This is another of the little black folding cameras from the 1930s that I am particularly fond of. It all seems to work, but I've not put a film through it before, so I won't know how light tight it is until next week.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
photo from 127 camera No. 28 - Baby Brownie Special
The age-related degeneration in the film is much in evidence here, though I was rather disappointed not to see in of the backing paper markings as I have sometimes found on very old film.
Sunday, 25 November 2012
127 camera number 28 - Baby Brownie Special
It's been a couple of months since I last used a "new" 127 camera, so with the centenary year drawing to a close, I'll try to fit some more in. This is a full frame model, so it takes 8 photos on a roll. It is as basic as you can get, no focussing, fixed aperture and a single shutter speed with no "B" setting. I loaded it with Efke black and white film.
Sunday, 14 October 2012
photo from 127 camera number 27 - Purma Special
The Purma special has three shutter speeds, selceted according to which way up the camera is held, but there is no "B" setting, so indoor shots are generally not feasible. This sunlit chapel seemed just about bright enough to get away with the "slow" shutter speed, so I took this picture of Isaac Newton. Even though the sculpture was several feet away, it is clear that the lens is focussed better on the wall behind, there is no way to focus the Purma, other than by attaching supplementary lenses, but I don't have any of them, so this was the best I could do.
Thursday, 27 September 2012
127 camera number 27 - Purma Special
This is something of a design classic, with its art deco lines and bakelite construction. It also has an unusual shutter, which has three speeds depending on which way the camera is held. The format is square (but not the standard 12 on a roll 4cm x 4cm, this takes sixteen 32mm x 32mm photos) so the orientation of the camera doesn't matter. There is no focusing, and a fixed aperture of f6.3.
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
photo from 127 camera No. 26 - Brownie Starmatic
This camera was made for the expanding tourist market in the early 1960s, so this rather obvious holiday snap is an appropriate choice of subject.
127 camera number 26 - Brownie Starmatic
I found this camera recently in a charity shop, it has an automatic exposure system which still seems to work despite being around 50 years old. At 44mm the lens is quite wide, which makes a nice change for this format. I loaded it with Efke 100 film to take away on holiday.
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Helter-Skelter
This was taken with a Kodak Brownie 44A, I used one of these back in February, but this one was a recent find at a car boot sale, it had a partly used film in it, and I decided to finish the film off and develop it. At first it seemed completely blank, but when it dried out, I could just make out some very faint images, so I scanned the negatives and did what I could to salvage them in photoshop. Technically the results are abysmal, but this timeless subject has a certain charm.
Thursday, 2 August 2012
photo from 127 camera No. 25 - Falcon Miniature
The quality of the images from this camera proved to be rather poor, this is one of the better photos, using a miniature camera to photograph giant pigeons!
Monday, 23 July 2012
127 camera number 25 - Falcon Miniature
There were a number of very similar looking models made in the 1940s and 50s, the styling of this one was a source for the current retro-looking "Sprocket Rocket" from the Lomography store. It has an unusual feature in that a spare roll of film can be stored in a chamber inside the back. The weather has brightened up a bit, so I hope to be able to use this fixed speed, fixed aperture, focus-free camera without too much difficulty this week.
photo from 127 camera No. 24 - Luxette
The definition, at least in the centre, of this lens is quite good. This one was taken during a cloudy spell on a fairly bright day, I can't remeber which aperture I used, but I think it was probably f11.
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
127 camera number 24 - Luxette
This little camera is rather scruffy, but seems to work OK. It takes square photos and has 3 apertures and 4 shutter speeds (plus B).
At the height of the English summer I was hoping to use a more basic camera that needs good light, but it is so dull and wet here that I decided to use one with a bit more flexibility in terms of lighting conditions. I've loaded it with Efke 100 film.
Saturday, 16 June 2012
photo from 127 camera number 23 - Baby Rolleiflex
I took the camera to London for the "Film Photography Podcast" meetup. This is one of the few photos that doesn't feature another photographer!
127 camera number 23 - Baby Rolleiflex
Although it's a bit battered, this one works OK, except for hesitant slow shutter speeds. It was made in Germany in the early 1930s.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
photo from 127 camera number 22 - Bencini Minicomet
The film was in poor condition, and was stuck to the backing paper, I had to develop it as it was, though at the end of the process the paper peeled off quite easily. There was a considerable residue of paper particles left stuck to the film, these are the white flecks visible on this photo.
127 camera number 22 - Bencini Minicomet
This is not only a new model for me, but a new format, it takes 2cm x 3cm pictures, and squeezes 24 exposures out of a roll. So far I haven't been able to find any other cameras that use 127 film in this way.
It was made in the early 1960s, there was a film in it when I found it, Kodacolor II, which was introduced in 127 size in 1973.
Thursday, 24 May 2012
photo from 127 camera number 21 - Bell & Howell Electric Eye
The automatic exposure mechanism on this camera seems to have died, but it still works as a fixed aperture, single speed device. I transferred the partly used film from the Kodak Brownie Super 27 that I was using earlier in the week.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
127 camera number 21 - Bell & Howell Electric Eye
This is a very heavy and chunky camera, although it has an automatic exposure system, this doesn't seem to be working, so I treated it as a simple point and shoot, with fixed aperture and shutter speed, and took the four frames in bright daylight. I didn't want to risk wasting a whole film, so tranferred the part used roll from the Brownie Super 27 to finish it off.
Monday, 21 May 2012
photo from 127 camera number 20 - Kodak Brownie Super 27
The curly Efke film managed to slip free from the film plane and provide an unplanned selective focus effect.
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
127 camera number 20 - Brownie Super 27
The Brownie Super 27 is one of the less common Brownies, at least on this side of the Atlantic. Made between 1961 and 1965 it takes twelve square photos per roll. There is no "B" setting, and two apertures marked sunny and dull, so I'm having to wait for suitable lighting conditions to finish the film off.
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