I nearly overlooked this mediocre looking M42 mount camera that was released in the later half of the 1960’s. Initially the only thing peaking my interest was the camera’s name. After all Mamiya are renown for their high end medium format film cameras. There was no way I was going to own one of them, so could I enjoy the same experience with one of their 35mm cameras?
Looking at the top plate, you can see the pedestrian looking top shutter speed of 1/500th sec.
Not much better is the base plate. Although I do like the nicely milled battery compartment
No ‘pull up the film rewind crank’ to open the film door here. Rather a reassuring and discreet locking mechanism for the film door.
So what was it that tipped the balance and found me scrabbling for my wallet. Look at the image below again, what do you notice in the cameras title? 500 DTL??? Dual Through the Lens Metering. So the Mamiya/Sekor 500DTL is an M42 lens mount camera with multi-pattern metering.😲 The meter is powered by a single LR44 battery.
The switch on the side of the lens mount of the camera allows you to select either average weighted metering or spot metering.
Let’s take a look through the virtual viewfinder of the 500DTL, the image below. On the right we can see an ordinary looking match needle meter, where the object is to place the needle in the middle of the backwards looking C by adjusting shutter speed or aperture.
If the meter is switched to average metering mode then the whole picture in the viewfinder is being metered. On the other hand if switched to spot metering, then the small area bracketed around the S is being used to meter. The 500DTL only has stop down metering.
So the picture taking process is as follows.
Focus first by opening up to the lens’ largest aperture, smallest number.
Meter the scene by altering aperture or shutter speed untill the meter needle is in the middle of the C, being careful not to adjust your focus.
Take the picture.
But that’s not all. The procedure for activating the meter is a little different from what I was used to. It is linked to the film advance mechanism. Pulling it out switches the meter on, as you can see below
However to start it measuring the scene your looking at through the viewfinder you have to push it in towards the camera, as seen below. As soon as you release the lever it springs back out. Then once you have finished taking your image, you push the top white button that causes the film wind on mechanism to return flush with the camera. The meter is now off.
Initially I thought this might cause a problem with being poked in the eye. In reality it wasn’t a problem at all.
In the picture video link below you can see a quick hands on tour.
In the video did you notice a really useful feature when rewinding the film?
The camera weighs just over a 1 1/2 lbs or just over 600 grams. So with an early morning walk planned during what has been one of the hottest summers in the UK, would it be too much?
Clematis
Sweet Pea
In the three images above and below, I used average metering mode. I’m really pleased with how the camera has exposed the images.
If I wanted to be critical, I could highlight the over exposed sky in the image below.
As mentioned earlier, the area used by the 500DTL for spot metering is at the bottom and middle of the viewfinder. So in the image above that area is nicely exposed. However the swans and their signets are blown out.
So note to self: Make sure the spot metering area is over the part of the image I am metering for.🤓
After a couple of hours walking around and the temperature getting hotter every minute, I found the 500DTL a very comfortable and enjoyable camera to have in my hands. Getting back home and seeing the results have increased my joy ten fold. This have proved to be a very rewarding experience. There are a few things I will have to concentrate on, like where I point the camera when using spot metering. I would also be interested in being a little more scientific and making a comparison of the metering modes of the camera.
I almost forgot to mention a really important feature, that was in the video. When you rewind the film, you get an audible click while the film is on the film advance. This stops when it has reached the beginning of the film. As someone who respools his film it is a big deal to have a camera that makes it easy to do this.
So as you can probably tell another keeper. Yippee☺️
arhphotographic 