Mamiya 645E: Counter Repair and Model History
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
A Mamiya 645E on the bench for repair to the counter system. The 645E is a bit of an oddball: introduced in May 2000 and made concurrently with the 645 PRO TL, it was a budget model without interchangeable backs but with a built in prism (dealer net cost in 2000 was $943 for the 645E as opposed to the 645 PRO TL which had a dealer net cost of $1499). It was a bit of a cross between a 645 PRO TL and the earlier version of the 645, the 1000s. In fact, Mamiya recycled much of the same operating mechanism from the 1000s which they had discontinued in 1990!
A bit of cost cutting was done on this model with the liberal use of plastics and assembly done in China.
