EP286: Medium Format mini — Baby Rolleiflex 4x4 60mm f3.5 with Lucky SHD 400

Roll #286

Film: Lucky SHD 400 (repackaged by Taobao seller "銀粒子排序")
Developed & scanned: Violet Color, 2025/9/10
Camera: Baby Rolleiflex 4x4 60mm f3.5

A few days ago, the algorithm served me a listing for a Fujifilm GFX 50R — or maybe the 50S, I can't remember — priced somewhere around 50,000 NTD. Not bad, I thought. Digital medium format is actually within reach now. But when I dug into the specs, something felt off.

Having shot medium format film for years, the formats I know are 6x6, 6x7, and at the smallest, 645. I briefly owned a Fujica GW690 with its 90mm f3.5 lens ages ago — massive negative, but I never warmed up to that lens, so I shot a few rolls and moved it on. Anyway, the point is: the smaller the format, the more "ordinary" the results feel compared to 135 film. So imagine my surprise when I found out the GFX sensor is only 43.8mm x 32.9mm. The Hasselblad X2D and Pentax 645Z are in the same ballpark too. That's actually smaller than the 127 format used by today's subject, the Baby Rolleiflex 4x4. I'd honestly never been sure whether 127 counted as medium format — now I know. It does. A tiny, pocketable slice of medium format.

#1
Worth noting upfront: this repackaged roll had serious light leak issues, which is a real shame. 127 film isn't easy to source, so I usually grab it from Taobao — search "127 膠卷" and a couple of sellers come up. This shot is a typical Taiwanese diner setup; I was having beef noodle soup for lunch.
Baby Rolleiflex 4x4 60mm f3.5 (1/30, f3.5)

#2
There was a stretch where I was practically living at this MOS Burger, laptop open. I remember taking this one — I balanced the camera upright on a YouBike saddle to get the shot, but I'd completely blanked on how to use the self-timer on the Baby Rolleiflex. Three attempts, only one came out without camera shake.
Baby Rolleiflex 4x4 60mm f3.5 (1s, f8)

#3
Another attempt at figuring out the self-timer. The Baby Rolleiflex really is a cool little camera — mostly because of how absurdly small it is. Holding it in your hands just feels different from the full-sized Rolleiflex. More playful, somehow.
Baby Rolleiflex 4x4 60mm f3.5 (1/2, f3.5)

#4
Whenever medium format comes up, someone inevitably brings up that "air-cutting" quality — that razor-thin separation between subject and background. My take: that effect really comes from longer focal lengths, not format size. The Pentax 6x7 with the 105mm f2.4 is the gold standard for that look — one frame and the scene slices apart like theater flats. The Baby Rolleiflex, being the mini that it is, gives you nice bokeh, sure, but there's no slicing going on.
Baby Rolleiflex 4x4 60mm f3.5 (1/2, f3.5)

#5
A Saturday beer. The iPad next to the can was confiscated from my son. Unfortunately, the poor quality of this repackaged film makes everything look muddy — which is a shame, because I'd been genuinely excited to see how the Baby Rolleiflex would handle black and white.
Baby Rolleiflex 4x4 60mm f3.5 (1/2, f3.5)