The Mamiya/Sekor 500 DTL is from the Sherman Tank School of 35mm SLR Construction — this camera is solid and heavy. Pick it up, and you feel in an instant that this baby is all metal.
The 500 DTL was introduced in 1968. It features an M42 screw lens mount and a cloth shutter that operates from 1/500 to 1 second. You can set ISO from 25 to 3,200, and switch its onboard light meter between spot and average metering.
The 500 DTL is a refreshingly clean camera, with few controls. The single dial controls shutter speed and ISO. Its specifications make it a plenty useful camera even today. If you’d like a faster shutter, the similar 1000 DTL goes to 1/1000 sec., and throws in a self timer. Mamiya even made a 2000 DTL in all black with a 1/2000 sec. shutter, but I’ve never seen one.
Its onboard light meter has two modes: spot, which meters an area near the bottom center of the frame; and average, which meters the whole frame. You change modes with a switch on the side of the lens board: S or A. Earlier versions of this camera, the 500 TL and 1000 TL from 1966, offered only spot metering and did not have this switch.
The viewfinder offers a Fresnel microprism for focusing. (The snippet from the manual at right calls it the Micro Diaprism.) When your subject stops shimmering in the Fresnel area, it’s in focus.
To choose spot or average metering, use the S/A switch on the side of the lens mount plate. An arrow in the viewfinder points to S or A to indicate your choice. Either way, you have to stop down to meter. To do this, move the switch on the lens barrel from M to A. Then pull the winder out to just before it starts to wind the film — this activates the meter. To turn off the meter, press the button on top of the wind lever. The lever pops back in flush with the camera body.
A needle in the viewfinder indicates exposure. When you set aperture and shutter speed such that the needle is within the reverse C, you have good exposure.
If you like mechanical, metal SLRs, check out my reviews of Canon’s FT QL (here) and TLb (here); Nikon’s F2A (here), F2AS (here), and Nikkormat FTn (here); Minolta’s SR-T 101 (here) and SR-T 202 (here); Pentax’s Spotmatic SP (here), Spotmatic SP II (here), Spotmatic F (here), K1000 (here), and KM (here). Or check out all of my camera reviews here.
I’ve seen a lot of these clapped out and used up, including one I owned about 10 years ago, which was too broken to use. I got super lucky when I bought this one on eBay – it’s in full working condition and good cosmetic condition. It cost just 20 bucks plus shipping.
Kodak Tri-X expired since October, 2001 went from my freezer into the 500 DTL. I shot it at EI 200 but developed it normally in HC-110, Dilution B. I whiffed exposure somehow on the first handful of frames as here. This expired film loses shadow detail easily when exposure isn’t just right.
I figured it out soon enough and started getting good exposures.
Pro tip: you have to remember to leave that lever in A after you make a photo. The meter keeps running if you forget. I forgot and then laid the camera down, to find the battery drained the next day.
The controls all feel hefty rather than silky, but they’re not unduly hard to work.
The 50mm f/2 lens that came with my 500 DTL is a good performer, with good sharpness out into the corners, good resolution, and no detectable distortion.
Other common prime lenses you’ll find with these cameras include the 55mm f/1.8 and the 55mm f/1.4. Mamiya made a whole range of well-regarded lenses for its DL and DTL cameras ranging from 28mm on the wide end to 400mm on the telephoto end, including a 60mm macro lens.
If you want to try other M42 screw-mount lenses on a DL or DTL camera, beware: lenses made for open-aperture metering, such as Pentax’s Super-Multi-Coated Takumars and Mamiya’s own SX-series lenses, may not mount correctly and may lack the A/M switch needed for metering.
I kept going with a roll of good old Fujicolor 200.
I brought the 500 DTL along on several springtime walks not far from my home. Like most metal and mechanical SLRs, this camera is heavy. I would have been happier with a lighter camera slung over my shoulder.
But these results speak for themselves: this kit does terrific work.
Just a brief word about this concrete bear. It was my mom’s and sat in her gardens my whole life. After she passed, my wife and I took it so the tradition can continue.
I wrapped up with one of my typical photos of my car. It’s an easy subject, and it lets me try for a little blurred background.
To see more from this camera, check out my Mamiya/Sekor 500 DTL gallery.
The Mamiya/Sekor 500 DTL is a fine and capable camera, as long as you can find one that still works. The world seems to be littered with broken DL- and DTL- series cameras. Pentax’s Spotmatics are of similar age, and in my experience are more likely to function when you find one in a junk store or on eBay. I don’t know why. But if you do find a working DL or DTL, I think you’ll find it to be satisfying to use.
If you like old film cameras, check out all of my reviews here!
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