Champion Camera

[Barry Dale]

<p>I just found a Champion (for $12.50) made or distributed by "The Camera Guy" in Chicago. It looks like it takes 127 film. Stamped on the inside of the back is "1 5/8" x 2 1/2, 4 x 6.5 cm, any vest pocket film" I could find almost nothing on the net about it. Anyone have any information? Year(s) of mfg., aperture, shutter speed?</p>

[donnie_strickland]

<p><a href="

<p>Yes, that's 127 film. Probably late 1930s, about f/11, shutter speeds "Instant" (likely 1/30 or 1/60) and "Time" (Bulb).</p>

[Dustin McAmera]

<p>Camera-wiki has it as 'the Camera <em>Man</em>':<br>

http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/The_Camera_Man<br>

The article links to an advertisement from 1946; note, though that the advertisement is for a camera, apparently the same, but for 16 frames on 127 (so a half-frame version of the one you have).<br /></p>

[walter_degroot]

<p>I think some of the german and eastern europe desalers and likely Rollei sell 127 film.<br>

the "half frame" 16 exposure cameras are flat accross the back. and a bare spool of 35mm film ( 25mm wide) will fit.<br>

blocking the red holes and counting turns works.<br>

BUT many 127 "full frame" 1 5/8 x 2 1/4" cameras often have a cirved bacl.<br>

and if you try bare 35mm film is will not stay in the film plane.<br>

( despite the misguided video on youtube- done by know-nothings)<br>

You can cut 120 film by sawing the roll in dim light.,<br>

but the numbers will be wrong.<br>

You must take another baking paper and manually mark it.<br>

this is still less expensive than buying a $12.00 roll of 127.<br>

The film is 46mm wide. and 120 is 58-60mm wide.<br>

not enough left over for a sub mini camera.</p>

<p> </p>

[dave_g1]

<p>Actually if you trim 120 by cutting off both edges and leaving the center, the numbers will be roughly in the right place for 127. The center numbers for 120 are for the 6x6 format, the center numbers in 127 are for the 6.5x4 format. </p>

[Dustin McAmera]

<p>There's a discussion of cutting 120 film down for width in the 127 group on Flickr:<br>

http://www.flickr.com/groups/127/discuss/59155/<br>

This is about cutting with knife-based devices. Not sure I'd like to use a saw in the dark..<br>

Until recently I left the film on its own backing paper (cut down at the same time), but there are some problems to this. Most notably, the 1-12 numbers on a 120 film are about 6.5 cm apart (to serve a frame which is about 6 cm), but the full-frame numbers on a 127 roll need to be about 7 cm apart, because the frame is 6.5 cm long. With a full-frame camera, you might use the existing numbers and get some slight overlapped frames; this might not be too much of a pain. Mostly, I use 3x4 cm cameras, and losing any of such a small frame is a problem. So I have started transferring the film to a backing paper with my own frame numbers on (actually, I just rule lines across the paper).<br>

I make the width of a 120 film (I measured a backing paper) 62 mm; the scrap should be 16 mm wide.</p>

[Rick_van_Nooij]

<p>Efke and Rollei manufacture 127 format film. Rollei started up production again in 2010 as I recall.<br>

And I'm told 1 or 2 other companies still run this format as well. </p>

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