Last week I had the chance to get out and shoot one of my favorite cameras and my only true twin lens reflex, the Sawyer's MK IV 127 TLR.
The Sawyer's was actaully built by Topcon, a very high quality Japanese manufacturer and sold in the states by Sawyer, the maker of Viewmasters stereo slide viewers and slide discs. To my knowledge, there never were MK I, II or III three versions of this camera. the MK IV appears to be the only iteration. I think mine dates from 1959.
As you are probably aware of, finding decent 127 roll film can be a thing. Luckily the Sawyer's was loaded with a roll of Rerapan 100, which to my knowledge is Silberrapan 100. I'm now wondering if that's the case with this roll though?
I've developed Silberrapn with stock Xtol (Bellini Eco Film) in the past and had pleasing results. This time though, with the same developer and regimen as before, I got a roll of very high contrast shots. This was a plus for me, as I love high contrast, but I know not everyone will appreciate the truncated tonality of these shots.
I would love to experiment with more Rerapan 100, but it's hit and miss with finding it, and no one seems to have it in stock these days. I do have a few rolls of Rerapan 400, which better suits the cloudy weather we're having this week.
I plan to be ready for this 127 Day on Dec. 7th next week. I'll have 400 ISO Rerapan in the Sawyer's and old Verichrome Pan that I'll be shooting at ISO 64 in my other two 127 cameras.
