Sankyo XL 620 Supertronic

Sankyo Sound XL-620 Supertronic

Year: 1979-82

Lens: Sankyo Zoom 1,2 / 7,5 - 45 mm

Macro focusing

Split Image Focusing

Auto (wide&tele) / Manual Zoom

Frame rates: 18,24,36 and single frame (+ external sync; 36 fps is quick-switchable)

Interval timer: 1/2, 2, 15, 60 second

Shutter degree: 220

Manual / Auto Exposure

Backlight Control

+/- correction for auto

Fades (three modes)

Lap dissolve of 80 about frames

Auto / Manual Recording Level Control (hi, lo)

Batteries: 6 X 1,5V AA (in the camera's grip)

9V DC power-in (standart port)

Weight: 1180 g

Ports for external sync, audio-in (hi,lo) and monitor-out plus flash-light support (cable).

Large standard-size "shoe" on top of the camera can hold flash-light AND mic or add-on light etc..

Additional equipment:
 * "Sankyo Power Pack" (external battery kit, 6 x 1,5 battery-box, cable connection to DC9V-IN port)
 * "Sankyo Telescope Condenser Mic SMU-233" (telescope microphone for recording film with sound)
 * "Sankyo Interval Timer" (creates repeated intervals (1/2 and 60seconds) for single frame exposure)
 * "Sankyo Macro Titler" (plastic adapter that sticks onto the front of the lense holding the title slides)

Made in Japan

Manufacturer: Sankyo Seiki MFG Co., Ltd.

Original price in England (in the year of introduction): &pound;325

Prices on eBay:
 * eBay USA:
 * US$ 75 in 08/1999
 * US$ 202 in 08/1999
 * eBay Germany:
 * EUR 5,59 (+ EUR 5,90 shipping) in 10/2005
 * EUR 30 (+ 8 EUR shipping) in 05/2006

Photos by floflood in 2007:

by floflood in 2007

 * Interesting features for stop-motion & trick-film, good camera for low-light conditions, well build black metal casing
 * Camera works with Cinevia (Fuji Velvia), ISO 50/18° (daylight) or KODAK Tri-X, ISO 160/23° (tungsten); 08/2007
 * Ever running on AA batteries in the camera's grip or via an external standart DC-9V power supply (and battery kit)
 * Very good value for money if can be found 2nd-hand, incredible list of electronic functions makes it a supertronic

Update for 2016 by Super8Scientist
This camera is deceptively large. The body is nearly as large as a canon 814xl-s, but the lens is nice and compact, making it very well balanced in the hand. Maybe not the best "run-and-gun" camera, because both the camera and the handgrip are much larger than the Sankyo silent cameras. It reminds me a lot of a Canon 514XL-S, but with more features. The body is a hard plastic, and while I would not drop it, it seems very sturdy still. The separate switch for 36fps lets you shoot with intermittent bursts of slow motion, like Zack Snyder. It has a open/close viewfinder switch which is always great. My favorite aspect is the lens, which is comparable with the lens on the canon 814E. But also on the lens barrel, there are very fine measurements in the macro setting: (in centimeters) 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, 1, 0. This is the first camera I have found to offer macro measurements that accurate, and the subject can be in focus less than 1 cm from the lens! Wow! I think this makes it an exceptional camera for animation and shooting titles.

Sankyos typically don't sell for as much as Canons, Nizos, Beaulieus, etc. That's what makes this camera great, because for a significantly lower price, this camera offers most of, if not all the features of the "more professional" cameras. A certified best buy.

by jpolzfuss

 * Of course the camera's auto-exposure works fine with other films with 40-50 ASA or 160-200 ASA, like KAHL UT 18 Chrome, KAHL UP 24, Kodak Vision2 200T, ...