Film sizes and designations

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Roll film and cassette- or cartridge-based films have been available in many different standardized sizes to fit specific cameras and film holders or backs. The longest-lived film size, type 120 introduced in 1901 by Kodak, has been continuously available for over 120 years.

Kodak's standardized roll film size numbers were gradually introduced starting in 1912, and first appeared as a complete list in the 1914 Kodak Condensed Price List. Prior to this, films were identified only by the image size produced and the specific cameras the films fit. This made it difficult or impossible to cross-reference films made by different manufacturers for different cameras, especially as the number of amateur cameras available on the market greatly expanded toward the end of the first decade of the twentieth century.

When standardized roll film sizes were introduced by Kodak, the sizes were assigned to all of the film sizes produced by Kodak at that time, using numbers 101 through 129, numbered sequentially in order of the date when the original film size was first used. Only one other roll film size using the same sequential numbering system was introduced after that: size 130 introduced in 1916.

In the 1930s Kodak introduced two revised versions of existing roll sizes, which used the same size film but were rolled onto smaller diameter spools: 616 is a variation of size 116, and 620 is a variation of size 120. Initially, the leading "6" in these sizes was meant to indicate the number of frames on the roll; however, by the time these films came to market the length of film actually used on the rolls generally permitted more frames per roll, and the "6" became only an arbitrary means of distinguishing the film size. Kodak also introduced roll size 828 in the 1930s, which is a 35mm wide film with only one perforation per frame. The number 828 was chosen to represent "8" frames of "28"mm-wide (by 40mm long) images on a roll.

In Europe and Japan, many film sizes had alternative names; see also Japanese formats.

See also: Plate Sizes, Sheet film and Film packs.


Designation Width Typical
Frame Size
Introduced Discontinued Equivalents Notes

Roll Film

101 3½x3½" 1895 1956 Agfa H-6[1]
102 1½x2" 1895 1933
103 3½x3½" 1897 1949 Agfa K-6
104 5x4" 1897 1949 Agfa L-6
105 2¼x3¼" 1897 1949 Agfa C-6
106 3½x3½" 1898
107 3¼x4¼" 1898 rollholder
108 4¼x3¼" 1898 rollholder
109 4x5" 1898 rollholder
110 (roll) 5x4" 1897 Rollholder; not to be confused with 110 cartridge
111 6½x4¾" 1898
116 70mm 2½x4¼" 1899 1984 Vulcan No. 232
Agfa D6 or D8 (6 or 8-exp)[1]
117 2¼x2¼" 1900 Agfa B1 (6 exp)
118 3¼×4¼" 1900 Vulcan No. 236
Agfa E6
119 3¼×4¼" 1900
120 22/5"
61.5mm
2¼x3¼" (6x9)
2¼x2¼" (6x6)
1⅝x2¼" (6x4.5)
1901 Brownie No.2;
Vulcan No. 210;
Agfa B2 (6 or 8 exp)
Ilford Selo 20
Dufay Y20
Ensign 2¼
'medium format'
"The" rollfilm, introduced by Kodak
121 15/8×2½" 1902 Agfa AB-6 (6 exp)
122 3¼×5½" 1903 Vulcan No. 244
Agfa G6 (6 exp)
Agfa G10 (10 exp)
123 4×5" 1904 Agfa J-6 (6 exp)
124 3¼×4¼" 1905 Vulcan No. 248
Agfa F6 (6 exp)
125 3¼×5½" 1905 Vulcan No. 250
126 (roll) 4½inches 1906 1949 Roll film, not to be confused with 126 cartridge
127 4cm 4x4cm,4x6cm,3x4cm 1912 "Vest Pocket" film
Agfa A8 (8 exp)
Ilford Selo 27
Introduced by Kodak
128 2¼×1½" 1913 Agfa 0-6 (6 exp)
129 2"x3" 1913 1951 Agfa N-6 (6 exp)
Ensign E29
130 27/8×47/8 1916 Agfa M6 (6 exp)
220 6cm 6x6cm 1965 Similar to 120, but without the paper backing, allowing double-length
616 70mm 2½x4¼" 1932 1984 Agfa DM8 (note the "M" added to D8 film, indicating a metal spool) A variation of 116 film with a slimmer spool (originally metal versus the original wood spools of 116), introduced by Kodak, to allow smaller cameras
620 6cm (2¼") 6x9cm (2¼×3¼") 1931 1995 Ilford Z20 A variation of 120 film with a slimmer spool (originally metal versus the original wood spools of 120), introduced by Kodak, to allow smaller cameras
70mm based on perforated movie film; alternate medium format film size
F.16 6.5x11cm (2½×4¼") Ferrania version of 116 or 616
P16 6.5x11cm (2½×4¼") Premier brand of 116
Rajar No. 6 6cm Introduced by APeM; square-drive spool
50 3¼x2¼" 1915 1941 150 Kodak film for the Graflex Roll Holder
51 4¼x3¼" 1915 1951 151 Kodak film for the Graflex Roll Holder
52 5½x3¼" 1915 1949 152 Kodak film for the Graflex Roll Holder
53 5x4" 1915 1951 153 Kodak film for the Graflex Roll Holder
54 7x5" 1915 1949 154 Kodak film for the Graflex Roll Holder

35mm

135 35mm 24x36mm 35mm;
miniature
"standard" 35mm film cassettes with sprocket holes
Memo 35mm 18x23mm 1926/7 Agfa/Ansco 50-exp film for the Ansco Memo
Karat 35mm c.1936 c.1948 Agfa's predecessor to Rapid film
126 (cartridge) 35mm 26x26mm 1963 2007 Instamatic;
Kodapak
Cartridge film; introduced by Kodak
Rapid 35mm 1964 Rapid-load dual-cassette system introduced by Afga as a competitor to the new Kodak 126 cartridge
SL 35mm Schnell Lade; Eastern-bloc version of Rapid film; unperforated
Bolta 35mm unperforated, paper-backed
828 35mm 28×40mm 1935 Introduced by Kodak
Ensign E10 35mm 3.5x4.5cm used by the Ensign Midget
paperbacked
35mm rollfilm
35mm used by Sida Extra, Liliput, and Unette

Subminiature

8mm subminiature Based on 8mm cine film. A few Japanese cameras; see 8mm film category
9.5mm subminiature A few Japanese cameras such as the Doryu 1, Fujica 8×11mm SLR and the German Minox range; see 9.5mm film category
16mm subminiature several film cartridge systems, for example for Edixa 16, Kiev-30, Minolta 16, many others. Variations include unperforated, single-perforated, or double-perforated films.
17.5mm 14x14mm 1937 Japanese half-35mm rollfilm size for Hit-type cameras
110 (cartridge) 16mm 13x17mm 1972 2009[2] Pocket resumed production in 2012.
Disc film 8x10.5mm 1982 c.1990
IX240 24mm 30.2x16.7mm 1996 APS Introduced by Kodak, Fujifilm and others

Links

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Agfa Ansco Photographic Materials catalogue, circa 1930 reproduced at Pierce Vaubel; p11. The number in the Agfa sizes gives the number of exposures, for the most part: in some cases this has been overtaken by the introduction of half-frame or square-format cameras (thus A8 is 127 film for 8 exposures 4x6.5 cm in Agfa's only 127 camera, the Billy 0). B2 (Kodak 120) and D6 film (Kodak 116) were for some reason made in both 6- and 8-exposure rolls.
  2. Sayonara 110 film