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Bell and Howell 240 Camera


Jay Starz

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Thank you very much for the info, much food for thought.

 

The reason I mentioned Vision3 50D was because the B&H 240 will only work in auto exposure mode up to 50 ASA. Anything faster and I'll have to break out the light meter or go sunny 16 and hope for the best.

 

You really shouldn't use the auto exposure function on a B&H 240. Your best bet is to put the money you would spend on batteries into a quality light meter and learn to expose film manually. I think if you do this your results will be much better and you will enjoy using your camera more.

 

Aaron

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Wow 2005! Return of the living thread!

 

Anyway the 240ee is still a cool little camera and should make a fun place to start.

Getting the built in light meter to work will be a pain tho. You might be able to rig a PP3 battery up to it but it's questionable if it is worth the hastle.

I reckon using it with a light meter will be better and allow you to use whatever 16mm film stocks you like!

 

I really like the 240 series cameras.

 

Freya

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Well, I've had it for nearly a week but some practice stock wont get to me for a few more days. The battery compartment has some old leakage I need to clean up before testing the meter.

 

As far as metering goes, I'm coming from 35 and 120 still photography. I don't have an actual light meter because I've been using a iPhone light meter app that seems to work well. Is cinematography light reading much different than still photography?

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  • 4 years later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Late to the party, this thread is 15 years old, the links don’t work, and I don’t think most of those members are around. It's a very good camera and I can second that there is no critical focus screen like the 70-DR. All models [I believe there are four models] have a very simple viewfinder that took individual finder objectives, later models have an adjustable zoom or variable finder.

A popular combination of the 240 was with the addition of the Angenieux 17mm to 68mm zoom lens. B&H was the 1st company in the states to introduce this lens.

Edited by Pavan Deep
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Late to the party and the first to leave, that's me. I decided to part with my 70-DR, only because I wasn't using it enough. Here is a link if anyone is interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/293570295946?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

I did a CLA myself with high quality synthetic teflon impregnated oil, and it tested just fine with 250D film.  Probably hums along even better than new with a good modern oil.

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  • 1 year later...

Its too bad none of these links are active anymore. I just recently bought a 240 T and really need help with the battery situation. I can't seem to locate any reference sheets, but I have found numerous sights that sell 4.5V batteries, but without knowing their true size, its totally hit or miss if they'd fit in my camera. Really want to get shooting, but it seems I missed whatever comeback this camera had by a number of years. Any chance we could get this thing going again?

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A 240 T doesn’t have any cell. The film is moved along by a spring drive you will wind. It’s a purely mechanical camera. https://www.vintagecameras.fr/images/MonSite/BELL-HOWELL/model_240/_Doc/Bell&Howel_240_Manual_en.pdf https://www.manualslib.com/manual/337277/Bell-And-Howell-240ee-16mm-Camera.html

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Just purchase an inexpensive incident meter to get started.  The in-camera meter is probably useless or fairly inaccurate and you'll need a hand held meter regardless.

The 240 is a capable camera if you use it right and keep it maintained properly.

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