Here is the 127, 110, and APS film you need
and the flashbulbs that will give your photos that authentic 60-year-old look.
127 update: Black and white 127 films are currently unavailable for shipping. I hope that changes by mid-summer. Please be patient.
The Brownie Starflash pictured here is typical of the fun, easy-to-use '50s-'60s cameras that perform well with our 127 films and M2B flash bulbs.
ISO 400 color print film for cameras that use 127 roll film.
Choose this film for cameras with sophisticated adjustable shutters and f-stops, for use indoors or outdoors, in all kinds of lighting.
Packaged in moisture-proof light-resistant pouch. Use within one year of purchase, or store cold or frozen for longer periods. Process promptly after exposure.
This film has perforations on one edge. Please click and read the details before you order.
Bluefire Murano 400 detailsYour price: $12.49 per roll
Item: 400-127BMUR
ISO 160 color print film for cameras that use 127 roll film.
Choose this film for simple cameras that do not have complex shutter adjustments, and use it for normal daylight photography.
Packaged in moisture-proof light-resistant pouch. Use within one year of purchase, or store cold or frozen for longer periods. Process promptly after exposure.
condition: Newly manufactured
Your price: $11.49 per roll
Item: 127BMUR
Expected back in stock at Nampa on June 28, 2021. You can pre-order now for shipment when it is available.
14 available at Calgary for shipment worldwide.
Bluefire® Murano 160 is the best choice for simple, single-speed cameras.
All of the 127 films offered here work well in sophisticated cameras with adjustable shutters and lenses.
Kodak's Pocket Instamatic film was widely available from 1972 until the late 1990s. Cameras using this film vary from basic and inexpensive, with primitive lenses, to sophisticated and highly capable, with sharp, fast lenses. If you want a pocket full of photographic dynamite, find a good quality Kodak, Canon, Minolta, or other 110 camera on your favorite auction site or at your local thrift store, and order a supply of our inexpensive outdated 110 film for experimenting.
Long outdated 110 color film, ISO 100, 12 exposures per roll. Useful when color fidelity is not important: testing cameras, experimental images, and learning darkroom techniques.
condition: Outdated film
Your price: $1.89 per roll
Item: 110-12
"Quality" brand private label 110 film, made by Agfa. 24 exposures, ISO 200. This film is outdated, but it still gives acceptable images.
condition: Expired
Typical retail price: $0.00 USD
Your price: $6.89 per roll
Item: 110-24-AGFA
Fuji color film for 110 cameras, outdated but still gives acceptable results. ISO 200 for use in all 110 cameras, both simple and sophisticated. 24 exposures per roll.
condition: New old stock
Your price: $6.89 per roll
Item: FU-110
Includes 3 rolls of ISO 200 new old-stock color print film (worth as much as $18 if bought separately).
The Ansco 50 is justifiably considered the best 110 minicamera ever made, and
produces surprisingly good photos. The film cartridge attaches directly to the camera body.
This package includes a camera and three rolls of film (outdated but still good)
for you to experiment with.
condition: New old stock
Your price: $18.49 per package
Item: CAM-A50
Ansco 20 Camera with Kelloggs Corn Flakes logo.
These date from the 1980s and were offered as premiums to Kellogg's Corn Flakes customers.
The Ansco 20 is an early style of 110 minicamera. It has a semi-wide angle lens that is much better than one would expect on a novelty camera.
Works best in daylight with ISO 100 or 200 film.
condition: New old stock
Typical retail price: $7.49 USD
Your price: $5.49 per each
Item: CAM-K20
Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, Konica and Ferrania all made excellent 110 films and sold them under their own brand names. All except Kodak also packaged them for mass-market retailers as "house brand" films.
How good is 110 film? Check the rendition of detail in this image, photographed with Fujicolor 110 using a Pentax 110 SLR camera with a 50mm lens.
APS cameras are very easy to use, and often are well-designed with excellent lenses. There's no good reason for that one in your drawer to stay there. Very few photofinishers charge a premium for processing APS any more. Test your camera with a cartridge or two of our inexpensive outdated Kodak 400, and have the lab print it as black and white.
Some wonderful APS cameras with superb lenses are out there lying idle, and that's a shame. Load up a cartridge of this inexpensive long-outdated film and rediscover that camera and its virtues.
Ask your film lab to print this as black and white, or scan the negatives and use any of the readily-available color-correction programs to snap the deteriorated colors back to life.
At this price, you should buy several.
condition: Outdated film
Your price: $2.24 per roll
Item: APS400
This outdated APS film's color and contrast has deteriorated, which is why it costs so little. Color and contrast can be greatly improved with a photo editor like Paint.Net (which is free). If you find the colors are not good enough, printing it as black and white snaps it back to life.
Outdated bulk-roll unperforated film, for experimental reloading 126 cartridges. Expired 2005, shows some deterioration but still useful. Rated ISO 160 but may benefit from being exposed at 125.
condition: New, outdated
Your price: $49.95 per roll
Item: 35KON-PRO160
Outdated bulk-roll unperforated film, deteriorated colors, for experimental reloading 126 cartridges. Expired 1999, still useful for expressive photography with retro appearance. Rated ISO 160 but may require some additional exposure.
condition: New, outdated
Your price: $34.94 per roll
Item: 35KONSR-G160
Use unperforated 35mm film to reload salvaged 828 spools and backing paper, or to reload 126 Instamatic cartridges. These are outdated Konica professional long-roll stock that has been stored cool but has been affected by time.
The films cannot be used in conventional 35mm cameras (except for a few long-obsolete Canon SLRs). Two qualities are available.
Shanghai GP3 film, 120 size, long outdated
condition: New, outdated
Your price: $4.49 per roll
Item: 120-GP3
This outdated black and white film has been stored in a freezer since it was new, and should give excellent results. Its useful ISO speed is 100, so it is the correct speed to use in elderly, non-adjustable amateur cameras from the 1900-1960 period. Its excellent image quality makes it useful in sophisticated cameras with adjustable exposure settings.
Bluefire Police is medium-speed black and white 35mm film. It has essentially no grain, even on extreme enlargement. The name comes from its original purpose, which was photographic surveillance at a distance. A 35mm frame, enlarged to mural size, will show the limits of your lens' resolution long before any detail is lost to film grain.
The secret? It's a high-quality microfilm, packaged for use in standard cameras, and because microfilms get their extraordinarily high resolving power by means of very high contrast, you must develop it with an extremely low-contrast developer.
Set your camera manually to ISO 80 for pictorial use, or ISO 100 for high-contrast technical photography.Ordinary developers give extremely contrasty images, so for pictorial purposes, process in Bluefire HR (available here).
An excellent upgrade from Agfa's discontinued AgfaPan APX25, with similar contrast but much finer microstructure and significantly more speed. Less grain than T-Max 100 and Delta 100, and with different image qualities.
Can also be processed for pictorial use in Adotec, POTA, Formulary TD-3, Kodak Technidol, diluted Rodinal, and similar ultra-low contrast developers. Effective film speed will be lower with these developers (for example, ISO 6 to 12 with POTA).
For high contrast microfilm copying, expose at ISO 100 and process in Kodak D-19 or Bluefire Micro.
Rescue old, yellowed photographs by copying them onto Bluefire Police through a blue filter, which blocks yellow light.
Use Bluefire Police for pictorial long-grey-scale images with no intrusive grain, even at extreme enlargement. Produces excellent long-scale images at a useful film speed of ISO 80.
Process in Bluefire HR, POTA, or similar special low-contrast developers.
You can also make microfilm images with little or no gray, that show maximum image detail under extreme enlargement. Produces grainless, high-contrast images at a useful film speed of ISO 100 when correctly exposed and developed.
For high contrast, process in Bluefire Micro or similar special microfilm developers.
Per roll: 6.49
64.89 per 12 rolls, shipped free to North American addresses.
Use Bluefire HR ("High Resolution") developer for pictorial long-grey-scale images on Bluefire Police and other hard microfilms. Produces excellent long-scale images at maximum film speed (ISO 80). Dry powder mix, makes 1 litre of concentrate to process a maximum of 33 rolls of 35mm film. Per pkg: 8.49
Use Bluefire Micro developer for making document microfilm images on Bluefire Police and other hard microfilms. Produces excellent high-contrast images at maximum film speed (ISO 100). Dry powder mix, makes 1 litre of concentrate. Per pkg: 8.49
For that unbeatable retro 1950s-1960s look, you need the long duration and unique color temperature of a proper flash bulb, flash cube, flash bar, or flipflash. And we have them in stock.
Blue bulbs for color or black and white. Per package: 5.99
Blue bulbs, for color or black and white film. Per package: 5.99
Blue bulbs, suitable for color or black and white films. Per package: 11.29
Blue flashbulbs, for color or black and white film. Per package: 5.99
Blue bulbs, for color or black and white film. Per flashbar: 5.99
Blue bulbs, for color or black and white film. Per flipflash: 5.99
Magicubes have an X-shaped post (which is why they are also known as X-cubes) with a square hole. There are no wires because no battery is needed to flash them.
If your camera has a socket like this, with a square post, it uses Magicubes.
Flash cubes have a round hole and electrical contacts. If your camera uses a flash battery, and has a round post, it uses flash cubes.
return to flash bulbs
AP brand compact processing tank, with two quick load reels, for 126/35mm, 127, and 120/620 film.
The reels feature broad, flat thumb flanges that simplify loading film. Chemical-resistant, heavy-gauge plastic components are exceptionally well made and will last for decades. Ideal for processes requiring close temperature control.
condition: New
Typical retail price: $49.95 USD
Your price: $34.45 per each
Item: APTAN
Processing tank with reel, for 110/16mm, 126/35mm, 127, and 120/620. Processes one roll at a time.
condition: New
Typical retail price: $29.95 USD
Your price: $26.89 per each
Item: CLIPTAN
Medium-sized portable darkroom bag, suitable for transferring 35mm, 120/620, or 127 films to processing reels in daylight.
condition: New
Your price: $24.95 per each
Item: BAG1717
Portable darkroom, suitable for transferring films to processing reels and handling sheets of film in film-holders
condition: New
Your price: $27.49 per each
Item: DL-0188
Sodium thiosulfate fixer, dry crystals, dissolve in water to make 1 litre of solution. Use this for film, paper, and alternative processes.
condition: Newly manufactured
Your price: $11.45 per package
Item: NA-423
High-quality instrument with easy-read dial. Each: 22.89
6" long conventional glass tube type, special durable double-wall construction for use in tanks or to float in trays. Each: 8.49
This hard (250 Bloom index), purified, inert, type B ossein gelatin is made specifically for formulating photographic emulsions.
(Although dried, flaked gelatins are said to "bloom" when water is added to them, the Bloom Index of hardness is named after its inventor, the scientist Oscar Bloom, who was granted a patent for a hardness test in 1925. Higher Bloom numbers indicate harder gelatins, which melt and gel at higher temperatures than softer gelatins. For details, read US Patent 1540979A.)
Specifications: viscosity, 9 cP; moisture, 12%; pH, 5.7; Methionine, 60 μMole/g.
Modern photographic gelatins are highly purified and are chemically neutral. Unlike supermarket gelatins, they contain none of the various salts and trace components that are normal in food but react unpredictably with photosensitive
compounds.
Making your own photo paper or sheet film is not difficult. There are many recipes on the 'net (here is a reliable example,
based on a well-known Kodak publication: Unblinking Eye Emulsion Formula).
250 grams is approximately 8.8 oz; 500 grams is approximately 1.1 lbs. Most emulsion formulas specify 7 to 10 grams of gelatin per litre of emulsion, so a little goes a long way.
Type B inert bovine gelatin, for making photographic emulsions. Hardness index is 250 Bloom.
condition: New
Your price: $24.49 per package
Item: BEGEL/250
Type B inert bovine gelatin, for making photographic emulsions. Hardness index is 250 Bloom.
condition: New
Your price: $35.70 per package
Item: BEGEL/500
875 grams of Bluefire emulsion gelatin packaged so the total shipping weight is not more than 999 grams, to qualify for small packet shipping rates to addresses outside North America. The price per gram is the same as our 500-gram package.
condition: New
Your price: $62.49 per package
Item: BEGEL/875EXP
A processing tank, thermometer, and dark-bag are all you need if you don't have a darkroom available.
The AP tank's film reels are very easy to load, thanks to their broad thumb flanges.
Your dark-bag's durable, double-layer construction makes it light-tight, even in the field.
Blue Moon Camera and Machine, Portland, Oregon
The Darkroom, San Clemente, California
Dwayne's Photo, Parsons, Kansas
Kerrisdale Camera, Vancouver, BC
127 film was introduced in 1913 by Eastman Kodak, along with their Vest Pocket Kodak camera. Kodak discontinued 127 in 1995, and the other major manufacturers soon followed.
127 film is 46mm wide, carrying a 4cm square, or 4x6cm image, depending on the camera. Most cameras mask the image down to about 36mm in width.
Bluefire®brand color films are spooled onto new spindles, with new backing material, using Kodak or Konica professional films originally packaged for long-roll cameras. They are processed in standard C-41 chemistry. Any processing machine that can develop professional medium format roll films can develop 127 films. Your local lab will probably be able to develop your film, but may not have the specialized lenses and masks needed to make inexpensive machine prints. You should probably plan on scanning your negative on a flatbed film scanner, and printing the scans at a photo kiosk or at home on your inkjet printer.
ISO 400 color print film for cameras that use 127 roll film.
Choose this film for cameras with sophisticated adjustable shutters and f-stops, for use indoors or outdoors, in all kinds of lighting.
Packaged in moisture-proof light-resistant pouch. Use within one year of purchase, or store cold or frozen for longer periods. Process promptly after exposure.
This film has perforations on one edge. Please click and read the details before you order.
Bluefire Murano 400 detailsYour price: $12.49 per roll
Item: 400-127BMUR
ISO 160 color print film for cameras that use 127 roll film.
Choose this film for simple cameras that do not have complex shutter adjustments, and use it for normal daylight photography.
Packaged in moisture-proof light-resistant pouch. Use within one year of purchase, or store cold or frozen for longer periods. Process promptly after exposure.
condition: Newly manufactured
Your price: $11.49 per roll
Item: 127BMUR
Expected back in stock at Nampa on June 28, 2021. You can pre-order now for shipment when it is available.
14 available at Calgary for shipment worldwide.
The Hobart Building, San Francisco. Photographed with Bluefire Murano 160 film in a Yashica 44 TLR.
Select Bluefire Murano 160 for simple cameras. Use flash when taking pictures indoors or in deep shade. In adjustable cameras these films are suitable for most lighting conditions.
In cameras with adjustable shutters and f-stops, Bluefire Murano 400 and Bluefire Pan 400 can be used in low light levels without flash.
The 110 films we sell will fit any camera designed for the Kodak 110 "Pocket Instamatic" cartridge.
Most film labs are able to develop 110 film, but few will still have the special masks and lenses required to print it. You should plan on scanning your negatives, and then printing the scans at a photo kiosk or at home on an inkjet printer.
110 negatives are tiny, only 12x17mm, approximately 1/4 the area of a 35mm frame. Photos made with low-end cameras rarely enlarge well beyond about 4x6 inches. However, the film itself is capable of holding excellent detail, and images made in capable high-end cameras, like the Kodak Instamatic 60 or Canon 110 11E, can be surprisingly good. Several excellent 110 SLR cameras made by Minolta and Pentax are also capable of truly excellent images.
There is no truth to the Internet superstition that 110 cartridges fail to hold the film flat. In fact, the cartridge is superbly designed and engineered and holds the film perfectly flat and in perfect optical alignment.
Details about products and processes
These are four AG1 flashbulbs sealed in a plastic cube that mounts in a socket on compatible cameras. You get the simplicity and power of the AG1 bulb in a package that is much easier to handle and isn't as risky (bare flashbulbs can burn you, or shatter when ignited).
Your camera manual will tell you what kind of cubes to use, and how to use them. Several thousand legacy camera manuals are online at Orphan Cameras. You can download manuals without charge, but I encourage you to donate to help support the site.
Flashcubes are ignited by a battery, and have conductive wires visible on the socket. Magicubes do not need a battery and no wires are visible.
Pay attention to the instructions on the package, and you should be able to get well-exposed negatives, neither too harsh nor too dim. Like AG1 bulbs, cubes only illuminate out to a few feet, so it is pointless using them in a stadium or at a concert.
Magicubes require no battery to flash, relying instead on a mechanical linkage in the camera applying force against a piezoelectric igniter mounted in the magicube body.
My understanding is that Magicubes were only manufactured using blue-colored bulbs, which makes them suitable for either black and white or color films.
Your camera manual will tell you what mechanism it uses to rotate the cube after each bulb is expended. Some require you to turn the cube, others turn it automatically. An excellent source of legacy camera manuals is Orphan Cameras. You can download manuals without charge, but I encourage you to donate to help support the site.
Like Magicubes, these are four AG1 flashbulbs assembled into a plastic cube that mounts in a socket on compatible cameras. They are ignited by a battery installed in your camera.
Unlike Magicubes, flash cubes are available with both clear and blue bulbs. You can use either with black and white film, but only blue bulbs will give you natural colors with color films.
Your camera manual will tell you what battery you need, and the mechanism it uses to rotate the cube after each bulb is expended. Some require you to turn the cube, others turn it automatically. An excellent source of scanned legacy camera manuals is Orphan Cameras. You can download manuals without charge, but I encourage you to donate to help support the site.
The Kodak Advantix APS film offered here is long outdated, and has significant color and contrast loss, which is why it costs so little. At this price, you can use it for experimental photography, and it's an ideal film for testing an APS camera.
To get the most benefit from this film, have your local lab develop it normally but print it as black and white. You can also have the negative roll scanned, and correct the images on your computer. An excellent free program that I use regularly for photo cleanup is Paint.net, which you can download and use without payment.
Bluefire® Murano 400 brand color film is Kodak Portra NC 400 that was originally packaged in long rolls, for use in a specialized long-roll camera. It has perforations along one edge. These are rectangular perforations about 1mm wide and 2mm deep, 1mm from the edge, spaced about 60mm apart.
Most 127 cameras give an image 36mm wide on 46mm wide film, leaving a 5mm wide edge along the top and bottom of the image. The perforation will not be visible in your image.
Most film is useful long past its printed "process-before" date. Click here to find out more.
Bluefire™ Police™ is a 35mm black and white film that can be enlarged to mural size with no apparent grain. I'm in the process of adding it to this new version of the web site. You can visit the previous version of the site (it's not mobile-friendly) to see links to this remarkable film in use: Click here to be taken back in time.
Click here to see what a gorilla's whiskers look like.
Click here to see detail on a building a block away that is not obscured by grain.
Click here to see this film used in microlithography measured in microns.
Frugal Photographer's first day on the World Wide Web was September 1, 2001. It was a different world then. I got into the business because I wanted to use a very nice 127 camera I had just acquired, and the only place I could buy 127 film was from a factory in Croatia, and they wanted me to buy thousands of rolls at a time. A few years later, when they shut down, I made the decision to manufacture 127 film. Well...sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's not, but I'm still at it, with no plans to quit soon.
This site is a work in progress, and if you find broken links, things that don't look right or are hard to understand, or navigation that is difficult to use, I would very much appreciate hearing from you.
I generally only work during the week, and am unlikely to respond to emails on weekends or holidays.