Mamiya ES Lenses for the Auto XTL and Auto X 1000
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
Servicing a trio of Mamiya ES lenses. These are probably my favorite Mamiya 35mm lenses and they typically don’t get a lot of interest. But I feel that they have a high build and optical quality and I use them on my Nikon mirrorless with an adapter. Eventually 13 different ES lenses were produced from 21mm to 800mm in the XTL mount.
The ES series were made originally for the Mamiya Auto XTL model and later for the Auto X 1000. The second photo shows the cameras with lenses mounted: Auto XTL chrome (production around 20,000 units), Auto XTL black (production approximately 1,500) and the Auto X 1000 (production around 3,000). Mamiya produced the XTL model from October 1970-May 1973. Oddly enough, they reintroduced a camera with the same lens mount, the Auto X 1000 in January 1975 and discontinued it in June 1976.
Photo three shows one of the lenses undergoing testing and focus at infinity checks out perfect and the next photo shows the star target of this lens wide open at f/1.4 and is is quite crisp.
The last photo is my Nikon Z7 with an adapter and the ES 55mm f/1.4 lens which is my favorite. Looks a little odd but I really like the image that the lens produces.
Do I recommend this very good series of lenses for adaption to a modern camera? Probably not due to the fact that these lenses are 45-50 years old by now and most of the ones that I see have a stiff focus. Certainly fixable but a bit of work and repair will exceed cost of the lens in most cases. If that’s not an issue then go forth with one of these and I will be happy to service your lens and I have new original Mamiya repair parts if needed for most of these.
