Ektachrome 16 is now out and Super 16 anamorphic is an option too now thanks to the good people at Vantage and Panavision.

you sound like the guy from
how to train your dragon

You do not mention a major advantage of 16 mm film for non-theatrical use at the time it was introduced.  At that time 35 mm film was on a nitrate base while 16 mm was always on a safety base, originally diacetate and later triacetate.  This could be projected almost anywhere while the highly flammable nitrate required specially constructed facilities to be safely handled and projected.

Wow so amazing! Yknow now I really wanna get into filming with 16mm film on an old camera

My favorite camera to use 16mm film on is the Krasnogorsk-3

Two things about 16mm, to complement your nice post,

• the look is good old film in pure, 35mm is now just another digital intermediate, it's being made in digital standards, finest grain, optimized for digital conversion and reproductions etc. It's hard to differentiate which shots were done in 35mm film, even though many top budgeted movies are digital-film hybrid in production level, recent Dunkirk could be a good example.

• 16FPS is a great economical way to shoot in costly film. Earlier movies had this de facto fps, again for the same reason. Even after all these years and technical enlightening, the difference between 16 and 24 fps is hardly noticeable, reminding of the megapixel myth that ruled digital camera scene for some time. And now , we got After Effects, 16 fps can be converted to 24 fps.
And, 16 fps makes the movie optimally live with faster pace, compared to 29/30 fps, which many find stagnant and slow unless the exclusive story line demands it.

Thanks.

This is extremely well researched and presented! (and that's coming from someone who has been shooting S8/16 since before you were born:) One very, very minor nitpick, what you were describing as dynamic range when talking about film stock is more often referred to as exposure latitude. Also, did you hear that Ektachrome 16mm is now on sale...finally!

Damn 16mm is so sexy, i need to shoot on that format at least once before i die.

Keep making videos dude! I love the history of this stuff.

Wow, I last shot on 16mm in 2005 with the Arri SR3- we shot in Vision 3 200T and it simply was amazing! I miss using film.. is exciting getting your footage back from the lab transferred to Mini DV and seeing what you got!

Ah…16mm school films. I was in AV in high school in the early 70s. We had a full auditorium with a projection booth. In it was a 16mm RCA Porto-Arc projector, hand threaded with a carbon arc lamp house.  Some of the other AV kids didn’t want to get near the thing but I loved it. Yes, there was a steeper learning curve to using it than a Bell and Howell Filmosound classroom autoloader but man did it put on a big bright show in our large auditorium. It was amazing to me that you could blow those little tiny images on the film up to the size of our stage sized screen and they looked so bright and beautiful.

Cut my filmmaking teeth on 16mm. Was a lot of fun. I always liked the 70s look of the Ektachrome stocks, not the new E-6 Ektachrome but the VNF/ME-4 era stuff. Too bad you can't get that now.

A slip-of-the tongue at 3:15? Didn't you mean that, on the early hand-crank cameras, you had to shoot at 2 revolutions per sec?

I can confirm that Ektachrome 16mm film is out now  (August 2019) and available here in the UK. I've got a couple of 100ft rolls in my fridge already.

Thank you. This channel has been super informative. Especially for someone who has no means to ever use film on their projects. Great content man, I hope you get more reach!

Fun fact: The OC was filmed entirely on 16mm except for the pilot episode which was 35mm

You’re amazing, I’ve been looking for the exact information you gave at 1:56 for a long time and you are appreciated. 😊

You didn't mention that television extensively used 16mm for broadcasting and storage of TV programs

Wow !! Whata  Blessing To See This 16mm Film Video From A Young Guy Who's  At The Top Of His Professions  Knowledge Game.  Thanks A Million !! Really Enjoyed This.

This was worth my time. Thank you.