MAMIYA’S “D” LENSES ON THE MAMIYA ZD

Earlier this year Mamiya released the new Mamiya-Sekor 80mm F2.8 AF “D” lens for the Mamiya 645AFD & ZD family. I have been wanting to buy the 80mm D because it has the auto-focus / manual-focus clutch ring. Switching between auto-focus and manual-focus via the level on the front of the ZD is not easy to do without looking directly at the lever. The new lenses solve that problem with AF / MF clutch ring.

Some ZD cameras may need a firmware update for the new Mamiya “D” lenses to work properly on the Mamiya ZD. Mamiya America (MAC Group) notes that the ZD requires a firmware update for the new D lenses, but does not have any explanation of how to get the firmware update. I emailed MAC Group about upgrading the ZD’s firmware and their reply offered no assistance, basically saying they never imported the Mamiya ZD, so contact Japan. I called Japan, but their receptionist did not speak english.

At this point I am very frustrated... It is possible my ZD already has the current firmware. I asked the seller this question before purchasing the ZD. He was kind enough to call Mamiya in Europe and Mamiya said my ZD may have the correct firmware already since its serial number was within a 2 month window of when Japan started using the new firmware. So there is hope, but no guarantee.

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION

Michael Reichmann received his ZD on loan from Vistek in Canada, so I contacted Vistek to see if they could help. It turns out that Vistek is also the Mamiya service center for Canada. Tom Truty, the Vistek Service Manager, wrote that he can perform the firmware update. If you are in North America and need to update your ZD’s firmware, then contact Tom -

Tom Truty

Vistek Service Manager

496 Queen Street East

Toronto, ON, M5A 4GB

Telephone    (416) 365-1777 ext 3298

Email            tomt@vistek.ca

Web              www.vistek.ca

Meanwhile a Mamiya-Sekor 80mm F2.8 AF “D” came up on Ebay. I figured the ZD would get the firmware update anyway, so why not buy the lens and just try it first. Drum roll... it worked! Joy-joy-happy-happy-joy! But there are still questions - why did the lens work? Is my firmware up to date, or is the new 80mm lens backward compatible by default?

THE MISSING PIECE

Thanks to Vistek, North Americans now know how to update the ZD firmware. But the burning question is - how do you know if you NEED to update the ZD’s firmware? After many hours of Googling Mamiya ZD firmware, I found this thread on Luminous-Landscape. In the thread, member “Pantoned” mentions “Camera Firmware 1.00” and “Firmware 1.03”. Eureka!!! How did “Pantoned” find that out? A quick PM to “Pantoned” and he replied that he used the Mamiya Digital Photostudio software (included with the ZD) and info was the images’ EXIF.

I loaded the Mamiya software, opened a MEF raw and selected its file info (see the image to the right). At the bottom of the list is shows “Camera Firmware 1.10” and “Firmware 1.03”. Compared to Pantoned’s ZD, my ZD has newer camera firmware which is probably why the new 80mm “D” lens worked. I still do not know if version 1.10 is the most current firmware or how many firmware revisions there have been...