Mamiya 35 I (1949)

The Mamiya 35 I was Mamiya’s first 35mm camera, debuting in 1949 on the strength of the company’s earlier Mamiya-6 folder. It is a 35mm rangefinder with a fixed 5cm f/3.5 Hexar lens and a Copal B shutter offering speeds from 1 second to 1/200 plus B. Film advance is by knob wind. The 35 I took the unusual backfocusing arrangement of the larger Mamiya-6, so the lens body itself did not rotate during focusing. It was also the first Japanese camera to automatically cock its leaf shutter as the film was wound. Early postwar Mamiya cameras were sold entirely to Allied Forces personnel rather than the Japanese domestic market.

Surviving documentation is thin on dimensions, weight, and aperture range beyond the f/3.5 maximum. One source lists a weight around 640g, but that figure appears on a page covering both the 35 I and the later 35 II, so attribution is uncertain. Sources also disagree on the top shutter speed. Two list 1/200, while another claims 1/300, and the conflicting figure is left out here rather than guessed at. The camera is described as having a bright, clear viewfinder.

These cameras were sturdy and, though rare, still surface occasionally today. The limited UK auction record shows hammer prices of £500 and £678, while US price guides suggest an average of $250-350. A clean working example is worth in the region of £500 to £680. Tired examples bring less. As with most non-prestige film cameras, prices have softened in the digital era.