C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Mamiya ZF Quartz (introduced ~1982) is the quartz-timed variant of the Mamiya ZF, a CS-mount 35mm SLR offering aperture-priority AE and manual exposure control. Its defining upgrade over the base ZF is a quartz-crystal-controlled electronic shutter oscillator, which improves timing accuracy - particularly at slow speeds where RC-oscillator drift is most noticeable. The ZF Quartz otherwise shares its specification with the ZF: TTL open-aperture silicon metering, a vertical metal-blade electronic shutter spanning 8 seconds to 1/1000s, and the same fully electronic construction that requires battery power at all times.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
Working examples in reasonable condition typically sell for $50-150. The ZF Quartz tends to be slightly less recognisable on the collector market than the ZE-2 Quartz, which may work in a buyer's favour.
About this camera
1982 CS-mount SLR - the ZF chassis upgraded with quartz crystal shutter timing.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Mamiya CS bayonet |
| Years | ~1982-~1984 |
| Shutter | 8s - 1/1000s + B, electronic vertical metal (quartz-timed) |
| Flash sync | ~1/125s |
| Meter | TTL open-aperture silicon |
| Modes | Aperture-priority, manual |
| Battery | 2x AA |
| Mechanical fallback | No |
| Weight | ~535 g |
The ZF Quartz arrived alongside other quartz-timed CS-mount variants as Mamiya applied the technology across the consumer line around 1981-1982. The ZF family's place in the lineup was parallel to the ZE family rather than clearly above or below it: both offered aperture-priority AE and manual mode, and the ZF was distinguished primarily by minor handling differences rather than substantially different features.
By 1982 the broader consumer SLR market was being reshaped by program-mode cameras with auto-winding: the Canon A-1 and AE-1 Program had established program AE as a selling point, and Minolta's X-700 was offering program mode in a Mamiya-competitive price tier. Mamiya's CS-mount bodies, with no program mode option and a limited lens ecosystem, were unable to compete on those terms. The ZM Quartz (also CS-mount, ~1982-1984) was the last body in the line.
Mamiya formally exited the 35mm SLR market around 1984. The company's subsequent history is anchored in medium-format: the RZ67 (introduced 1982) became one of the most widely used studio cameras in professional photography through the 1990s.
The ZF Quartz is a minor but technically honest improvement over the base ZF: quartz timing provides provably more accurate shutter speeds at the slow end (8s, 4s, 2s, 1s) compared to an RC-oscillator circuit that drifts with temperature and component aging. For the practical photographer this matters primarily in controlled long-exposure situations; for snapshots and general use the difference is below the threshold of visible impact.
The camera is otherwise a standard aperture-priority/manual SLR of the early 1980s mid-tier Japanese market. Its primary interest today is as a collector item for the Mamiya 35mm CS-mount lineage. The lens ecosystem constraint - small, scarce, no third-party production - is the same practical limitation shared by every CS-mount body and must be treated as a starting condition before considering any purchase.
Mamiya CS bayonet mount, compatible with all other Mamiya CS-mount bodies. Native Mamiya-Sekor CS lenses documented from this period:
A CS-mount autowinder was sold separately; ZF Quartz compatibility should be confirmed independently before purchase. M42-to-CS adapters allow use of M42 screw-mount lenses but reduce metering to stop-down TTL. No dedicated flash or other ZF Quartz-specific accessories are documented.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Mamiya ZF Quartz
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