127 film and camera clubhouse

[Cholentpot]

A discussion for all things 127. What kind of cameras, film, and where you get it these days. This includes hacks like running 35mm through them.

I have a few of these cameras and I've enjoyed using them. It's funny how this format that should have died long ago is still kicking around while other formats that came after it are long gone (looking at you 126).

Post photos of your cameras, results from cameras and all sorts of things in between. There's always requests for spools and papers.

Yashica 44, Porta 160NC

 

[Kino]

Here's my 44 LM kit with the matching meter. I have another 44 that is being reskinned at the moment, but not ready to shoot.

Just ordered 5 rolls of Shanghai GP3 to shoot, but have a bulk roll of well expired Portra 160 in 46mm I hope to spool-up in the future.

 

[Cholentpot]

That's a clean copy.

 

[notoriousLT]

Here's my 44 LM kit with the matching meter. I have another 44 that is being reskinned at the moment, but not ready to shoot.

Just ordered 5 rolls of Shanghai GP3 to shoot, but have a bulk roll of well expired Portra 160 in 46mm I hope to spool-up in the future.

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Damnnn what a sexy combo!

 

[BAC1967]

I roll my own from bulk rolls of Ilford HP-5+ purchased from their ULF sale. I re-use old backing paper or trim down from 120 paper. I built the rig pictured below to make measuring and spooling easier.

 

[Kino]

That's quite the handy rig! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Donald Qualls]

I have a number of 127 cameras, from a half-frame Zeiss folder (16 frames on a roll, or 24 on recut 120) to a bottom-end Yashica 44 (three-speed shutter and triplet lens).

I've bought Rerapan recently, but especially for 4x4 I prefer to recut 120. Cheaper, gets me a 16 mm strip (near enough) for my Minolta format cameras (and my Yashica 16 once I get it running), and I can use any emulsion available in medium format. One must mask the frame a little for full and half frame cameras to avoid overlaps, but it works fine and with a little trim of the head and tail paper can fit entirely inside the spool flanges.

 

[Cholentpot]

I have a number of 127 cameras, from a half-frame Zeiss folder (16 frames on a roll, or 24 on recut 120) to a bottom-end Yashica 44 (three-speed shutter and triplet lens).

I've bought Rerapan recently, but especially for 4x4 I prefer to recut 120. Cheaper, gets me a 16 mm strip (near enough) for my Minolta format cameras (and my Yashica 16 once I get it running), and I can use any emulsion available in medium format. One must mask the frame a little for full and half frame cameras to avoid overlaps, but it works fine and with a little trim of the head and tail paper can fit entirely inside the spool flanges.

Half-Frame 127? Sounds interesting.

I've been looking at a Ricoh Super 44, has more shutter speeds than my Yashica 44. Anyone here has experience with one?

 

[Donald Qualls]

Half-Frame 127? Sounds interesting.

Yep, Baby Ikonta and one of the Nagel/Kodak Vollenda models were 16-on, double red window on the 4x6.5 (center) track. The actual frame is about the same size as 828 -- ~30x40 mm -- but the cameras (all folders, as far as I've seen) are tiny, smaller than a folding 35 mm. Some of them had very good 50 mm lenses, some as fast as f/2.8.

 

[BAC1967]

My 127 cameras:
Primo Jr - Probably the best of the bunch
Baby Rolleiflex - Very close second to the Primo Jr
Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic - Amazing how compact these are
Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic Special
Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic Model B
Kodak Brownie Reflex - My mothers old camera
Kodak Brownie Starmite
Zeiss Ikon Baby Ikonta 520/18 - Broken, never was able to get the shutter working

Here's some examples:
Baby Rolleiflex
Old Tug Boat at Bremerton Marina by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Primo Jr
Sleepy Vera and Rachael by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Kodak Brownie Reflex
Shipwreck Point by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic
Vacubot waiting for the Barber Shop to open by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Kodak Brownie Starmite
Boats Moored in Port Orchard by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

 

[Sirius Glass]

Here's my 44 LM kit with the matching meter. I have another 44 that is being reskinned at the moment, but not ready to shoot.

Just ordered 5 rolls of Shanghai GP3 to shoot, but have a bulk roll of well expired Portra 160 in 46mm I hope to spool-up in the future.

View attachment 341839
View attachment 341840

View attachment 341841

Do you skin your cameras alive!!! ​

 

[Donald Qualls]

Yep, the 127 folders can be very, very small. And with a good lens, they'll really hold their own even after a century.

 

[JPD]

I have a Rolleiflex 4x4 from 1938 and a couple of Efke 100 rolls (frozen). The 2,8/60 Tessar is very nice.

The post-war 4x4 Rolleiflexes had stronger pressure plates to solve the film flatness issue, but it's ironic that my grey Baby Rolleiflex had problems with film flatness while the pre-war camera doesn't.

 

[JPD]

Yep, the 127 folders can be very, very small. And with a good lens, they'll really hold their own even after a century.

And among those, a 4x6,5 Goerz Roll-Tenax with the 6,8/75 Dagor could be a real gem.

 

[blee1996]

127 cameras can be noticeably smaller than 120 equivalents, and can be quite fun to carry around.

I prefer the cameras that do not rely on red windows for all the frames, since rolling my own film gives me much more choices. Thus I tend to use the Yashica 44 LM and Sawyer's Mark IV most. The first frame is quite easy even without red window, since you can feel the resistance of the thicker film+ backing paper going through the rollers. For sliced-down 127 from 120 rolls, typically I cannot count on the frame numbers on the backing paper.

In terms of native film, Rerapan 100 is very convenient and really nice in terms of overall sharpness and tonality. I try to buy a few fresh rolls from B&H regularly, in order to support the Japanese company that is still producing it.

@BAC1967 your photos are beautiful both aesthetically and technically.

A few of my 4x4 photos
https://flickr.com/photos/blee1996/albums/72177720306298540

 

[jay moussy]

My newly found Kodak Bullet is a reminder that I need to get to speed with 127 format, as it sits next to an older Vest Pocket!

So far, I have laid out the two old VP backing papers an old film on a board to stretch them out, after many years of being rolled up tight.

I also got a Bantam 6.3, a 828 camera, so I have to ask, what prompted the introduction of 828? They are not that different, are they?

 

[Valerie]

I have 2 Starmites and a new-to-me Sawyer Mark IV waiting to be used. (Shooting isn't very enjoyable when its 100+ degrees out!)

I also have a Komaflex S, but far prefer using a TLR so the Komaflex is now listed in the classifieds.

 

[MattKing]

My newly found Kodak Bullet is a reminder that I need to get to speed with 127 format, as it sits next to an older Vest Pocket!

So far, I have laid out the two old VP backing papers an old film on a board to stretch them out, after many years of being rolled up tight.

I also got a Bantam 6.3, a 828 camera, so I have to ask, what prompted the introduction of 828? They are not that different, are they?

828 film stock is the same width as 135, so it can be developed in any reel or machine designed for 135.
I have a few thousand 828 Kodachrome slides taken mostly by my father that attest to that.

 

[Donald Qualls]

what prompted the introduction of 828?

First, as noted, 828 is the same cut width as 135 (though with very different perforations). However, 828 was the very familiar (to those coming from 120/620 or 127, never mind larger sizes like 116/616 or 122) roll backed, spool to spool loading model (in fact, the spools are very much like shrunken 127). Originally, it was the old comfortable 8 frames on a roll, though before it was dropped in the 1970s there was an option for 12 in at least some emulsions (I can get 16 with recut 120 and careful trimming of the leader and tail during the respool). Also, 828 first introduced the one perf per frame with a stop finger that ran on through 126 cartridge and then 110 formats; this made it much easier for casual users, who could literally (at least with some camera models) get the film on the takeup spool, close the camera back, and wind until the film stopped, then do so again and again until the film freewheeled at roll end -- and this in a "two Christmases on one roll" market where if the camera wasn't pretty cheap, it wouldn't sell.

Kodak seemingly hoped these conveniences (familiar loading and increased ease of use) would let them lock in customers as they'd done in the past with 616 and 620 -- and it seemingly worked, up to a point (they also mastered the technique of switching formats when too many imitators had entered their "private" market).

 

[ic-racer]

As a Rollei 35mm SLR user, If I wanted a 127 camera to use today, I'd get a Rollei SL26 with Zeiss interchangeable lenses.

Anyone have one?

 

[Cholentpot]

As a Rollei 35mm SLR user, If I wanted a 127 camera to use today, I'd get a Rollei SL26 with Zeiss interchangeable lenses.

Anyone have one?

View attachment 341897

This is 126. I have a bunch of 126 cameras that I can't use because they rely on using 126 film that has the proper sprockets.

I have 2 Starmites and a new-to-me Sawyer Mark IV waiting to be used. (Shooting isn't very enjoyable when its 100+ degrees out!)

I also have a Komaflex S, but far prefer using a TLR so the Komaflex is now listed in the classifieds.

Sawyer Mark IV is my current grail camera. I've been looking for a deal on one for a few years now.

I had an eye on the Komaflex, the only thing really holding me back is the complicated instructions on how not to mess up the shutter. I have enough messed up cameras as is and I'm not very good at repairing what I break. Fiddly cameras are for some, not for me.

 

[4season]

To date, this has been my only 127 camera, but I got into an eBay selling frenzy during the pandemic, and it's one of the items I "released back into the wild".

 

[ic-racer]

This is 126. I have a bunch of 126 cameras that I can't use because they rely on using 126 film that has the proper sprockets.

oops..a digit off. Well they are both square!

 

[MCB18]

I roll my own from bulk rolls of Ilford HP-5+ purchased from their ULF sale. I re-use old backing paper or trim down from 120 paper. I built the rig pictured below to make measuring and spooling easier.

Do you have a demo of how this works? I might try to adapt this design to make 120 or 220.

 

[BAC1967]

Do you have a demo of how this works? I might try to adapt this design to make 120 or 220.

I don’t have a demo but I can try to explain how it works. From the spool to the end of the two channel aluminum rail is the length the film needs to be. The bottom channel is for backing paper and the top is for film. Having the film in the top channel allows you to cut the film to the proper length after feeding it off the bulk roll. The bulk roll mounts on the empty post in the first picture. So I can work in the dark I mark a spot on the backing paper with tape so I know where the un-taped end of the film starts since this needs to be your starting point when you roll it. That tape just allows you to feel for the correct location. I roll the backing paper onto the spool to the point where that tape is then clip it with a clothes pin to hold it in place. I then pull the film through the top channel and tuck it into the spool. Next I cut the film to length using the channel as a guide. Then I attach a pre-cut piece of tape to that end of the film With about half of it off the film. Then you just crank it all onto the spool, the channels keep everything straight and the tape attaches itself to the backing paper when it goes into the spool. The wood block on the end past where the bulk roll is placed holds the backing paper flat on that end. When you start rolling it just pulls out from under the block.

I hope that makes sense, feel free to ask questions if it doesn’t. One of the hard parts is getting the tape on the end of the film in the dark leaving enough to attach to the backing paper. I pre cut the tape a little shorter than the film width to allow for some error. The key to this working properly is keeping the taped end of the film separate from the backing paper until it goes into the spool. If you taped it to the paper first you will get rumpled paper. The channel helps guide you when attaching the tape to the film. So far it has worked really well for me.