Z CAM E2-F6: An Undone Review

When battery level goes below the threshold, E2 will stop recording and footage is safe.

If you pull the power all of a sudden then the footage will likely be corrupted.

Worst cameras I've ever used in my life. Wouldn't recommend them to ANYONE.

You will sell more cameras if Z Inc. provides hands-on tutorials hence the owners learn fast.

This is the review we all deserved ! Thank you so much for this you gave so much insight about this camera. I was going to buy this and all these things do affect me. You really help me with this quality content. 😊🤝💯

Reviews don’t come more thorough than this. Thanks a lot!

Wow, this is a robust review. Thank you.

Any chance you can revisit this camera? Apparently all the issues have been fixed. Great video btw!

Gerald, Ive double checked with Ears and Monitoring, The preamps are 20x Times better on the Zcam, more sensibility, better dynamic range, transparent and full band 20 - 20Khz frequency spectrum, which is not the case with the BMPCC, again, it is not my opinion, Ive checked it with a frequecy spectrum and only then I add my opinion and undoublty say that is sound so much better, you are used to less sensible preamps that alter the sound so much that the self noise is not really noticeable and that mean degrading dynamic range, more Harmonic Distortion, and less hertz bandwith in a non light way, but still plenty usable for your case.

I tip my hat to you sir, that is THE most effective way to get someone to watch your sponsor segment, inject an experiment within the video. Great great idea.

dude, you are SO HELPFUL. the GOAT of Camera reviews.

Have any of these issues been fixed or has anyone found workarounds?

2 years later still really love my zcam! Great review!

And I have a Z Cam E1, and everything is fine.

I actually really like the zcam. ...then again, I think I am the only person left who prefers prores

After 2 years…I fucking hate z cam

I'm considering this camera. Has the firmware been updated on the record Split?

No 23.98 or 6k with my Ninja V? I wish the video started out with that so I didn't have to watch 10 minutes. Thanks, though, for stating such an important point.

No one analyzes these issues as lucidly as you do. Have the acquisition / file splitting issues been addressed by Z Cam since this review was posted two years ago?

So I didn't get the F6, but I got the S6 instead. Price is down to $2500 (camera only) and suddenly the price to performance ratio is just perfect for me. What I've shot on it so far (nothing special just yet) looks absolutely amazing, and especially compared to my old camera I've had for 9 years, it is making a massive difference for me already. Most other cinema cameras available right now are way more expensive at around $4000 starting out with no accessories, and the exceptions like the BMPCC might be cheaper but it has extremely bad battery performance, which I absolutely NEED because of the content I shoot. The Z Cam has its issues, namely getting all the accessories to be a fully useable rig (which sucks starting out), but so far I've found my E2-S6 to be a great camera to finally introduce me to the world of cinema camera work. I've been getting much better with my color correction, and the content already is clearly better than ever before.

What can't you just cut the end of the file (the extra audio) and then slide over the next file in post? Seems simple enough.

It's not netflix certified so that's an automatic pass.

though this cam comes from china, it can hardly find such a great review like yours. well thanks to you.

Could you review the E2-S6?

Gerald wrecks Zcam for this one. Wondering if these issues have been fixed in firmware

You just need to do the Mavo LF now :D

Hope there will be an updated review of this Gerald 🙏🏼 great vid as always

Can you run external Timecode into this camera? If so, how?

Please do an update for 2021! Z Cam has great potential

Have any of the issues been fixed via firmware yet?

When you streamed for 3 hours, was that off of battery power, or did you find a DC adapter?

with all the 6K, 8K, 12K camera out there, would be nice if the videocam can shrink down to 4K 4:4;4 instead of 4:2:2

How clean is the image overall? I’m talking noise here. And does the downscaling to 4K on the HDMI output make the image a bit more clean or is noise a non issue when it comes to that? I’d probably rather light as needed, than using a high ISO. Talking about Focus on a live stream: If you sit on a somewhat fixed position, would a perfect manual focus with a decent focus area be the better choice?

For those wondering, I think every technical issue mentioned is fixed in firmware updates by Zcam. I have an E2-S6 and File corruption, Reliability, color shifts, Etc; its all fixed and I would consider it a very reliable camera at this point.

We’re most of these issues resolved ?

We can tell how much efforts the company put into their products. And it’s really a great product at that price point. But all that issues makes it unreliable in paid jobs.

will you be doing a Komodo review?

Seems there's no-one that covers the functionality of the ethernet, even Gerald skipped over it; ie can it stream or transfer full 4k?

Would anyone recommend this camera for run n shoot style?

You’re the first reviewer i’ve ever watched that’s mentioned any of these issues and boy do they seem like production headaches. I’m glad I picked up the Terra 4K instead!

How about an update on where this camera is regarding the mentioned issues?

Cool. But, what about timecode? ZCam themselves point us to an adapter which has DB9 connector, yet the F6 has only the 2x 4-pin Lemo "Ctrl ports" which are not TC connectors, some broken out serial connectors. Very frustrating. Do you have any ideas?

The amount of issues or limitations the zcam has has definitely put me off of buying one 😂 still produce a great image and all but I don't think I'll be investing in it after having seeing this review. Maybe when they fix the current issues with a new camera. 🤔

Me, thinks he`s a american.
Starts talking: "Have a little bit schmutz stuck..."
Okay, he´s german...

THANK GOODNESS for this breakdown review.. I just started to look into this brand of cine-cams but can't afford any of those risks or additional inconveniences in my workflow! .... it's a pass for me! Looking at C70 or BMPCC 6K Pro

Does this camera crop in when you change the settings such as resolution and frame rates?

Did they fix that file corruption bag already in 2021? I’d like to buy this camera but that issue is huge!

It would be great if you could talk a little bit faster!! Thanks for the review! But honestly who should listen to this Rapid spoken word contest without getting a headache? :)

Sounds like a headache