Mamiya Six II (1943)
Documentation on the Mamiya Six II is thin, and what exists is often tangled up with the broader Mamiya Six series that came before it. The record shows that the Six II is a 6×6 folding camera introduced in 1943. It belongs to the Mamiya Six line, which the Japanese company Mamiya Kōki Seisakusho produced from 1940 to 1958. The "Six" in the name refers to the 120 film and 6×6cm frame size, not a model number.
The notable engineering feature of this camera family is its focusing design. The lens stays put and the camera moves the film plane instead. It's a coupled rangefinder system on a 6×6 folder, which was unusual for its time. One collector's blog, which specifically references an early version of the Six II, describes the Mamiya Six as the first and only camera Mamiya produced for eight years, and one he enjoys using often. The Photographic Dictionary describes the Six II as a compact, portable folder popular among photographers who wanted convenience without sacrificing image quality.
Beyond that, the record is sparse. No lens or shutter specifications, dimensions, original price, or production quantities are documented for the Six II specifically. It's also unclear whether the camera was made only in 1943 or throughout part of the longer Six series window. A single Italian listing prices one at €299 and calls it "rare," but there's no corroborating market data to say whether that's typical.
Known facts
- Medium-format folding camera, 6×6 format
- Introduced 1943; part of the Mamiya Six series (1940–1958)
- Focuses by moving the film plane rather than the lens
- One current listing observed at €299, described as rare
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