Topic: Minolta 16mm cassettes

[chris667]

I dropped some bits off at a charity shop earlier. There was an immaculate Minolta 16QT in a box for £3.

It is mine now.

How do I get started with these?

[Bryan]

If you have a cassette you can load it with 16mm movie film.  I used double 8mm movie film in my Minolta 16II, I happened to have some on hand.  depending on how much grain you want you may be better off using some fresh film stock rather than expired stuff.  The photo below was shot with Ektachrome E100D double 8mm film.  I cross processed it as black and white so that just gave it more grain.  Some people slit 35mm film down, that way they don't have to deal with the remjet that you get with movie film.  You could also check eBay, I think I have seen film for these cameras on there but they will charge a premium.  You can also find old cassettes there.

Vintage Airplane by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

[John Robison]

Don’t know about your location but here in the US 16mm Eastman Double-X in 100 ft rolls is available from Adorama for $50.
Of course that would be about 60 reloads and you really have to be equipped to do your own developing. This means you will need reels that are for 16mm or will adjust to that size. I have an old Yankee Master brand tank that works well for that.