Step up Your Photographic Skills with 127 Film
Also known as vest pocket film, 127 film is a paper backed 47 mm film format that was designed for still life. Autographic variants of 127 film allow the photographer to write notes on the film’s paper backing whilst shooting. You can find a range of 127 film on eBay.
How do you load film into a 127 Camera?The film chamber of your 127 film camera will have two compartments, one supply compartment and one take-up compartment. The compartments will be on opposing sides of the camera’s film plane. The process is as follows:
- Place the empty take-up spool into the take-up chamber, making sure the groove on the take-up spindle is aligned correctly with the blade on the camera’s film advancement mechanism.
- Hold the roll of film between your thumb and forefinger, then place it into the supply chamber.
- Apply gentle pressure to the film with one finger to prevent the film from unrolling.
- Pull out a length of about 10cm from the supply chamber and insert the film’s tongue into the slot on the take-up spindle.
- Turn the film advancement wheel until the start arrows printed on the backing paper are aligned to the supply side edge of the film plane.
- Close the camera film compartment to prevent the film from being exposed to light.
- Slowly advance the film until the number 1 appears in your camera’s exposure count window.
That depends on what type of camera you are using. If your camera takes photographs in the square 4x4 image format, you will get 12 exposures per 127 roll film. The 4x3 image format and the 4x6 image format provide 16 and 8 exposures per roll respectively.
How should you handle exposed 127 film?After exposing the final frame, wind the film all the way to the end and then remove it from your camera. Use the gum strip on the end of the film to seal the roll, leave the empty supply spool inside your camera to use as the next take-up spool. Photographic film degrades much quicker after it has been exposed, so it is important to get your 127 film developed as soon as possible. Refrigerate the exposed film inside an airtight bag to slow down the chemical degradation process.