winds the film to the next exposure.
Winding it back, CCW, it sets the shutter.
I love that “taka-taka-taka…” sound.
The window over the crank shows the type of film being used 12ex (120) or 24ex (220).
The window on the top right shows the number of exposures taken.
The loading process of the rollfilm avoids the use of a red window by aligning the start marking of the film with an arrow on the film path, in the camera. From there all we have to do is wind the film to the next frame.
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Here it is with its beautiful brown leather case, with a story of its own
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You can see it with the hood opened, ready for action, inside it there is a 3x loupe, that can be flipped up, for critical focusing.
There is also this sports finder, for fast action photography. It’s a great asset, you know what I mean if you ever used a waist level finder camera before. In the finder one gets a left-right inverted image, that can be puzzling if you’re not used to it and are trying to follow a moving subject.
The light meter is quite accurate but gives a too wide reading.
For critical readings demands for proximity or ingenuity.
This is a very nice and usable camera, if you don’t mind to be stopped by people on the street that want to admire your camera, and also if you don’t bother to carry more than a kilogram worth of camera.
I think it pays…
If you liked these I have more on this set
Features:
Type: Twin-lens reflex camera
Lens: YASHINON 80 1:3.5 lens, 4 elements in 3 groups
Shutter: COPAL-SV shutter, speeds 1 to 1/500″ and B
Delayed timer; M or X flash synchronizer selector.
Finder: YASHINON 80 mm 1:2.8 viewing lens.
Fresnel field lens for corner to-corner brightness, 3X magnifying lens for critical focusing.
Eye-level sports-finder frame incorporated in the viewfinder hoodrg
Exposure meter: Built-in match-needle CdS type
Film speed range 25 to 400 ISO
Meter on when the viewfinder hood is open
Powered by 1,3 V, PX 625, mercury battery
Film advance: Crank-handle film advance with automatic film stop, simultaneously sets the shutter for the next exposure
Automatic resetting exposure counter displays the number of exposed frames.
Focusing: Extra-large knob extends or retracts the front panel to secure focus on the subject
Distance scale calibrated in both feet and meters (3.3 ft to infinity; 1 m to infinity).
Film: 120 (12 exposures) or 220 (24 exposures)
Other features: Aperture scale from F3,5 to F32.
Adjustable film pressure plate for use with with both 12 and 24 exposure film
Exposure load reminder window
Tthreaded cable release socket
Bay-1 filter mount (Rollei compatible) for 30 mm filters.
Dimensions: 77 x 148 x 101 mm
Weight: 1,100 Kg
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