#127Day - A celebration of 127 Film and Cameras

 The 12th July dawned brightly here in the north west of England and I rose from my bed with a mission to perform that day. It was #127Day and my aim was to shoot a roll of Shanghai GP3 100 127 film with my Kodak Brownie 127 camera before the day's end. I had bought a couple of rolls from Nik & Trick in readiness, now all I had to do was get it done. With a roll loaded into my Brownie 127, I headed out for a morning walk in the countryside near my home.

#127Day is the brainchild of JM Golding, a film photographer in the USA who likes the smaller medium format and wanted to encourage fellow photographers to bring 127 cameras back into use. The film size was introduced by Kodak in 1912 and was discontinued in 1995. You would think that was the end for a format designed for Kodak's much lauded "Vest Pocket" cameras. However, Kodak were not the only photographic company with 127 cameras and film in their line up. 

The Baby Rolleiflex was a scaled down version of the Rolleiflex TLR cameras and used 127 film. Yashica had the Yashica 44 TLR whose named directly linked to the size of the image, 4cm x 4cm. Zeiss Ikon produced the Kolibri 127 camera and of course, Kodak produced the Brownie 127 that I have. The major film manufacturers produced 127 film and contract coated for others too. Although the major manufacturers ceased production many years ago, it wasn't the end of the film.

One thing we have in the 21st century is 3D printing. A talented person with a 3D printer designed a film cutter that took a standard 120 film and you could cut it down to 127 in the comfort of your own home. What was left over was just the right size for the 16mm cameras from Minox and Minolta et al. 

There are companies such as Rera Pan spooling fresh film in small quantities over the years, but nothing from Kodak, AGFA etc. The good folks at Nik & Trick spoke with Shanghai Film and convinced them to do a small experimental run to see if folk would buy it. It quickly sold out and fresh 127 film was officially back in production in numbers that make it readily available again.

In a world where digital photography is the norm, film photography is rising higher thanks to the efforts of dedicated film photographers who refused to let film die. Community collaboration is a great way of getting out and having fun with cameras and film formats that where niche products back when film was king. 

I enjoyed myself immensely on my walk with a roll of Shagnhai GP3 100 127 film in my Kodak Brownie 127. The camera is a Bakelite box with a plastic meniscus lens in front of a basic spring loaded shutter. 127 film has a backing paper with frame numbers printed on it that you see through a red plastic window on the back. I was about to shoot my final frame when disaster happened. My Brownie 127 popped open. 

I thought I lost the 8th and last frame and almost certainly lost the 7th, but had I lost anymore? I wouldn't know until I developed the film. I could risk it, or I could just go out the following day, retrace my steps and shoot my second roll, admittedly a day late. Thankfully JM is a laid back person and didn't mind at all, so that's what I did. 

I loaded my second roll into my Brownie 127, taped the lid on securely and taped over the locking screw to stop it coming undone. By the end of my walk on the 13th July, (now known as #137Day-the walk of shame) I was thoroughly exhausted and happy that I got the full 8 frames, but would I extend that number after developing both rolls? 

I developed my rolls of Shanghai GP3 127 film using FX-55 for 10 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Pixl-Latr with 127 medium format film holder and A5 sized led light pad. I processed my RAW files with Affinity Studio.

I didn't lose any shots on my first roll, somehow the film hadn't fogged and it wasn't a complete disaster. I thank the Photography Gods for them. My second roll was also a full 8 shots and to be fair, I'm happy with that. I didn't have to do too much to them to make them presentable and shows me that Shanghai GP3 100 iso film is the perfect choice for the camera for the summer edition of #127Day. 

The Kodak Brownie 127 was never a camera to get super sharp, well exposed photos when it was new in the 1950's, never mind 70 years later. It's a camera to have fun with and see what happens. I certainly didn't expect wall hangers, but I did get some that I am pretty happy with. It's basic spring set shutter is around 1/50th of a second at roughly f/14. It's as basic as one step up from a pinhole camera gets and yes, it's a lot of fun. Roll on December 7th and then January 2027 for a special month long appreciation of 127 film. 

100 iso film? With a Kodak Brownie 127? In midwinter? Are you mad? 
Why yes! Yes I am.

Kodak Brownie 127 and Shanghai GP3-100 for #127Day