Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Happy 127 Day!

127 Day? What's that? The day you take your 127 cameras out and shoot, shoot, shoot! Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to take any photos today. All day at work, then driving around during rush hour when it's 112 degrees F doesn't really appeal to me. So, instead...I'll talk a bit about my own 127 cameras over the next few days.
If you want to learn about the film itself, I recommend this entry at Wikipedia. So I'm not just regurgitating someone else's info. 127 film is much smaller than 120/620 and larger than 35mm, as seen here.


And they have little winder nubs on the ends, much like 35mm. 120 film can be rerolled on a 620 spool, but 127 film is only 127 film. The only way to get it is to buy it from the few companies that still make it, like Efke, buy expired film, or cut down 120 film, which I've never done. Expired 127 is fairly common on ebay for a decent price, but you get the effects of expired film. So if you want new, you have to pay the price.
I have four 127 cameras. One of them, the Lark, I've talked about in an earlier post, and still haven't finished a roll through it.

My first 127 camera is the Ilford Sporti 4. This page has some good info on the Sporti line of cameras by Ilford.


I think it's a pretty slick looking camera. Makes me think of an Italian vacation in the 1950s. The body is mostly made of plastic with some metal. It sports a fixed-focus glass lens. It has an aperture switch for Sunny/Cloudy Flash and a hotshoe and plug for an external flash. That's about it! It seems to be made well enough, much like a 35mm camera with a swing back, so it doesn't leak. Made to be a cheaper, friendlier camera, so I would definitely call this a toy camera. I've only used it once, though, mostly because the shutter is really slow. I've cleaned it and oiled it up, and it still drags. The slight blur does give the photos a nice vintage quality, but is limited in its uses. These three shots were taken in Guadalupe, AZ last winter. This is the smallest reservation in the United States, just south of Phoenix.




For more on 127, check out onetwoseven.org . Tomorrow I'll talk about the Bedford Flex, the Diana of TLRs (though not as much fun as a Diana, I think).

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