Mamiya Sears Auto CS 1000MXB: A Rare NC1000 Variant
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
Mamiya Sears Auto CS 1000MXB. This is the second lowest production number SLR from Mamiya (2000DTL was the lowest). Produced for Sears in 1978 very few were made. It’s actually a Mamiya NC1000 badged for Sears. Mamiya produced this camera from January 1978-April 1979 with a total production of 2,207 units. The Mamiya NC1000 was produced from June 1977-September 1979 with a total production of 153,805 units. The photo shows two almost identical cameras, the Sears version and the Mamiya version both produced within months of each other in 1978. Only difference in the top cover other than the engraved model number is that the battery check light on the Sears version is a small round window while the Mamiya badged camera has a square window. That, and the rim around the shutter release collar is chrome on the Mamiya version.
The example of the CS1000MXB shown here needed a lot of work due to impact damage and I ended up having to replace many internal winding parts. I also replaced the top and bottom cover with new parts so this is now a mint, perfect working example of this camera.
