Film format
A film format is a technical definition of a set of standard characteristics regarding image capture on photographic film, for either stills or filmmaking. It can also apply to projected film, either slides or movies. The primary characteristic of a film format is its size and shape.
In the case of motion picture film, the format may also include audio parameters (though often not). Other characteristics usually include the film gauge, pulldown method, lens anamorphosis (or lack thereof), and film gate or projector aperture dimensions, all of which need to be defined for photography as well as projection, as they may differ.
Movie film formats
Digital camera formats
Still photography film formats
Multiple image
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2010) |
| Designation (A) | Type | Introduced | Discontinued | Image size | Exposures | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | roll film | 1895 | 1956 | 3½" × 3½" | ||
| 102 | roll film | 1896 | 1933 | 1½" × 2" | One flange has gear teeth | |
| 103 | roll film | 1896 | 1949 | 3¾" × 4¾" | ||
| 104 | roll film | 1897 | 1949 | 4¾" × 3¾" | ||
| 105 | roll film | 1897 | 1949 | 2¼" × 3¼" | Like 120 film with 116-size flanges | |
| 106 | for roll holder | 1898 | 1924 | 3½" × 3½" | Roll holder films were wound inside out | |
| 107 | for roll holder | 1898 | 1924 | 3¼" × 4¼" | ||
| 108 | for roll holder | 1898 | 1929 | 4¼" × 3¼" | ||
| 109 | for roll holder | 1898 | 1924 | 4" × 5" | ||
| 110 (early roll film) |
for roll holder | 1898 | 1929 | 5" × 4" | No relation to the later 110 cartridge format. | |
| 110 ("Pocket Instamatic") |
cartridge | 1972 | 2009 | 13 × 17 mm | 16 mm stock, registration perforated Introduced with Kodak's "Pocket Instamatic" series | |
| 111 | for roll holder | 1898 | Unknown | 6½" × 4¾" | ||
| 112 | for roll holder | 1898 | 1924 | 7" × 5" | ||
| 113 | for roll holder | 1898 | Unknown | 9 × 12 cm | ||
| 114 | for roll holder | 1898 | Unknown | 12 × 9 cm | ||
| 115 | roll film | 1898 | 1949 | 6¾" × 4¾" | ||
| 116 | roll film | 1899 | 1984 | 2½" × 4¼" | Like 616 film with wider flanges | |
| 117 | roll film | 1900 | 1949 | 2¼" × 2¼" | 12 | Like 620 spool with 120 keyslot |
| 118 | roll film | 1900 | 1961 | 3¼" × 4¼" | 3.474" spool | |
| 119 | roll film | 1900 | 1940 | 4¼" × 3¼" | ||
| 120 | roll film | 1901 | Present | 2¼" × 3¼" 6 cm × 7 cm 2¼" × 2¼" 2¼" × 1⅝" |
8 10 12-13 15-16 |
2.4 inch (60.96 mm) stock, unperforated, paper-backed |
| 121 | roll film | 1902 | 1941 | 1⅝" × 2½" | ||
| 122 | roll film | 1903 | 1971 | 3¼" × 5½" | 6 or 10 | Postcard format |
| 123 | roll film | 1904 | 1949 | 4" × 5" | ||
| 124 | roll film | 1905 | 1961 | 3¼" × 4¼" | 3.716" spool - same picture size as 118 with longer spool | |
| 125 | roll film | 1905 | 1949 | 3¼" × 5½" | like 122 on longer spool; also for stereo pairs, 3¼" × 2½" x 2 | |
| 126 (early roll film) |
roll film | 1906 | 1949 | 4¼" × 6½" | No relation to the 126 cartridge format introduced in 1963. | |
| 126 ("Instamatic") |
cartridge | 1963 | 2008 | 26.5 × 26.5 mm | 12, 20 (later 24) | 35 mm stock, registration perforated Introduced with first "Instamatic" cameras under the name "Kodapak" |
| 127 | roll film | 1912 | Present | 1⅝" × 2½" 1⅝" × 1⅝" 1⅝" × 1¼" |
8 12 16 |
46 mm stock, "Vest Pocket" |
| 128 | roll film | 1912 | 1941 | 1½" × 2¼" | for Houghton Ensignette #E1[1] | |
| 129 | roll film | 1912 | 1951 | 1⅞" × 3" | for Houghton Ensignette #E2 | |
| 130 | roll film | 1916 | 1961 | 2⅞" × 4⅞" | ||
| 135 | cartridge | 1934 | Present | 24 × 36 mm | 24 or 36 | 35 mm stock, double perforated formerly available in 12, 20, or 72 exposures[2] |
| 220 | roll film | 1965 | Present | 2¼" × 3¼" 6 cm × 7 cm 2¼" × 2¼" 2¼" × 1⅝" |
18 21 24-27 30-33 |
2.4 inch (60.96 mm) stock, unperforated, no backing paper Twice as long as 120 |
| 235 | loading spool | 1934 | Unknown | 24 × 36 mm | 35 mm film in daylight-loading spool | |
| 240 / APS | cartridge | 1996 | 2011 | 30.2 × 16.7 mm | 15, 25, or 40 | 24 mm stock, registration perforated Daylight, Transparency, Black & White (Chromogenic 400CN) |
| 335 | stereo pairs | 1952 | Unknown | 24 × 24 mm | 20 pairs | Special length for Realist format stereo pairs |
| 435 | loading spool | 1934 | Unknown | 24 × 36 mm | 35 mm film in daylight-loading spool | |
| 50 | for roll holder | 1915 | March 1941 | 3¼" × 2¼" | for Graflex rollholder | |
| 51 | for roll holder | 1915 | Feb. 1951 | 4¼" × 3¼" | for Graflex rollholder | |
| 52 | for roll holder | 1915 | March 1949 | 5½" × 3¼" | for Graflex rollholder | |
| 53 | for roll holder | 1915 | Feb. 1951 | 5" × 4" | for Graflex rollholder | |
| 54 | for roll holder | 1915 | March 1949 | 7" × 5" | for Graflex rollholder | |
| 500 | film pack | 1911 | 1948 | 1¾" × 2⅜" | 12 | redefined 1921 as 1⅝ x 2⁷/₁₆ |
| 515 | film pack | 1905 | 1955 | 5" × 7" | 12 | |
| 516 | film pack | 1909 | 1955 | 2½" × 4¼" | 12 | |
| 518 | film pack | 1903 | 1976 | 3¼" × 4¼" | 12 sheets | |
| 520 | film pack | 1906 | 1976 | 2¼" × 3¼" | 16 sheets | |
| 522 | film pack | 1904 | 1955 | 3¼" × 5½" | 12 sheets | 3A postcard |
| 523 | film pack | 1904 | 4" × 5" | 12 sheets | ||
| 526 | film pack | 1920 | 1941 | 4¾ × 6½" | ||
| 531 | film pack | 1926 | 1941 | 2⁹/₃₂ × 5¹¹/₃₂ | 6 cm × 13 cm | |
| 540 | film pack | 1920 | 1941 | 1¾ × 4¼ | ||
| 541 | film pack | 1920 | 1941 | 3½ × 4¾ | 12 | 9 cm × 12 cm |
| 542 | film pack | 1911 | 1948 | 3 × 5¼ | 7.5 cm × 13.5 cm | |
| 543 | film pack | 1920 | 1948 | 3¾ × 5½ | 12 | 10 cm × 15 cm |
| 616 | roll film | 1931 | 1984 | 2½" × 4¼" or 2½" × 2⅛" | 6, later 8 | Similar to 116 film but on a thinner spool |
| 620 | roll film | 1932 | 1995 | Similar to 120 film but on a thinner spool | ||
| 828 | roll film | 1935 | 1985 | 28 × 40 mm, | 8 | 35mm, one perforation per frame Bantam |
| 35 | roll film | 1916 | 1933 | 1¼" × 1¾" | 35 mm stock, unperforated | |
| 00 UniveX | roll film | 1933 | 1½" × 1⅛" | 6 | made by Gevaert | |
| Hit (a.k.a. Mycro) | roll film | 1937 | unknown | 14 × 14 mm | 10 [3] | 17.5 mm stock; used in imported miniature toy cameras [4] |
| Disc | cassette | 1982 | 1998 | 8 × 11 mm | 15 | circular sheet of film attached to rigid carrier |
| Half-frame | cartridge | later than 1934 | Present | 18 × 24 mm | 48 or 72 | 135 film in "half-frame" cameras |
| Minox | cartridge | 1938 | Present | 8 × 11 mm | 15, 36 or 50 | nominally 9.5 mm wide stock (in reality 9.2-9.3 mm) |
| Karat | cartridge | 1936 | 1963 | Early AGFA cartridge for 35 mm film | ||
| Rapid | cartridge | 1964 | 1990s | 12 | AGFA cartridge for 35 mm film (replaced Karat, same system) | |
| SL | cartridge | 1958 | 1990 | 24 × 36 mm 24 × 24 mm 18 × 24 mm |
12 16 24 |
Orwo Schnell-Lade Kassette for 35 mm film |
| Kassette 16 | cartridge | 1978 | 1990s | 13 × 17 mm | 20 | Orwo, 16 mm stock, central perforation (holes between frames) Introduced exclusively for the Pentacon k16 camera |
| Super 16 (Rollei) | cartridge | 1963 | 1981 | 13 × 17 mm | 18 | Rollei, 16 mm stock, perforation on both edges? with kino film (?) only by Rollei for the Rollei 16 camera; also Wirgin Edixa 16 (Franka / alka 16) |
| Minolta-16 | cartridge | 1955 | 1974 | 10 × 14 mm (orig) & 13 × 17 | 20 | Minolta, 16 mm stock, originally double perforated (single perforated or unperforated film could be loaded), later single perf to allow larger 13 × 17 mm image |
(A) Unless otherwise noted, all formats were introduced by Kodak, which began allocating the number series in 1913. Before that, films were simply identified by the name of the cameras they were intended for.[5]
For roll holder means film for cartridge roll holders, allowing roll film to be used with cameras designed to use glass plates. These were spooled with the emulsion facing outward, rather than inward as in film designed for native roll-film cameras. Types 106 to 114 were for Eastman-Walker rollholders, while types 50 to 54 were for Graflex rollholders.
The primary reason there were so many different negative formats in the early days was that prints were made by contact, without use of an enlarger. The film format would thus be exactly the same as the size of the print—so if you wanted large prints, you would have to use a large camera and corresponding film format.
Roll film cross-reference table
Before WWII, each film manufacturer used its own system of numbering for the various sizes of rollfilms they made. The following sortable table shows the corresponding numbers. A blank space means that manufacturer did not make film in that size. Two numbers in one box refers to films available with different numbers of exposures, usually 6 and either 10 or 12. Spool length is measured between inner faces of the flanges; several films of the same image size were available on different spools to fit different cameras.
| Eastman | AGFA | Ansco | Ensign | Vulcan | Seneca | Rexo | Spool length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | H6 | 8A, 8B | 3½ inch | 202 | 303 | 3.661" | |
| 102 | 1B | 1½ inch | 204 | 1.655" | |||
| 103 | K6 | 10A, 10B | 4 inch | 206 | 3.912" | ||
| 104 | L6 | 12A, 12B | 5 inch | 208 | 5.064" | ||
| 105 | C6 | 5A, 5B | 2¼ inch C | 210 | 315 | 2.509" | |
| 115 | 13A, 13B | 7 inch | 230 | 7.126" | |||
| 116 | D6 | 6A, 6B | 2½ inch | 232 | 348 | 425, 426 | 2.814" |
| 117 | B1 | 3A | 2¼ inch A | 234 | 2.470" | ||
| 118 | E6 | 7A, 7B | 3¼ inch | 236 | 354 | 430, 431 | 3.474" |
| 119 | 11A, 11B | 4¼ inch | 238 | 4.490" | |||
| 120 | B2 | 4A | 2¼ inch B | 240 | 360 | 415 | 2.466" |
| 121 | AB6 | 2A, 2B | 1⅝ inch | 242 | 1.850" | ||
| 122 | G6, G10 | 18A, 18B | 3¼ inch A | 244 | 366 | 445, 446 | 3.715" |
| 123 | J6 | 10C, 10D | 4 inch A | 246 | 4.693" | ||
| 124 | F6 | 7C, 7D | 3¼ inch B | 248 | 372 | 435 | 3.716" |
| 125 | 18C, 18D | 3¼ inch C | 250 | 375 | 3.912" | ||
| 126 | 19A | 4¼ inch A | 252 | 4.898" | |||
| 127 | A8 | 2C | Ensignette 1J | 254 | 381 | 407 | 1.860" |
| 128 | O6 | Ensignette 1 | 1.606" | ||||
| 129 | N6 | Ensignette 2 | 2.059" | ||||
| 130 | M6 | 26A, 26B | 2⅞ inch | 260 | 390 | 436, 438 | 3.132" |
| 616 | PD16 | 2.814" | |||||
| 620 | PB20 | 2.468" |
Single image
| Size (in inches) | Type |
|---|---|
| 1⅝×2⅛ | "sixteenth-plate" tintypes |
| 2×2½ | "ninth-plate" tintypes |
| 2×3 | sheet film |
| 2¼×3¼ | sheet film |
| 2½×3½ | "sixth-plate" tintypes |
| 3×4 | sheet film |
| 3⅛×4⅛ | "quarter-plate" tintypes |
| 3¼×4¼ | "quarter-plate" glass plates |
| 3¼×5½ | postcard or 3A |
| 4×5 | glass plate,sheet film |
| 4×10 | sheet film |
| 4¼×5½ | "half-plate" tintypes |
| 4¾×6½ | "half-plate" glass plates, sheet film |
| 5×7 | sheet film |
| 6½×8½ | "whole-plate" glass plates, sheet film, tintypes |
| 7×17 | sheet film |
| 8×10 | glass plates,sheet film |
| 8×20 | sheet film |
| 11×14 | sheet film |
| 12×20 | sheet film |
| 14×17 | sheet film |
| 16×20 | sheet film |
| 20×24 | sheet film |
| Size (in cm) | Type |
|---|---|
| 6.5 × 9 | sheet film |
| 9 × 12 | glass plate, sheet film |
| 10 × 15 | sheet film |
| 13 × 18 | sheet film |
| 18 × 24 | sheet film |
| 24 × 30 | sheet film |
Instant image
| Designation | Type | Introduced | Discontinued | Image size | Exposures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 20 | Polaroid roll film cartridge | 1965 | ? | 2 1/8" × 2 7/8" | 8 |
| Type 30 | Polaroid roll film cartridge | 1954 | ? | 2 1/8" × 2 7/8" | 8 |
| Type 40 | Polaroid roll film cartridge | 1948 | 1992 | 2 7/8" × 3 3/4" | 6 or 8 |
| Type 80 | Polaroid peel-apart film pack | 1971 | 2006 | 2 3/4" × 2 7/8" | 8 or 10 |
| Type 100 | Polaroid peel-apart film pack | 1963 | – | 2 7/8" × 3 3/4" | 8, 10 or 11 |
| SX-70 Type 600 |
Polaroid integral film pack | 1972 | – | 3 1/8" × 3 1/8" | 8 or 10 |
| Spectra Type 700 Type 1200 |
Polaroid integral film pack | 1986 | – | 3 5/8" × 2 7/8" | 10 or 12 |
| Captiva Type 500 |
Polaroid integral film pack | 1993 | 2006 | 2 7/8" × 2 1/8" | 10 |
| i-Zone |
Polaroid integral film pack | 1997 | 2004 | 36 mm × 24 mm | 12 |
| Instax Mini Mio Type 300 |
Fuji/Polaroid integral film pack | ? | – | 46 mm × 62 mm | 10 |
| Instax Wide | Fuji integral film pack | ? | – | 99 mm × 62 mm | 10 |
Film types SX-70, 600 and 700 discontinued by Polaroid in 2008, reintroduced by The Impossible Project in 2010. Film type 100 discontinued by Polaroid in 2008, still produced by Fujifilm. See The Land List for more info on films manufactured by Polaroid.
See also
References
- ^ "The Ensignette Camera". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Ilford History and Chronology". Retrieved 20 June 2011.
- ^ "Reloading Hit Cameras". Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "17.5mm or "Hit" Style Cameras". Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "The History of Kodak Roll Films". Retrieved 17 June 2007.
External links
- Template:Dmoz
- Film Formats and HDTV
- Table of Film formats by Mark Baldock
- A comparison of large scale film formats
- Kodak roll films starting with 101
- The history of Kodak roll films
- Classic camera film sizes, sources, and film adapters, with spool dimensions
- AGFA Rapid
- History of Kodak cameras
- All about Land (Polaroid) instant film formats
- American Widescreen Museum
- Sub-35mm movie film formats history webpage
- Plate and tintype sizes
