Mamiya C21958

History

Mamiya introduced the interchangeable-lens TLR concept earlier in the 1950s with the original Mamiyaflex C. The C2 (1958) refined and evolved the system, improving the lens-mount interface and the overall build quality relative to its predecessor. The body design established many of the proportions and controls that would carry forward through the Mamiyaflex C3 (1962) and into the later Mamiya C33 and C330 families.

The C-series represented Mamiya's attempt to address the central limitation of the TLR format: a fixed focal length. While Rolleiflex dominated the professional TLR market with its precision optics at 75mm or 80mm, Mamiya's system offered flexibility that no Rolleiflex could match. Portrait photographers wanting 135mm compression, or architectural photographers needing a wider view, could carry a single body and multiple lens units rather than multiple complete cameras.

By the time the C3 appeared in 1962 with its crank film advance, the C2 had established the system's credibility. The lineage ultimately ran through to the Mamiya C330f, which remained in production until approximately 1995 - an extraordinarily long run for a medium-format system.

Why It Matters

The Mamiyaflex C2 is historically significant as a working example of the interchangeable-lens TLR concept at a point when most of the industry considered TLRs inherently fixed-lens devices. Its system architecture - shutter-in-lens, bayonet-mount paired units, body-side film transport - established the template that Mamiya refined but never fundamentally changed over four subsequent decades.

For contemporary shooters, the C2 offers the same lens-interchangeability advantage as later C-series bodies, but with knob advance rather than the C3's crank. Lens units from the later C-series are generally cross-compatible, making the C2 body a lower-cost entry point to the Mamiya TLR system provided the lens mount is in good condition.

Lenses & Accessories

The Mamiyaflex C2 uses Mamiya's TLR bayonet lens mount, which pairs taking and viewing lenses in a single interchangeable unit:

• Mamiya-Sekor 55mm f/4.5 - wide-angle unit; useful for interiors and architecture
• Mamiya-Sekor 65mm f/3.5 - moderate wide-angle
• Mamiya-Sekor 80mm f/2.8 - standard lens; the most common pairing
• Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 - short telephoto; popular for portraits
• Mamiya-Sekor 135mm f/4.5 - telephoto; flattering compression for head-and-shoulders work
• Mamiya-Sekor 180mm f/4.5 - long telephoto unit; rarer
• Mamiya-Sekor 250mm f/6.3 - long telephoto; uncommon; extension bellows assist focus at close range

Accessories include:

• Bay II / Bay III filters depending on lens unit
• Paramender parallax-correction rail for close-up work
• Sportsfinder accessory for eye-level framing

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Used by Japanese professional and advanced-amateur photographers in the late 1950s and early 1960s seeking focal length flexibility unavailable on fixed-lens TLRs.
• Employed for portrait and commercial work where the 105mm and 135mm units offered flattering compression without switching camera systems.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Mamiyaflex C2 - basic technical and historical overview of the C2 model