Stephen Phipps

I've shot 64T with a M2 and had excellent results. You want to set the aperture -2/3 stop (more closed) than what the aperture scale reads on the side of the camera. I used both a light meter and the printed scale on the camera and found the scale to be accurate enough for good filming after adjusting for 64T. I briefly tried 64T in an M4 auto exposing as K40 and it came out surprising well. The M2 and M4 are impressive little cameras. I've never found one that didn't work or shoot well. I've found tons of them at thrift stores and flea markets for a few bucks each over the years.

Hi all, Just bought a Bell & Howell 240EE 16mm camera on Ebay and I'm looking for a manual. Anyone have a copy they could E-mail me or upload to a file sharing service? Thanks much! Steve kawninja@cableone.net

I've got some Beta and U-Matic tapes that are approaching 30 years old and they still rival Kodachrome quality. Depends much on how the media is stored. It is getting very hard finding vintage video equipment that works well, but I love the challenge of getting it going again. I have much better luck finding 8mm equipment in working shape. Used VHS machines will be all over the place 42 years from now, but those still working well will cost a fortune. I doubt new machines will be available unless they're commercial models.

Same here... never had a problem with Dwayne's and K40. I suggest Santo contact Dwayne's directly and offer his services on a consulting-type basis. Wouldn't be surprised if they took him up on the offer. I've been to Dwayne's in person and met some of their staff... they're very eager to do a quality job. No doubt Santo knows what he's talking about with Dwayne's and 64T as others have also complained. Sometimes it takes qualified experience and suggestion from an outsider to get another to see the "whole picture". Since Dwayne's is going to end up with the lion's share of 64T processing due to their Walmart connection and reasonable prices, I'm sure they're going to welcome any help they can get.

The market is already saturated with high quality used amateur Super 8 cameras selling for $300 or less. Someone on another board mentioned there's around 60,000 folks who shoot Super 8 regularly. I'd suspect 99% of these users have at least one high quality camera out of necessity. The other 100 million folks who enjoy movie making are satisfied with their Mini DV and camcorder equipment. Most of them wouldn't understand how a projector works, or would get tired of messing with it after its first use. In short, we're darn lucky just to have any current Super 8 film manufacturing... let alone new camera production.

That's a fine camera and I'd give it a chance before buying something else. First off I'd just buy some 64T, throw it in the Canon, and let it automatically expose like K40 without doing anything special. Just make sure you're shooting in outdoor daylight mode with the built in 85 filter engaged. 64T isn't that far off from K40 and many folks are getting very good results shooting 64T in 40/160 auto only cameras. If you don't like the results, you can start playing with the manual exposure controls. I'm sure there's a camera store or two around Chicago selling 64T. If you're having problems finding it locally, ask that question over on http://www.filmshooting.com Go to Walmart for processing. They'll send it to Dwayne's and you'll get it back within 2 weeks for $4.88 total. If you don't have a projector, check local thrift stores and flea markets. Super 8 projectors can be had for $10 or less going this route... same projectors sell for $50 or more on Ebay. Just make sure the bulb and drive mechanisms work before buying.

Everyone is 100% correct about buying the most versatile and highest quality camera you can afford, but don't throw that M6 into the trash just yet... Kodak's Instamatic "M" series camera line actually shoots quite nicely. Kodak used excellent quality optics in all of these cameras. I've shot several K-40 rolls with my M4 and I can't believe the print quality for such a small simple camera. All of the "M" series from the M6 through the end of the line have possible gear deterioration problems, but many people swear by the older M2 and M4 models for good performance at very minimal cost. I've never seen any Instamatic "M" sell for over $10. So if that M6 still fires up, go ahead and do some shooting especially if you've got some K-40 lying around. Last I heard a week ago Dwayne's still had some K-40 in stock for $13.50 a roll.