Fujica ZC1000

Additional Information
Viewfinder info:
 * Mirror shutter
 * single lens reflex
 * exposure meter pointer
 * battery checker
 * film forward-reverse indicator
 * film end indicator

Other features:
 * rewind
 * reverse filming
 * digital frame counter
 * full manual bulb shooting
 * pulse-sync recording
 * tape recorder start-stop sync
 * fade-in, fade-out
 * cable release

Optional parts:
 * C-mount adapter (for CANON-FD, NIKON-F, M42, ARRIFLEX, MINOLTA, OLYMPUS)
 * interval timer
 * external battery pack
 * Wide angle lens: EBC FUJINON SW 1.8 / 5.5 - 5.5mm
 * filming crank
 * close-up lens
 * light balancing filter (LBA-12A)
 * flash sync adapter
 * T-grip
 * microphone adapter
 * pulse-sync kit (pulse sync generator, pulse sync corder, pulse cord, pulse sync controller etc.)
 * taperecorder sync cord
 * remote control cord (=magnetic release cable)
 * macro cine copier (probably requires M42 -> c-mount-adapter)
 * extention bellows
 * angle finder
 * microscope adapter

Comments
This is a Single8 camera!

Please remember that there's an improved version, called Fujica ZC1000 New.

Based on data assembled by Muddy Orihara and Con Koutsomitis and used by their kind permission.

More info can be found here

Repair instructions:
 * Replacing the Cds

Reviews
This review is posted for the express purpose of sharing my information and experience and promoting the USE of this camera. I am not a camera technician nor a camera expert and the opinions in this review should not be treated as such. Please refrain from using this updated review for the purpose of selling this camera.

I have lived with this camera for 6 years now, shot numerous short and student films including my thesis. I decided to purchase one after a few shoots were scuffled from mis-loaded 16mm film. With the technology available now to scan 8mm film at higher resolutions, I figured the slight loss of quality was worth it if I was always guaranteed properly loaded film. I used new Single-8 carts and learned how to open up old ones and re-load them with Kodak Super-8 stock. After I had the camera serviced at Du-All in NYC, I never had a bad experience with it.

These cameras are extremely well built and pack in some of the best features of the best Super-8 cameras:
 * 1) The Fujinon lens is phenomenal. At T2.1 it's decently fast for a Super-8 lens, has a macro setting, and an equivalent zoom range in 35mm of about 30mm-300mm. In terms of quality it's on par with the Schneider 6-66mm and Angenieux 6-80mm lenses.
 * 2) Pretty much any lens can be adapted to a C-mount, and the fact that this camera can take any lens is quite fantastic, especially when you want a wider/longer angle than the Fujinon can provide, although you'll spend most of your time using the Fujinon. And being able to use some stupidly expensive lens on this small camera always makes me laugh.
 * 3) It has a real frame counter. With visible numbers. Not tiny red lines. The only other 8mm cameras to my knowledge that have this are the 6008-9008 model Beaulieus and the Logmar. This makes things like stop motion or double exposures very easy to catalog.
 * 4) The handle is really well positioned to balance the weight of the camera.
 * 5) The option to run the film in full reverse is really useful. I specifically made use of this when I was making an animation for film-festival promo.
 * 6) The use of AA batteries means it's very easy to get running again once your batteries run out.

None of these features are specific to this camera. You could very easily own a few different cameras and have all these features available to you. However I want to stress here that there is very little on this camera that can go wrong due to electronic failure. The aperture and focus are all manual. Shutter control is manual. There is no electronic zoom, no automatic shutter, no time-lapse function, no automatic fade/dissolve, no sound recording. The only things electronically controlled are the film speeds, forward/reverse function, and the frame and footage counters (which are still analog). It's the opposite of the Canon 814XL-S, Nizo Professional, Bauer A512 and Nikon R10, which ARE all great cameras, but are heavily dependent on the condition of the electronics and more difficult to service. In addition, the primary batteries are housed in the body of the camera, NOT in the handle. Many of these other cameras can experience electronic failure from a faulty connection in the handle, which requires the camera to be opened up and serviced by a professional. If the cable from your ZC1000 handle ever gets damaged, all you have to do is splice new wires according to the pin-out functions on the back of the camera. This does not require the camera to be opened up and it's something you can do yourself.

Some negatives are:
 * 1) Retro Enterprises may stop producing Single-8 film.
 * 2) It's middle of the road as far as noise level, not terribly loud but not quiet either. It's unnoticeable on an audio track in an urban area or from far away but there's no way to get around it in interiors.
 * 3) You HAVE to have the handle plugged in to shoot 36 or 72 fps, unless you can figure out how to build a battery pack.
 * 4) The original accessories to shoot sync-sound are very rare.

I really love this camera and it fulfilled all of my needs while making films in school. While it is ONE of the top small-format cameras, I no longer think it is the best camera; The best camera is the one you have with you at the moment. Note: There is almost zero reason I have to use this camera since I've finished school. 8mm was rarely, if ever, a professional format, and it's unlikely that it will become a professional format. The only use I've really found for this camera is to perfectly capture the crappy look of an old b-movie. A high-quality scan of a 16mm or 35mm modern stock can end up looking too good. A 2k scan Super-8 film looks just good enough. If I had some money in my hands to make some fun b-movies, I would use the ZC1000.

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