NIKON R10 (PART 1)

One of the most interesting cameras, for filming in Super-8 with a supreme picture quality, is the Nikon R10, although it is not among my favorites, due to the lack of a support element for the filmmaker´s forehead and the fact that its grip does not even can disassemble or fold (so, no good for tripod shooting).

But this is a camera that should be in the arsenal of all filmmakers for whom Super-8 is their medium of creation. Therefore, I am going to analyze it throughout several entries.

Nikon R10 is a camera hard to find because not many were made, only ten thousand in six years. Quality of manufacturing was very high because the Nikon R10 were hand-assambled

I was told than one of the more interesting features of the Nikon R10 is its two claws of film, one to pull down the film, the other one, double, to pull up the film, as happen with ZC1000.  This system could be the only one in a Super 8mm camera because the beloved ZC1000 is for Single-8  cartridges (although using Super8 film in fact), and is a technical achievement able to secure the same frameline position whether you film forward o reverse. Of course, due to the coaxial mechanism of the super-8 cartridge, you can film in reverse only a few seconds --just 100 frames (about 5 seconds). But during those seconds the frameline is always in the same position, filming forward or reverse (with the ZC1000 you can film in reverse the whole lenght of the cartridge). 

ZC1000 effectively has a double claw system. But does the Nikon R10 have it too? Or this feature is an urban legend?

Soon, the answer, with the most extensive test report ever published.

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