FUJIFILM FUJICA SOUND EDITOR 150: THE MOST ELUSIVE SOUND FILM EDITOR

Some devices are part of the history of small-gauge cinema. And then there are those that seem to have never existed at all.

For decades, most Super 8 sound film editors came from a single source: Sansei Koki, in Japan. Expertly built to be sold under its own brands, such as Goko (with lifetime warranty in the Japanese market) and Erno, or manufactured for other names like Bauer and Elmo, these machines dominated —and still dominate today— the art of editing Super 8 film. Each model had its own personality, yet shared a common technical lineage.

Brand new, in original packaging... after 45 years!

However, during one of his visits to La Coruña, my Japanese friend Tak once mentioned something long forgotten:

"Fujifilm released its own sound moviola, a beautiful one… but it disappeared from the market almost overnight. They even removed it from the catalogs and erased all references. It’s as if it never existed."

Fujifilm moviola with my two Fujfilm splicers

Why would such a powerful company —with over 100,000 employees— erase all traces of a carefully designed product?

Fujifilm has always had an air of secrecy, almost like a sect. And this moviola, the Fujica Sound Editor 150, became a kind of myth. A shadow in the margins of Super 8 history.

Until a few months ago, when the mystery began to unravel.

Powerful light

My Dutch friend Sven Zijlemaker, based in Tokyo and a lover of industrial oddities, discovered a peculiar warehouse in a remote corner of the city's colossal port. The place, run by a family with an archivist’s soul, preserves items that were supposed to be destroyed due to commercial policies, strategic errors, or inexplicable decisions. Among these ghosts of the past... small-gauge cinema had also left its mark, as Fujica cameras with Single-8 cartridges —but for regular 8 mm film, not type S!— sat dormant in their original boxes. Almost unimaginable.

But that wasn’t the most astonishing find.

On a dark shelf, wrapped like a time capsule, Sven found a pallet with 12 brand-new units of the legendary Fujifilm 150 sound editor. Still sealed. Never used. After months of negotiation, he managed to buy five: four remain in Japan. One was sent to me.

And this week, after 45 years of waiting, it finally arrived.

Original box. Protective plastic intact. Smell of new.  The unit, immaculate. As I opened it, I felt as though I were reconnecting with something that had always belonged to me —something that had finally found its way into the world of film creation.

And it did not disappoint.

The Fujifilm 150 works perfectly. Even so, I will give it a basic service: lubricating rollers, cleaning electrical contacts, and adjusting the potentiometers. But even from the very first test, the differences from other Sansei Koki-built models were clear:

• The fine speed adjustment is on the front panel, not the rear.

• The volume potentiometer is a slider, not a rotary knob.

• Most notably, the image is exceptionally bright, thanks to its original halogen lamp.

But beyond the technical, what truly captivates is its design: elegant, functional, and perfectly in harmony with my cherished Fujifilm 2-track and Fuji De Luxe splicers —faithful companions since my teenage years.

With this find, I’ve closed a cinematic circle that has accompanied me since childhood:
I shoot with the Fuji ZC1000N, splice with Fujifilm tools, Fujinon EBC lenses, project and record sound with Fujifilm equipment, and now, finally, I also edit sound with a Fujifilm viewer that is not only a true rarity, but a beautiful piece of craftsmanship (I shoot with Fujifilm tools... but using Kodak film!)

Thank you, Sven, for finding the impossible. And thank you as well to Álex, for navigating the customs paperwork —which, at times, can be even more intricate than the stories behind the objects themselves.

Today, a viewer that “never existed”… has returned to spark creation.