I plan on using these things in my basement, not for any commercial application. What about films?? Are there any good prints of anything worth watching on 16mm?

By "autoload", I mean a machine where you push a lever, turn it on, feed the film in the front and it gets pulled through, hopefully emerging from the rear of the machine. By "slot load", I mean a machine where you push a lever down, manually load the film through a slot (very easy), then pull the lever back, and it's ready to go. The autoload mechanism misthreaded way too often, while the slot load typically eliminated misthreading, and if misthreaded, the slot load projector would not typically turn on until the problem was corrected.

I should say that I have not seen or touched either type of machine since spring 1985.

------------------
Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

Don't waste time with the auto-load B&H models or anything that looks like it has been abused. There's so much good equipment out there available so cheaply that it isn't worth risking good prints to junk machines.

Be sure to get rewind bench stuff (splicers [both tape and cement], rewinds, sync block, etc.) if possible.

 |  IP: Logged

My other 16 is a Kodak Pageant. Easy to switch to silent speed and it has the adjustment for the soundtrack alignment at your finger tips.
Both the Kodak & Elmo will run shrunken film fine. Eiki's don't like shrunken film and are not forgiving.

 |  IP: Logged

manual threading: 179, 185, 285, 399, 535, 540, 614 JAN, 1540, 1579
Autoload: 552, 1552, 1595, 2595
Slotload: don't buy, nothing but trouble
Arc lamp models: 140 (carbon arc), 566 (Marc-300), 567 (Marc-350), xenon JAN, and 1568 (Gemini-300)

On any of the B&H machines in the 1500 or 2500 series, turn on the motor and listen or feel for heavy vibrations. That's an indication of a "Cracked" worm gear which is an expensive and time consuming repair.

Personally, I like the B&H manual-thread machines, but can't stand the auto-shredders. The real "win" with B&H is that there are plenty of lenses for these out there that are cheap. A scope lens for a B&H should be only about $50 or so, whereas a scope lens and bracket for an Elmo will cost several times the value of the machine.

 |  IP: Logged

The autoload Eikis are OK and it's still quite easy to lace them up manually, it's just there's more plastic in the way to stop you keeping things clean. The only drawback with Eikis are that you can only lower the speed for silent prints by changing a belt pulley: most of the Bell & Howells have a speed change knob from 24 to 18.

But autoload B & Hs are, as Dennis says, shredders, especially with brittle old acetate or with any print that has even slight perf damage. Furthermore the autoload mechanism itself is very fiddly and cumbersome, with tightly packed springs and guides making it virtually impossible to lace them up by hand. They also have a nasty habit of failing to form the lower loop properly if you feed polyester stock into them. I'd avoid them like the plague.