FUJICA M300 AF AND PX 300: AN EXTRAORDINARY LENS

Back when film stock came with magnetic sound stripes pre-applied at the factory, it was far more convenient to shoot on sound film rather than on silent stock and add a separate soundtracks later for sync. For direct-sound filming indoors, one of my favorite cameras was the Fujica M300AF — the very one my wife is holding in the photograph just below.

My wife with my M30AF camera,  with a portable light

The M300AF’s autofocus system was a delight to use, especially in shots at f/1.2 where the subject walked toward the camera: the background would gradually melt into a soft blur, all without the operator touching the focus.

Its  lens — the Fujinon f/1.2 9.7–26 mm — delivers crystal-clear definition (although isn’t EBC coated), even wide open. The same optical system, with added macro capability, was fitted to the Lilliputian and inexpensive Fujica PX300. But yet, strangely, not all PX300 units are as razor-sharp as every M300AF I’ve used.

The reason? The PX300 — a mass-produced model (it was even advertised on Japanese television) — was assembled on an automated production line. The M300AF, by contrast, had each of its lenses individually collimated at the factory. That extra care shows.

Still, the little PX300, designed by the great Shigeo Mizukawa, is a superb camera in its own right. Despite its small size, it boasts a servo-controlled iris that stops down to f/45, a meter lock, manual rewind, and direct light entry to the film without that hateful half-mirror found in so many other cameras.

My own wedding was filmed entirely with the Fujica M300AF, as were all the night and interior sequences of my commemorative documentary “Brezhnev, mon amour” (version is English and Spanish at same time, alternating locution of paragraphs).

BREZHNEV, MON AMOUR from IB CINEMA Motion Picture Films on Vimeo.