My new favorite tlr
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127 TLRs have got to be the cutest camera ever made. They are like kittens, you just have to take them home and always fun to play with.
OP
OP
First one I’ve had. How’s my Medalist doing?
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- Sirius Glass
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The Primo Jr. is probably the best 127 camera around. It's much more reliable than the Baby Rolleiflex, infinitely more sturdy than the Komaflex (a 127 SLR), and the lens is top-notch.
127 film is quite expensive these days, but 100ft and 200ft rolls of 46mm film (127 is 46mm wide) can be found pretty frequently for sale. It was used in bulk in school portrait cameras right up to the transition to digital, so it's possible to find film that expired in this century and still works well. Mostly it's Portra 160 & 400nc and Agfa Portrait out there. Might be worth a look if you want to save some cutting.
127 film is quite expensive these days, but 100ft and 200ft rolls of 46mm film (127 is 46mm wide) can be found pretty frequently for sale. It was used in bulk in school portrait cameras right up to the transition to digital, so it's possible to find film that expired in this century and still works well. Mostly it's Portra 160 & 400nc and Agfa Portrait out there. Might be worth a look if you want to save some cutting.
But doesn't 127 film require backing paper? How does one get and use backing paper when rolling from bulk rolls?
The size of the cameras is very attractive, and I would be happy with a 4x4cm or 4x6cm negative -- but I am too lazy to endure a lot of extra effort to prepare the film.
Omgosh cute camera!! Right now the ULF sale from Ilford has 46mm. I haven’t bulk rolled 127 for the same reason — seems a bit cumbersome? — but I’ve started saving backing paper from a few 127 rolls in case I want to in future.
Of course that said, I also just ordered the Camerhack’s 120 to 127 cutter (hasn’t arrived yet). This is another way to get 127 sized backing papers. And from prior threads on Photrio it sounds like some folks use the same device just for re-spooling rather than cutting. Could be a thing you might want to check out too? (Not an endorsement - just sharing if helpful)
www.camerhack.it
Of course that said, I also just ordered the Camerhack’s 120 to 127 cutter (hasn’t arrived yet). This is another way to get 127 sized backing papers. And from prior threads on Photrio it sounds like some folks use the same device just for re-spooling rather than cutting. Could be a thing you might want to check out too? (Not an endorsement - just sharing if helpful)
FCK127: make your own 127 film
Film Cutter Kit for 127 film: a complete kit that cuts 120 film and rolls it to 127 spool
www.camerhack.it
Andrew O'Neill
Moderator
Very cool! I've never heard of that one before.
I re-use backing paper and spools from old rolls. Buy a few rolls of Rerapan (or find some Verichrome 127 on Ebay) and reuse the spools and backing paper. When that backing paper eventually wears out cut down some 120 paper to match.
Beautiful!
OP
OP
I incorrectly loaded the first expensive ass roll of film. Didn’t see a 1 on the paper and kept going. I need to get a changing bag and try to get it back on the original spool.
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Solution for 127 paper is to get the FCK 127 cutter but only get the cutter. Don't bother with any other parts.
I’ve been shooting 127 for a long time now. I’ll second the opinion that the Primo/Sawyer cameras are the easiest to use and most reliable 127 TLRs. I had about 300 feet of 46mm Portra NC but that’s nearly gone now; still got some Agfa 160 XPS in 46mm and it actually holds up better than the Portra color-wise. Otherwise it’s all Ilford B&W stock from here on. These 127 TLRs are perfect for street work; nobody sees them.
Cut my own 127 backing paper out of 120. Happy shooting with the Primo!
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My goal is to find a working Primo/Sawyers. Right now I have a Ricoh and a few Yashicas. They're fine but I seem to miss focus more times than not.
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Never heard of this! There are countless Rolleiflex knockoffs, good and bad ones. This one looks like a really high quality camera and the condition is beyond beautiful. Congratulations.
Dang, great shot. Beautiful colors.
OP
OP
So anyone that has this camera. The exposure counter lock? I should push down the small pin then slide the stepped button over it and it should stay in place correct? The pin depresses and the button slides a little but won’t go all the way over it.
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OP
OP
Just realized the counter was on 1 when I recieved it. Front resting it. Am I correct that I need to remove the film and reset to 0 before reloading? I think that’s why I’m having trouble with the lock???
You should load the film, close the camera and wind until you see "1" showing in the red window on the rear of the camera. Then push the small pin down and the larger one to the left. The exposure counter should flip to 1. If it's already on 1 it's not going to flip, of course. You should then be good to go. Take a shot, wind and (fingers crossed) the exposure counter goes to 2. If it doesn't, then you have a problem.
OP
OP
If it was already on 1 will the button not slide over when you push the pin down?
On mine, yes.
I like both the Sawyer/Topcon and the Baby Rollei. The Topcon feels a bit more premium and pro looking with the faster lens and crank advance, while the Baby Rollei looks cuter with its grey leatherette. Both produce excellent images.
Since both feature automatic film advance and frame counting, it is possible to use home-brew 127 rolls sliced down from 120 rolls. I use the FCK127 kit, which is ok for slicing. But I use a dark change bag and two 127 spools to manually re-spool after the slicing.
I have a few cans of 46mm bulk film, and can assemble my own 127 rolls quite easily by reusing the backing paper from ReraPans. See a photo below with three rolls going, in my tight walk-in closet as dark room. As another poster said, the expired Agfa XPS Portrait 160 ages very well, and I got very good results from 2001 exp date film. Just need a bit of white balance tweaking by shooting the Xrite color targets.
127 bulk film rolling by Zheng, on Flickr
Since both feature automatic film advance and frame counting, it is possible to use home-brew 127 rolls sliced down from 120 rolls. I use the FCK127 kit, which is ok for slicing. But I use a dark change bag and two 127 spools to manually re-spool after the slicing.
I have a few cans of 46mm bulk film, and can assemble my own 127 rolls quite easily by reusing the backing paper from ReraPans. See a photo below with three rolls going, in my tight walk-in closet as dark room. As another poster said, the expired Agfa XPS Portrait 160 ages very well, and I got very good results from 2001 exp date film. Just need a bit of white balance tweaking by shooting the Xrite color targets.
127 bulk film rolling by Zheng, on Flickr
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