Bilora Bella 44

The less then stellar results of three attempts at getting the Bella 44 to cooperate 

The Simple German Four By Four

German cameras have an undeniable rugged and stylish look to them. The Bella 44 capitalizes on this by keeping a rounded design throughout with strong defining lines. Made almost exclusively of metal, the silver painted body feels good in the hand with a textured darker grey leatherette incorporated around the body. A significant heft overall and feels to be made of quality components.

The Bella 44 is a scale focus camera with minimal controls. Being a 127 camera, the format is the same as the name implies 4x4. Looking through the viewfinder, there is no information or even frame lines, akin to other simple cameras of the time. Loading the Bella 44 is the same as a medium format camera. To open the film compartment you must push the switch on the back of the camera to the right, and completely remove the rear door. Once the film is inserted and connected to the other spool, wind the film a bit with the knurled knob on the upper left side of the camera in a clockwise direction. Set the film cover back into position, and move the switch to the left. Open the frame window by sliding the switch below the door locking switch and wind the film until you see the number one. If you using another film, like 35mm without backing paper, make sure to keep the frame number window closed and check how many winding rotations you need to advance a full frame.

All controls are on the front side of the camera. A threaded shutter release is on the right handed side along with a shutter speed selector on the lens barrel. There are three speeds, bulb, 1/50th and 1/100th. A marker is present on the 1/50, indicating that is the recommended flash sync speed. On top of the body is a cold shoe, with a PC flash connector to the left of the shutter speeds, although mine seems to be missing. Facing the camera toward you, the focus scale and aperture selection are in view. There are only two apertures to select from, f/8 and f/16, changed with a sliding switch on the left hand side. The focus is a bit more impressive going down to one meter with a short throw of a quarter circle turn. A standard tripod socket rounds out the features and controls of the Bella 44.

THE SPECS AND FEATURES

Shutter Speeds - bulb, 1/50th and 1/100th

Aperture - f/8 or f/16

Meter Type - none

Shutter - metal, single leaf

ASA - any film, but lower speeds in bright light recommended

Lens - [1m / 4 feet] to [5m / 15ft] and infinity

Flash Option - cold shoe plus PC socket

Batteries - none

Film Type - 127 film

Other Notable Features - tripod socket, threaded release

The Experience

I did not own a 127 camera before this, one seemed to never cross my path until just recently. Fixing up this camera was relegated to the far end of my backlog, until I was shown the film photographer’s holiday of 127 Day from a friend. I never heard of this celebration before and decided I would participate in this years ‘Winter 127 Day’ with a somewhat uncommon camera.

This camera was in incredibly rough shape. It showed up in a very dirty and broken camera lot online and ended up being quite a few hours of work to get up and running. I have to say that it’s one of my favorite things about this hobby. Taking lost, forgotten, or broken cameras and giving them a new life. I spent quite a bit of time figuring how the shutter mechanism worked. It’s simple but depends on a very specific tension spring to hold the shutter open and pull past a cerian point. I tried quite a few springs before I ended up shortening the original one that was stretched and worn out. There was another torsion spring which after firing the shutter a few times gave up and bent for a final time. That was another challenge finding a very long but skinny torsion spring. Luckily I keep spare parts around just for this occasion. I greased and oiled the moving points and moved onto the lens.

The lenses were cloudy, but a good clean and greasing of the threads made the glass clear and focusing moving like new again. Once fully assembled, the body and case were next in line to be cleaned. The camera’s body was very yellow stained and needed a good scrub. It took a fair bit of work to get the camera and case back to their respective original silver colors. Once dry the camera looked like new again and I was ready to take it out for a test.

With never shooting the 127 format before, I decided to throw a roll of 35mm film in and see what happened. I forgot to measure how many winding rotations were needed to get to the next frame and was left with a mass of images you could barely see through. I also had a lot of difficulty with the shutter. It would work intermittently, giving me trouble for multiple days before I was able to sort out the problem, slightly. The second time I used some 126 backing paper I had lying around. The numbers seemed to match up reasonably with a full 4x4 frame, although I did have to write the numbers where the red window would see. I rerolled the film in a dark bag, ran the roll through, and used the more reliable bulb setting as fast as I could press the shutter. Almost worse results. The film bunched up, causing warping and everything to be out of focus, along with the same spacing issue. I would try one last time, forgoing the backing paper and counting the approx rotations. I used some older Pan-X 32 I had in an attempt to slow the speed down while using the working bulb setting. Finally, I came away with better results. Still a bit blurry with hand holding at such a low speed, I deemed the third test would be the last for now. Additional tripod shot pictures are in store for the near future.

Bilora never made a world renowned or particularly amazing camera sought after today. They started with box cameras and never strayed too far from that. Adding some innovations to their initial cameras, like focusing and the occasional meter, they truly were box cameras in a smaller package. Bellora cameras tend to be scarce here in America, commanding very inflated prices in my opinion; you may be able to find the rebranded cameras for a much better price. The Bella 44 was a fun camera to use, although quite the challenge. The right mindset to have is the same as with shooting a lomo or cheaper camera. The pictures will not be too sharp but that’s the fun of these types of cameras. There are a handful of 127 cameras I am excited to try out now, but as a starter camera, I think the Bilora Bella 44 was a great beginning.