Zacuto USA’s Illinois-made modular camera rigging accessories have gone national with an exclusive dealership arrangement with bi-coastal Abel Cine Tech.
One of the largest sales, rental and service companies, Abel Cine Tech now sells Zacuto’s 65 products in special showrooms in its Burbank and Manhattan locations.
Abel Cine Tech has installed 12×12-ft. showrooms to exclusively display Zacuto products in both film markets. A 40-inch showroom monitor displays the line of camera rigs, hand grips and base plates.
Come November, Zacuto Chicago will have completed outfitting its new 1,200-sq. ft. showroom in new space adjacent to its first floor operation in a River North building.
When completed, Zacuto will be one of very few equipment dealers whose facility has a showroom, says sales manager Steve Weiss.
“We’re returning to an older business model, where customers can come into the store and try products out.
Eight-year old Zacuto is co-owned by Weiss, a former film/video director, and former DP Jens Boghegan, operations manager and overseer of their manufacturing operation.
Weiss describes the modular support systems as “a series of products that allow you to attach accessories, such as monitors, hard drives, power systems, matte boxes, follow focus and the like, to create a camera package for large and small cameras.”
The Zacuto system is designed to be universally compatible with all camera models. Accessories can be swapped between Panasonic, Sony, Canon and JVC cameras, as well as other camcorders ranging in size from the compact handheld models to the larger two-thirds-inch ENG shoulder-mount units.
The complete camera package can be placed into Zacuto’s exclusively designed camera cases.
Apart from the exclusive U.S. arrangement with Abel Cine Tech, Zacuto USA is sold overseas by dealers in 25 countries.
Weiss and Bogehegn used their 20 years of respective production experience to design the accessories. They began manufacturing them in 2005.
“We often felt that there was a lot of room for improvement in the gear that was out there,” says Bogehegn.
“We rethought accessories from a DP’s point of view, so our equipment is radically different, quick-releasable and universal between cameras,” he says.
The partnership deal with Abel Cine Tech had been in the works since NAB last April. “We’ve known each other a long time. The dealership was a mutual idea, since we buy products from each other.”
“We feel that Zacuto’s design philosophy is a perfect fit with us and our production-savvy client base,” says Abel president Peter Abel.
“These components will be invaluable to our customers, because they provide real solutions to everyday production challenges shooters face.”
Zacuto is located at 401 W. Ontario ; phone, 312/863-3456. Email, steve@zacuto.com. See zacuto.com and
