Talk:Mamiya

Mamiya Camera Museum

The direct link to the Japanese history site no longer works (e.g. http://www.mamiya-op.co.jp/home/camera/museum/top3.htm/index.htm redirects to the home page) but some of the child links still work (e.g. http://www.mamiya.co.jp/home/camera/museum/saishu-page/1960/mamiya35-ruby-standard.htm). Anyone have a new top level link? -- Edjpgcom

I don't understand Japanese, but I think it's http://www.mamiya-op.co.jp/company/history -- artysmokes 17:58, 23 August 2010 (EDT)

I think you're looking for that. --rebollo_fr 12:27, 24 August 2010 (EDT)

T.S.M. Lenses — questions to be researched/answered !!

As you'll know, I am working on the Mamiya Six and its variations (see my sandbox in user:GitzoCollector).
A number of Mamiya Six III models, all produced after the war, have T.S.M. Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 lenses (set in both Copal and NKS shutters). This is speculation at present, but I believe that the TSM lenses were manufactured by Mamiya at its Setagaya (世田谷) plant. Reasoning is as follows:

1) All T.S.M. lenses are associated with post-war production Mamiya Six III
2) Mamiya bought the Setagaya plant in March 1946
3) The first new lens produced at Setagaya was the Neocon, which means neo-con[struction] according the Mamiya Company History
4) The Neocon was introduced in July 1947, so what kind lenses were they making between March 46 and July 47?
5) The first Neocon are actually labelled Tōwa Kōki Neocon (see here), then come the Setagaya Kōki.
6) Looking at the Mamiya Six serial numbers, the T.S.M. Anastigmat and Tōwa Kōki Neocon run parallel for a while, but there is no overlap between T.S.M. Anastigmat and Setagaya Kōki.

My guess is that T.S.M. either stands for

• Tōwa Setagaya Mamiya
• Tōwa Seiichi Mamiya

What's now needed is  :
a) a detailed trawl trough the adverts and brochures of 1946 and 1947 to see whether there are different 75mm lens options offered (Anastigmat vs Neocon), and when.
b) we need to work out what the Setagaya Plant was called before it was bought by Mamiya. AFAIK it was incorporated as Setagaya Kōki K.K. (世田谷光機㈱) in 1950. What did it trade under before? Tōwa Kōki ??

--Dirk (GitzoCollector 05:34, 17 December 2010 (EST))

You've found very interesting information! I think that you have a strong case that the Setagaya plant was originally a small optical company called Tōwa Kōki, making the T.S.M. lens. For the meaning of the initials, T for Tōwa and S for Setagaya are plausible; M for Mamiya is possible but not certain. S. for Seiichi is much less likely in my opinion, because the proper Japanese order is Mamiya Seiichi (family name-given name), not the reverse, and I don't think Japanese people were much accustomed to the Western given name-family name order at the time. I'll check through the documents I can find. --rebollo_fr 13:43, 17 December 2010 (EST)

Of course S. for Seiichi is nonsense...too late at night, wasn't thinking straight ...that it should be TMS if it were. Keen to see what you can dig up...and any of the early lens ads...--GitzoCollector 16:40, 17 December 2010 (EST)

I have found a COMPLICATION: I myself actually have a Mamiya Six IIa (see here) with a TSM in an Olympus-Tokyo-N shutter....and that is war-time. It is possible, but not that likley, that someone over time chnaged the front cell.--GitzoCollector 16:53, 17 December 2010 (EST)

I've looked through my image archive and have found a number of wartime cameras with T.S.M. Anastigmat lenses. The lens does not appear on any other Japanese camera of the period, as far as I know. After giving it some thought, I would say that maybe I answered too fast, and there is no real reason that the T.S.M. is related to Tōwa Kōki, only the T. and S. initials that might mean Tōwa and Setagaya (but could have many other meanings). On the Tōwa lens, I've found two mentions over the Internet of it being paired with a "T-Merit" shutter [2] [3]. This slightly extravagant shutter name might be an early designation for the "Stamina", but of course I'm extrapolating on very thin evidence. --rebollo_fr 17:52, 17 December 2010 (EST)