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Face it, Jim. She's a zombie.
The PXL2000 camera was designed, manufactured and marketed as a children’s toy camera in 1987 by the Fisher-Price toy corporation. The camera was somewhat expensive for the time, it retailed for $100. When the toy never reached it’s potential with the targeted audience, it was discontinued in 1989. The cameras unique lens produces a 100-line image that appears to be "pixilated." The camera shoots at 15fps on a magnetic cassette tape, whereas a normal video camera shoots at twice that: 30fps, and is usually shot on a stock with much higher fidelity. Another interesting characteristic of the camera is its extreme depth of field. The PXL2000 was designed by James Wickstead Design Associates.Soon after it’s discontinuation, several artists began using the distinct visual qualities of this camera to produce short films. Several key artists were: Sadie Benning, who is perhaps the most famous PXL filmmaker, Joe Gibbons, Michael O’ Reilly, and Michael Almereyda. Soon other filmmakers began adopting the cameras unique look to their own and in 1991 Gerry Fialka started a PXL2000 film-festival called PXL THIS, and it has been running since.
There seems to still be a small following of enthusiasts determined to keep using these cameras. At any time, there are several PXL2000 cameras for sale on eBay. They usually go for somewhere between $60 to $200, depending on the condition and any modifications that have been made to the camera.
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