Beaulieu 4008 ZM II (1971–1976/1977)

Name: Beaulieu 4008 ZM II
Brand: Beaulieu

At 1.85 kg with the lens mounted, it feels like a solid block in the hands. Anthracite lacquer, faux-leather panels, and a zoom rocker that moves like it was oiled yesterday.

Overview

The Beaulieu 4008 ZM II is a silent Super 8 camera built in France between 1971 and 1976. By 1969, the earlier 4008 ZM had already made the company the world leader in Super 8 cameras. The ZM II, introduced in 1971 and initially written as the "4008 ZM 2," refined that position. It is a camera for people who read film magazines and understood exposure. It is not a point-and-shoot, and it doesn't pretend to be one.

What separates it from most Super 8 bodies is the reflex viewfinder. A mirror on the shutter flips the image up when the shutter is closed, so what you see through the eyepiece is what the film will receive. It flickers - that's the mechanical cost - but the same design lets the camera reach shutter speeds down to 1/490 sec at 70 fps without black frames. The viewfinder was upgraded to model X27 and includes a retractable ground-glass screen, bright for critical focus, with a needle for the exposure meter sitting in the frame.

The exposure system is what Beaulieu called "automatique débrayable" - auto or manual, with a CdS cell reading light through the lens. Auto exposure only works with a Reglomatic-type lens, and most owners run it manually anyway. The needle tells you when you're spot-on, so you don't have to stop and consult a separate meter. Film speed is set by hand between 12 and 400 ASA, and the camera carries a built-in 85A filter with a control key. The shutter opening angle is under 180 degrees and variable, which gives real control over motion blur. Almost no consumer Super 8 camera offered that.

It is a silent camera. There is no onboard magnetic recording, but the 4008 ZM II is wired for double-system sound with dedicated sockets: two for tape-recorder start/stop and one for a synchro pilot signal. Pair it with a synchronized tape recorder and you have a legitimate sync workflow. It also accepts 60-meter (200 ft) magazines that mount on top, with a take-up motor in the magazine drawing power from the camera through contact points. That means long takes without reloading, which was rare in Super 8 and close to professional practice. Standard cassettes are 15 meters.

The camera runs on a 7.2 V, 250 mA nickel-cadmium accumulator charged through an external DC transformer. The transformer only charges; it does not power the camera directly. Every system on the body depends on that cell: motor, zoom, meter, counter. A dead battery means a paperweight, and owners report that very few 4008s come to market with a healthy one.

Key Features

Reflex Viewfinder with Retractable Ground-Glass Screen

The single-lens reflex finder has an adjustable eyepiece. Because the mirror sits on the shutter, there is no parallax error - framing and focus are what the film sees. The X27 viewfinder adds a retractable ground-glass screen. Pull it into place for a bright image when critical focus matters, or flip it away for a dimmer but stable direct view. The exposure needle sits in the frame, and a flicker indicator at the bottom of the window signals the end of a cartridge when it stops flickering.

Variable Shutter Under 180 Degrees

Most Super 8 cameras locked the shutter wide open. The 4008 ZM II uses a variable opening angle of less than 180 degrees, which lets the operator trade exposure for motion blur. At 18 fps the shutter runs 1/65 to 1/130 sec depending on angle, and at 70 fps it runs 1/245 to 1/490 sec. The manual is explicit that if filming with the shutter half open, exposure times are divided by two.

Filming Speeds from 2 to 70 fps

Speeds run 2, 4, 8, 18, 24, 36, 50, and 70 fps, plus single frame, with all intermediate speeds available between 2 and 70. The 2 fps setting is useful. Exposure time at that speed is 1/7 second, which the manual notes allows filming in church interiors without added lighting. At the other end, 70 fps was wild for its time. The camera automatically corrects diaphragm apertures when the speed is changed mid-take, so speed can be altered while filming. Beaulieu's own manual warns never to run the camera without film above 24 frames per second.

Interchangeable C-Mount Lens System

The 4008 ZM II takes C-mount lenses, so 16 mm glass can be fitted as well as the lenses built for the Super 8 format. Early units shipped with the Zoom Angenieux 1:1.9 f=8-64 mm. After the first year Beaulieu switched to the Beaulieu-Optivaron 1:1.8 f=6-66 mm, a Schneider-Kreuznach design with a wider aperture and broader focal range. The macro capability of the Angenieux lets you film from just 1 millimeter away. The zoom is electrically actuated, 8x, with variable speed from about 2 to 12 seconds for a full traverse, plus manual override via adjustment ring. It is not silent, but it is consistent. Auto exposure requires a Reglomatic-type lens; with non-automatic glass, the manual advises falling back on manual diaphragm control.

Double-System Sound and Reverse Wind

Two sockets handle tape-recorder start/stop and one handles the synchro pilot. That synchro socket can also accept a special knob that, pressed with a button near the footage counter, reverses the film wind. This opens the door to superimpositions and manual lap dissolves. The counter reads in meters and feet, with an image counter spanning 1-15 m and 1-100 frames.

60-Meter Top-Mounted Magazines

Beyond the standard 15-meter Super 8 cassette, the 4008 ZM II accepts 60-meter magazines mounted on top. The take-up motor lives in the magazine and draws its power from the camera body through contact points, so no separate battery is needed. Shooting long takes without breaking for a reload was rare in the format.

Repairable Metal Construction

The body is anthracite gray lacquered sheet metal with black faux-leather sides, a fixed handle, a standard 1/4" tripod socket, a cable-release socket, a remote-control socket, and a battery-check button. There is no movie light socket, so no hotshoe lighting. The metal body, mechanical controls, and modular design mean the camera can be repaired rather than replaced. The manual recommends a full overhaul by an authorized Beaulieu dealer every three years, and lubrication in particular is left to the factory or its agents.

Historical Context

By 1969 the 4008 ZM had already made Beaulieu the world leader in Super 8 cameras. The 4008 ZM II, marketed in 1971, refined that position. It inherited the Angenieux lens from its predecessor and, after the first year, moved to the Schneider-Kreuznach Optivaron, which gathers more light and reaches farther. The lineage runs from the 2008 S (1965) to the 4008 ZM, then the ZM II, then the economical 4008 M3 launched in 1974, and finally the ZM4 in 1976. The ZM II sat in the middle: more advanced than the base models, but not as rare or expensive as the later crystal-sync variants. It was aimed at serious amateurs who wanted something that felt like a real movie camera. By 1980 the Super 8 industry had collapsed, and Beaulieu's business crashed with it.

Collectibility & Value

The 4008 ZM II is one of the most sought-after silent Super 8 cameras on the market, and prices vary widely. Auction records from 2019 to 2023 ran from as low as €45 to as high as €331, with most clustering between €100 and €200. A March 2026 eBay listing was priced at $285.57 or Best Offer, but it was sold AS-IS for parts or repair, untested, possibly non-functional, missing components. Recent eBay completed sales in the past twelve months landed between $167 and $1,010, with a median around $437. The market table for October 2026 shows a high of $1,266, a median of $437, a low of $50, and a latest figure of $920 at roughly four sales per month. A DVXuser listing cited $1,250 for a unit with a crystal-sync mod and Pelican case. That one is an outlier.

The battery is the known weak point. As one owner put it, very rarely are 4008s sold with good batteries, and they almost always need to be recelled. Because the motor, zoom, meter, and counter all depend on that 7.2 V cell, a dead battery means a paperweight. Beyond that, the film gate may be scratched and the mechanics may be gummed up from storage. Parts and servicing are still available from Beaulieu, which is almost unheard of for a company from this era. Technicians can recell the battery, clean the film gate (recommended every three to four films), replace the internal UV filter, and recalibrate the exposure system. Servicing is not cheap. People still shoot with these cameras, mod them for crystal sync, clean the prism, and replace the eyecup.

Market Value

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ BEAULIEU 4008 ZM II                                             Nov 2026 │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ High      $1,266                                  Latest            $920 │
│ Median    $437                                    Trend                — │
│ Low       $50                                     Volume           ~4/mo │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ $2,000 ┤                                                                 │
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│        │                                                                 │
│ $1,143 ┤                                          .                      │
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│        │                .                      .                         │
│     $0 ┤                          .      .            .     .         .  │
│        ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│    vol │█   █   █       █         █      █     █  █   █     █         █ █│
│        └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│         2026-04                      2026-06                      2026-07│
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘