Now it has been confirmed by Z CAM’s CEO, Kinson Loo as well. It appears that the Z CAM E2-F6 played a major part in crafting the unique action imagery of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. According to Loo, this full-frame 6K boxy cinema camera was utilized as one of the major cameras on set. As the film was shot with IMAX cameras, the E2-F6 has to be perfectly paired with those beasts. That is a great achievement for Z CAM. 

Z CAM on an (impossible) mission

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is an upcoming American action spy film written, produced, and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) and is the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. The film is scheduled for release in the United States on July 14, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. The sequel, Dead Reckoning Part Two, is to be released on June 28, 2024. A long time ago, during the production of Mission Impossible 7, McQuarrie posted a picture of broken Z CAMs. Surprisingly, those were the cheapest models of the Z CAM cameras, which is the E1 model that is known for being “The world’s smallest Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens 4K camera”. However, after the release of the trailer, 1AC shed more light on that matter. It wasn’t just the E1, but E2-F6, which is the Z CAM E2-F6 Full-Frame 6K Cinema Camera heavily used to shoot the film.

Z CAM Played an enormous role in the capture and creation of some of the most exciting and challenging stunts yet. With over 15 Z CAM  F6, it is safe to say they were vital!.

Robert Shaw – 1AC of Mission: Impossible 7

Z CAM 6K full-frame as a major action cam

Robert Shaw (MI7’s “First Assistant Photographer”) posted on the Z CAM E-F6 FB group: “After almost 3 years of hard work and dedication, I’m excited to share the trailer for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Z CAM Played an enormous role in the capture and creation of some of the most exciting and challenging stunts yet. With over 15 Z CAM  F6, it is safe to say they were vital! Very excited to see some of the shows captured by Z CAM in the trailer”. Also, Kinson Loo who is Z CAM CEO further elaborated: “Just want to point out that in the below paragraph, the camera mentioned is actually Z CAM E2-F6, not Z CAM E1. Z CAM E2-F6 is used as one of the main cameras in the movie, not just a stunt camera”. Kinson has sent an email mentioning the E2-F6 as the main Z CAM on Mission Impossible 7.

Z CAM E2-F6 was used as one of the main cameras in the movie, not just a stunt camera.

Kinson Loo  – Z CAM CEO

Paired perfectly with IMAX cameras

According to Z CAM, Warner Bros, De Lane Lea Studios in Los Angeles were responsible for the dailies on Mission Impossible 7 and were very impressed by how well it performed. “I think the Z CAM cameras did pretty well with the quality compared to the high-end cameras when implementing them into our Truelight ACES workflow on the set of Mission Impossible 7. A lot had to be done in terms of adding the correct LUT, and the dailies colorist putting more of an effort in matching the color to the other cameras, but the end result was quite rewarding and can compare to the more high-end camera” said Yogi Patel, Dailies Operator at Warner Bros De Lane Lea. Furthermore, explore the DailyMail leaked picture all over the article, showing the Z CAM E2-F6 attached to planes and cars. As you can see, there are multiple Z CAMs on the small yellow car, each camera aims to a specific angle— pretty much reminds us of the setup of the six Sony VENICE inside the fighter jet cockpit in Top Gun: Maverick. By the way, there’s no mention of the Z CAM on the IMDB Tech Spec of the movie. Why is that?

A very capable camera

The underrated Z CAM 6K is a very capable camera, which features a full-frame sensor with 10-bit 4:2:2 color support and nominal 15 stops of dynamic range, supports timecode, shoots up to 6K at up to 60 fps, and records data up to 300 Mb/s onto CFast 2.0 media. Supported recording formats include ZRAW format, which supports 12-bit, MOV, and MP4 using H.265 for 10-bit recording, and H.264 which supports 8-bit recording. Its HDMI 2.0 port supports 4K60, 10-bit 4:2:2 video output. Audio is recorded in 24-bit 48 kHz using AAC or PCM (PCM for MOV format only) through its 3.5mm stereo jack or via a separately available XLR connector using its 5-pin LEMO port. Here’re its highlights:

• Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
• 6064×4040 30fps max (Open Gate) (unlimited recording time)
• 6064×2560 @60fps max (6K 2.4:1)
• 4096×1728 @120fps max (4K 2.4:1)
• Bitrate: 300 Mbps max for H.265 & H.264 / 1.2 Gbps for ZRAW
• 15 Stops of Dynamic Range
• 5G Wireless Support
• Timecode Support
• 12-Bit ZRAW Recording
• Gigabit Ethernet for Data and Control
• The camera supports ZRAW, REC. 709, Z-Log2, FLAT, and HLG
• H.265 (10-bit color) internal recording on CFast 2.0 cards
• 12-Bit ProRes RAW recording over HDMI to the Ninja V 5” HDR monitor-recorder
• Full-metal housing for an efficient heat dissipation
• The price is $3,000 – (Explore the Product Link at the end of the article)

Wrapping up

We are going to see a lot of Z CAM E2-F6 action footage on the big screen next July. It will be interesting to compare to the Sony VENICE footage inside the fighter jet in Top Gun: Maverick, to the action filmed by the Z CAM E2-F6 cameras in Mission Impossible 7. Let’s not forget that the last was shot on IMAX film cameras (according to IMAX IR presentation – but not according to the IMDB Tech Spec) compared to Top Gun: Maverick which was filmed on IMAX certified cameras. If so, the Z CAM E2-F6 had to be matched to the best of the best cinema cameras. And we believe it did, as we all know how much Tom Cruise cares about the quality of each shot, and how his movie performs on the big screen.

Product List

Here’re the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers. 

• Z CAM E2-F6 Full-Frame 6K Cinema Camera
  • BUY on B&H
  • BUY on ADORAMA
• BUY the Y.M.CINEMA 65 – A Gift for Filmmakers