Mamiya Sekor 500 DTL

I like to collect older cameras, and someone is offering me a 500 DTL for 25

bux, with 1:2 50mm lens.... Is it a camera worth spendin a little money on?

Keep in mind, I just collect, assuming some day they may have some value.

search tool, blah, I think I found what I needed to know, thanks anyways!

I doubt that it will return you anything on your investment, however they are a great user, so if you want to burn some film...... $25 'aint much.

 

Tony

Hi!

 

I bought one of these from Evilbay recently and I think it's a very good camera. Being an M42 thread it will of course also take screw fit thread Pentax Takumar lenses, along with Zeiss and a 'thousand' other makes. Compared with modern cameras it's certainly very heavy as I'm sure you would expect. One thing with old Mamiyas is that they had a habit of regularly completely changing their lens mounts, so should you ever decide to collect a few always keep this in mind. For more information Ron Herron's got the lot (I should think) on his webpages.

 

http://www.herron.50megs.com/

 

I hope that helps.

 

Best Wishes.

 

Graham.

Depends on the condition, but $25 <b>with lens</b> is a bargain. <br>

According to this <u><a href=http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Mamiya/Mamiya-Sekor-500-DTL.html>Cameras Price Guide</a></u> it can be up to $55-75. McKeowns also shows $50-70.<br>

<br>

Though, classic-camera.com shows only $20-30.

I used to have one brand new and liked it very much.

Is this the model with the spotmeter? If the spotmeter works, it is definitely worth 25 dollars. Just be careful with mounting M42 lenses with open aperture metering lugs from other makes. Some may be very hard to take off. Do a search on this I am sure something will come up.

 

Actually any decent M42 camera from Pentax, Yashica, Mamiya etc. is a good deal for 25 dollars. They are worth many times that amount in their picture taking abilities and build quality.

I have a 1000DTL, very similar except for the faster maximum shutter speed and a self timer. The spot-meter is very handy. The metering switch is integrated with the winding lever, which is unusual but works pretty well.

Camera is worth around $15-$25, no more, despite what any 'guide' might say. They are not very good cameras and are prone to jamming. They also use an unobtainable battery.

With regard to the battery used, I always found the S76 rather easy to obtain. Mamiya was one of the first 35mm SLRs to move beyond the mercury button cells. As for reliability, my experience is only about 50% of the TL & DTL's (mostly via eBay & camera swaps) will now have working shutters and fewer have working meters. If one can be found to be working in all respects then it's a decent camera in my opinion. Reliability compared to other brands may be a bit less than average but probably a bit better than similar vintage Petri, Exakta & Miranda. I agree, they don't fetch much. The newer MX & DSX series may well be a step up in quality from TL & DTL (my experience) and feature interchangeable fresnel screens although more plastic parts inside the body. I have also found Mamiya/Sekor optics to be quite decent. Some say most were actually Tomioka designs and I hear few complaints about that lens maker. Finally, the few normal focal length lenses I had a chance to repair (oily aperture blades) were not difficult at all despite other commenters who said they were a pain! One can also draw their own conclusions about Mamiya/Sekor 35mm SLRs & lenses based on actual experience rather than hearsay. I collect & repair most all brands so have some basis for comparison.