Data sheet: Mamiya E 80–200 mm f/3.8 (Z/E mount)

Pekka Buttler, 07/2024

Specifications

The table below summarizes the lens’ key specifications (measurements based on pictured sample):

Brand:	Mamiya-Sekor	Lens name	Zoom E 80~200mm 1:3.8
Focal length(s)1	80–200 mm	Angle-of-view2	60,3°–12,3°
Maximum Aperture	f/3.8	In Production	1980-1984
Lens mount	Mamiya Z/E	Subfamily (if applicable)	––
Length3	152,4 mm	Diameter4	71,4 mm
Filter ring diameter	55 mm	Weight	753 grams
Lens element count	14	Lens group count	10
Aperture blades (S/R/C)5	8 S	Focus throw	180 °
Minimum focusing distance	1,3 m	Maximum magnification	1:4,6
Has manual aperture ring	NO	Has Manual focus ring	YES

Further notes:

• In 1980 Mamiya introduced the Z line of cameras and altogether 16 lenses.
• 10 of those lenses were regular primes in the range of 28 to 300 mm, one short macro lens and altogether 5 zooms.
• Of those zooms, one can be characterised as a wide-angle zoom (28–50 mm), two can be described as standard zooms (35–70 and 35–105), and two more were typical tele zooms (70–150 and 80–200).
• Judging by their element counts, two of those zooms were constructed using a more elaborate/ambitious design. One of these was the 35–105/3.5–4.3 (15 elements in 13 groups) and the other was the 80–200/3.8 (14 elements in 10 groups) (this lens).

• This lens is a relatively compact, comparatively bright standard zoom.
• It is a two-ring zoom, where the rearmost ring operates the field of view (zoom) and the frontmost ring operates focusing.
• The lens uses an internal zooming system (the shape of the lens does not change when zooming). That said, focusing from infinity towards MFD, the lens lengthens. Simultaneously, the filter threads rotate.
• The lens is not parfocal – neither at infinity nor MFD.
• It has a decent focus throw and a relatively attractive minimum focal length.

• As a quirk that was typical for the Mamiya Z system, the lens does have an aperture ring, but that ring has no function on the lens itself (Mamiya Z lenses aperture rings communicated the chosen aperture to the camera, which in turn did the closing down). This has implications on adaptability (read more below).

History of Mamiya Z/E lenses

Please see the JAPB article on all (7) Mamiya SLR lens mounts to understand the role of the Mamiya Z/E mount.

Adapting

n.B! The following applies to all Mamiya Z/E mount lenses.

This lens cannot be used natively on any current SLR or dSLRs. To use it in its native environment, you will need a Mamiya Z/E-mount film body – a ZE, ZE-2, ZE-X or ZM. While the Mamiya Z/E system remained in production for only 4 years (and was not a mega-hit), these bodies are relatively easy to find.

While the lens sports electronic contacts, these are not needed to facilitate critical functionality. However, as the aperture ring of Mamiya Z/E lenses is a dummy ring (it does not manipulate the lens’ aperture in any way – it instead communicates the aperture to the camera body, which in turn manipulates the lens’ aperture lever), adjusting aperture is a function that has to be taken care of by the adapter.

Therefore, should you aim to adapt this lens to a mirrorless camera you will need an adapter that facilitates adjusting the lens’ aperture. Luckily, every Mamiya Z/E adapter I’ve seen does offer such a functionality. However, due toMamiya Z/E lenses not being among the most numerously manufactured, special adapters (helicoid adapters, tilt/shift adapter and speed boosters) are currently unavailable.

Using Mamiya Z/E lenses on dSLRs is also possible. However, due to that the, difference in flange focal distances between the Mamiya Z/E lens and the dSLR mount (between +1,5 mm and negative 1 mm) invariably does not allow sufficient space for an adapter that allows aperture modification, these adapters are always adapters with added optics to achieve infinity focus.

Footnotes

1. Focal length is (unless stated otherwise) given in absolute terms, and not in Full-frame equivalent. For an understanding of whether the lens is wide/tele, see ‘Angle-of-view’. ↩︎
2. Picture angle is given in degrees (based on manufacturers’ specs) and concerns the diagonal picture angle. Rule of thumb:
   > 90 ° ==> Ultra-wide-angle
   70–90 ° ==> Wide-angle
   50–70 ° ==> Moderate wide-angle
   40–50 ° ==> ‘Standard’ or ‘normal’ lens
   20–40 ° ==> Short tele lens
   10-20 ° ==> Tele lens
   5-10 ° ==> Long tele lens
   < 5 ° ==> Ultra-tele lens ↩︎
3. Length is given from the mount flange to the front of lens at infinity. ↩︎
4. Diameter excludes protrusions such as rabbit ears or stop-down levers. ↩︎
5. S=straight; R=rounded; C=(almost)circular at all apertures. ↩︎