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2026-09-19 Konica Zup 110 Super Camera Teardown

    I was offered the choice of three film cameras at a Value Village. They were all priced at $5.99, which seemed pretty reasonable. I chose one, this Konica Zup 110 Super, and was disappointed to find it doesn’t work. It will load a film and rewind it. Unfortunately when you turn it on, it tries to erect its lens column and just as quickly withdraws it again and shuts down.
At this point this leaves me with two choices. 



    I can leave it alone or I can try stripping it down to locate the problem. I have stripped down point-and-shoots many times over the years. What I haven’t done is fix any. Sometimes the problem is a torn flexible circuit attached to the lens. Sometimes it is a problem in complex gear trains that have become bogged down. Most times it seems to be in the electronic “brains” that aren’t getting the signals they require to proceed to the next function. All those problems aren’t fixable, at least by me.
    In all cases the removal of the body shell reveals complex circuits, levers and gear trains. Some of the bits include high voltage components of the electronic flash, dangerous particularly if you have powered the camera up before you found it was misbehaving (leaving the camera’s battery out for 24-hours will make the high voltage less likely to kill you). 
    I had decided to leave the camera alone, as it it still attractive together and it sure won’t be when I tear it down.





    

    But then I thought, “Have I had all the fun I can have?” I decided to open up the camera and show you the complexity under the hood. The Zup110 has eight screws that all look the same, but I proceeded around the camera setting the removed screws in a row from left to right. When reassembling I can start in the last removed screw’s hole with the far right screw and work backwards.
    
    The film chamber back stays on the camera, but opening the door allows you to pry the two major body shells apart. 








    You remove the back’s surround (it is the same colour as the door) by gently freeing the tabs.









    I pried too hard and broke off a small tab with a screw hole in it.








    Then I simply pushed in on the lens assembly and pressed the camera innards out of the shell.The white gasket (thin ring shown in place) that fits between the lens and the shell will drop out. You just drop it in place before you reassemble the camera lens down on the bench.




    Konica really knows how to build cameras quickly. All those buttons stay with the shell and nothing gets caught while you are slipping the camera guts in and out.




    The windows and sensor covers stay in their places too.









View of innards from the front.


View of bottom from lens side.


View of bottom from back side


View of the top.


View of back with the film cover closed.

    View of the right end of the camera. This end has the strap attachment and under that the capacitor for the electronic flash (black tube with white print). The capacitor is the dangerous voltage source. It is one of several places you should watch your fingers!









    View of film latch end of the camera. That blue wire goes to the flash tube, another high voltage possibility.
    I couldn’t see any obvious wires off or burnt circuit areas. So I put the screws back in and put the battery back in. The camera hasn’t fixed itself, but at least I confirmed how difficult it is to fix point and shoots!
    The Z-up 110 Super is one of the Z-UP series that had several models and style variants. This camera was launched in 1996.
 
    Its main features are:
  • 38-110mm F3.5-9.8 Konica zoom lens with 6 elements in 5 groups
  • Autofocus with focus lock
  • Min. focus 0.8 m (31.5 inch)
  • Shutter speeds 1-300 sec
  • Automatic DX coding, 25-3200 ISO 
  • Self-timer
  • Automatic load, film advance and rewind (mid-roll rewind possible)
  • Exposure correction +1.5EV
  • Infinity lock 
  • Size 120 x 67 x 53,  (4.7 x 2.64 x 2.1 inch)
  • Weight 240 gr. (8.46 oz.) with Lithium CR123 battery

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