C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Mamiya ZF (1981) is a CS-mount 35mm SLR occupying the mid-tier of Mamiya's compact consumer SLR lineup alongside the ZE-2. It shares the CS bayonet mount and open-aperture TTL metering of its siblings, providing aperture-priority AE and a full manual exposure mode. The ZF represented a further refinement of the ZE line rather than a new direction - a polish pass that addressed handling ergonomics and exposure control without altering the optical or electronic fundamentals.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
Develop 35mm film
Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
Used prices are typically lower than the ZE-2 due to lower collector name recognition. Working examples tend to appear in the $40-130 range.
About this camera
A refined CS-mount SLR from Mamiya's brief 35mm program, offering both aperture-priority and full manual control.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Mamiya CS bayonet |
| Introduced | ~1981 |
| Shutter | ~1s - 1/1000s + B, electronic vertical metal |
| Flash sync | ~1/125s |
| Meter | TTL open-aperture silicon |
| Modes | Aperture-priority, manual |
| Battery | 2x AA |
| Mechanical fallback | No |
Mamiya's 35mm SLR program in the early 1980s produced a tight cluster of CS-mount bodies in rapid succession: the ZE, ZE-2, ZF, ZE-X, NC1000, NC1000s, and ZM Quartz all appeared within a few years of each other. The ZF sits in this group as a variant refined for slightly different market positioning - closer to the ZE-2 in capability, with adjustments that distinguished it at point of sale without requiring substantial engineering change.
Mamiya's strategic attention in this period was increasingly directed toward medium-format: the RB67 had established a strong professional reputation, the RZ67 was in development, and the 645 system was gaining traction in portrait and wedding studios. The 35mm CS-mount program was never the company's core business, and it wound down through the mid-to-late 1980s without a successor.
The ZF is a minor historical footnote within Mamiya's broader catalog. Its significance is primarily as a collector's piece for those documenting the full range of CS-mount bodies rather than as a camera with outsized cultural or photographic influence. The CS mount ecosystem is small and somewhat isolated from the broader 35mm SLR adapter ecosystem, which limits its appeal to general film shooters.
For Mamiya 35mm specialists, the ZF fills in the lineup between the ZE-2 and the more capable ZE-X and ZM Quartz models.
Mamiya CS bayonet mount, compatible with all other CS-mount Mamiya bodies. Native CS-mount lenses include:
M42-to-CS adapters allow use of M42 screwmount lenses but revert metering to stop-down TTL. A separate autowinder accessory was available.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Mamiya ZF
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