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127 is a roll film format for still photography introduced by Kodak in 1912.
The film itself is 46 mm wide, placing it between 35 mm and 120 "medium format" films in terms of size. [1] The image format normally used is a square 4 cm × 4 cm. However, rectangular 4 cm × 3 cm and 4 cm × 6 cm are also standard.
127 enjoyed mainstream popularity until its usage began to decline from the 1960s onwards in the face of newer, cartridge-based films. [2] However, as of 2020 [update] it survives as a niche format and is still in production. [3]
127 is a roll film, 46 mm wide. Frame number markings for the 4×4 and 4×6 image formats are printed on the backing paper, while 4×3 cameras typically have two frame counter windows, exposing the left and right halves of the 4×6 frame.
Using the square format, there are 12 exposures per roll; 4×3 and 4×6 give 16 and 8, respectively.
Less commonly, other frame sizes have been used. For its "Alfax" model (circa 1940), Kimura Kōgaku had 4 cm × 4.5 cm frames, spaced by markings on the wind knob. In addition, the manufacturer C. F. Foth & Co. used an image format of 3.6 cm × 2.4 cm (the same size as is standard for 135) for initial versions of their 127-based "Derby" camera. [4]
The format was introduced by Kodak in 1912, along with the Vest Pocket Kodak folding camera, as a compact alternative to larger portable cameras using 120 film. The folding "127s" were in fact smaller than most 35 mm cameras today. The 127 format made a comeback during the 1950s as the format of choice for small inexpensive cameras such as the Brownie and Satellite, and continued in wide use until surpassed by the 126 film and 110 film "Instamatic" cartridges (introduced in 1963 and 1972 respectively), and especially by 35 mm. 127 cameras from that era were often characterized by simple box-like construction. Slides shot on 127 slide film were often preferred over 35 mm for example for sets of slides sold at tourist gift shops, because of the larger photo area (hence the advertised name "Superslides") [5] and completely square dimensions of a 127 slide. The format was part of the ISO 732 standard until it was dropped in the third (1991) edition of that standard.
Not all 127 films were labelled as such. After 1913, many Kodak cameras included the Autographic feature, and Kodak's 127 films which had Autographic backing were identified as "A127". Other film manufacturers did not produce Autographic films, for which Kodak held a patent. Other camera manufacturers did make Vest Pocket-format cameras, however, and 127 film at the time was often labeled “Vest Pocket Film”.
The format was mainly used for amateur cameras like the Brownie or the Zeiss Ikon Kolibri, with the Exakta SLR, the “Baby” Rolleiflex, the Yashica 44 TLR, the Komaflex-S SLR and the Primo jr as possible exceptions.[ citation needed ]
127 color transparencies can be mounted in standard 2” square slide mounts, and projected in an ordinary 35 mm projector. Because of their much greater area, the projected image is larger and more brilliant than a 35 mm slide, and they are popularly called "Superslides", a name once reserved for 40 × 40 mm slides cut down from 120 film. [6]
Kodak stopped producing 127 film in July 1995, [7] with all but one manufacturer following suit shortly thereafter. Fotokemika of Samobor, Croatia, continued to make 127 film, which it sold under its own Efke brand, as well as custom-packaged for other sellers, until 2012. Macophoto UP100 and Jessops 200 were made and packaged by Fotokemika. Chromazone 127 film is also sold intermittently on eBay. In September 2006, Bluefire Laboratories of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, began packaging 127 color print film, cutting Kodak or Agfa film to size from bulk rolls, and assembling the rolls of film from their own components.
In July 2009, Rollei (Maco Photo Products, Hans O. Mahn GmbH & Co. KG) introduced Rollei Retro 80S film, available in 127 format.[ citation needed ]
In August 2014, Maco announced that they will be selling black-and-white 127 film under the Rera Pan brand. This film is manufactured in Japan by EZOX Corporation, who are better known for manufacturing agricultural equipment and bicycles.
A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin lens reflex and rangefinder cameras, the viewed image could be significantly different from the final image. When the shutter button is pressed on most SLRs, the mirror flips out of the light path, allowing light to pass through to the light receptor and the image to be captured.
A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photography and videography, cameras have played a significant role in the progression of visual arts, media, entertainment, surveillance, and scientific research. The invention of the camera dates back to the 19th century and has since evolved with advancements in technology, leading to a vast array of types and models in the 21st century.
A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens", while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level.
135 film, more popularly referred to as 35 mm film or 35 mm, is a format of photographic film with a film gauge of 35 mm (1.4 in) loaded into a standardized type of magazine for use in 135 film cameras.
120 is a film format for still photography introduced by Kodak for their Brownie No. 2 in 1901. It was originally intended for amateur photography but was later superseded in this role by 135 film. 120 film survives to this day as the only medium format film that is readily available to both professionals and amateur enthusiasts.
126 film is a cartridge-based film format used in still photography. It was introduced by Kodak in 1963, and is associated mainly with low-end point-and-shoot cameras, particularly Kodak's own Instamatic series of cameras.
110 is a cartridge-based film format used in still photography. It was introduced by Kodak in 1972. 110 is essentially a miniaturized version of Kodak's earlier 126 film format. Each frame is 13 mm × 17 mm, with one registration hole. Cartridges with 12, 20, or 24 frames are available on-line. Production variations sometimes have allowed for an additional image.
Advanced Photo System (APS) is a discontinued film format for still photography first produced in 1996. It was marketed by Eastman Kodak under the brand name Advantix, by FujiFilm under the name Nexia, by Agfa under the name Futura and by Konica as Centuria.
Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Nowadays, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than the 24 mm × 36 mm used in 35 mm photography, but smaller than 4 in × 5 in.
The Brownie was a series of camera models made by Eastman Kodak and first released in 1900.
The Instamatic is a series of inexpensive, easy-to-load 126 and 110 cameras made by Kodak beginning in 1963. The Instamatic was immensely successful, introducing a generation to low-cost photography and spawning numerous imitators.
The autographic system for roll film was launched by Kodak in 1914, and allowed the photographer to add written information on the film at the time of exposure.
Subminiature photography is photographic technologies and techniques working with film material smaller in size than 35mm film, such as 16mm, 9.5mm, 17mm, or 17.5mm films. It is distinct from photomicrography, photographing microscopic subjects with a camera which is not particularly small.
Large format photography refers to any imaging format of 9 cm × 12 cm or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the 6 cm × 6 cm or 6 cm × 9 cm size of Hasselblad, Mamiya, Rollei, Kowa, and Pentax cameras, and much larger than the 24 mm × 36 mm frame of 35 mm format.
Rollei was a German manufacturer of optical instruments founded in 1920 by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras. Later products included specialty and nostalgic type films for the photo hobbyist market.
Rolleiflex is the name of a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werke.
Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH is a manufacturer of industrial and photographic optics. The company was founded on 18 January 1913 by Joseph Schneider as Optische Anstalt Jos. Schneider & Co. at Bad Kreuznach in Germany. The company changed its name to Jos. Schneider & Co., Optische Werke, Kreuznach in 1922, and to the current Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH in 1998.
Half-frame cameras, also called single-frame or split-frame cameras, are film cameras compatible with 35mm film types. These cameras capture congruent shots that take up half of each individual frame in the roll of film. They can be still frame or motion picture cameras and are the standard format of 35mm movie cameras. This is commonly expressed, more technically, as 18×24 mm using 18×24 mm of a regular 135 film. It is closer to the normal frame size of a 35 mm motion film. This leaves half frame cameras to derive their film plate size from the aspect ratio, and frame size that was first designated by Thomas Edison at the dawn of the motion picture industry. Traditionally, the additional film width on motion picture film is used for audio in later film standards, although the original patent for sound on film is derived from the 1880s.
Heinz Waaske was a German camera designer, notably father of the Rollei 35.