Introduction to film types

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• What is 110 film?

  The 110 film format (also known as pocket film) was introduced by Kodak in 1972. This cartridge-based film measures just 16 mm in width, roughly half the size of the 35 mm film most people are familiar with.

• What is B&W negative film?

  This is by far the most common type of black and white film, and it works in much the same way as color negative film. Essentially, all the areas that appear lightest on the negative will be dark on the final print and all dark areas of the negative will show light on the print.

• What are the different photographic film formats?

  

  The three main types of film format are 35 mm, medium format and large format. More unusual formats also exist such as 110 and 127.

• What is 127 film?

  127 film is 46 mm wide, placing it between 35 mm and medium format films in size. It was created by Kodak and is now rather rare to find.

• What is cross processing?

  

  Cross processing (or “X-pro”) is the procedure of deliberately processing film in a chemical solution intended for a different type of film. As each chemical mixture is optimized for a specific kind of film, you will get unpredictable results when combining them differently.

• What is large format or sheet film?

  “Large format” refers to a film type with a frame size of 4×5 inches or larger. The film is produced in individual sheets which are loaded into film holders and so for this reason it is also sometimes referred to as “sheet film.”

• What is the difference between color negative and slide / positive film?

  Color negative and slide film both produce color images, however the difference is in how the image is made.

• What are the different types of photographic film processing?

  There are three common types of development processes in film photography. These are C-41, E-6 and B&W, which correspond to the three main types of films, color negative, color positive (color reversal/slide film) and black and white, respectively.

• What is APS film?

  

  Advanced Photo System or APS film was introduced in 1996 as a “high-tech” or modern alternative to the 126 and 110 film formats. It was 24 mm wide and it introduced many innovations, like the ability to choose exposure lengths and print sizes. Production of new APS film was ceased in 2011.

• Where to get film developed?

  There are a lot of places that can process and develop your 35 mm color negative film such as local drugstores or one-hour photo labs.

• What is slide film and E-6 processing?

  Slide film has many other names, including “positive“, “transparency“, “reversal“ and “E-6” film. Unlike the more common color negative film, slide film produces a positive image straight onto the film. The light and dark areas appear as they do in reality. When mounted on card stock, these images are the slides that you’d put in a slide projector, or the slides that your grandparents have in boxes in the attic.

• What are LomoChrome films?

  LomoChrome is the name given to Lomography’s experimental film stocks. There are currently four LomoChrome film stocks available: LomoChrome Purple, LomoChrome Turquoise, LomoChrome Metropolis, and LomoChrome Color ‘92.

• What is 126 film?

  

  126 film was launched by Kodak in 1963 as a way to simplify the process of loading and unloading film into cameras. Its name comes from the negatives’ dimension of 26.5 mm square. Although companies ceased mass production of 126 format around 2007 to 2008, its cartridge is still known and loved today.

• What is the processing method for Redscale and LomoChrome films?

  All Lomography color films are processed using C-41 chemicals. This includes Lomography RedScale XR and our popular range of color-shifting LomoChrome films – LomoChrome Purple, LomoChrome Metropolis and LomoChrome Turquoise

• What is color negative film and C-41 processing?

  Color negative film is the most common and widely used type of color film. One of the main features of color negative film is its flexible exposure latitude. This means that it is very forgiving of incorrect exposure, particularly overexposure. Missing the correct exposure by 1 or 2 stops is no big deal with color negative film as you will usually still get decent results.

• What is tungsten film?

  

  Most standard films are daylight-balanced, so they tend to capture the yellow-orange cast from tungsten lights. To address this, tungsten film was created to produce color-correct images taken under artificial lighting.

• What is B&W slide film?

  Slide film, (also known as “positive“, “transparency“ and “reversal“ film) is a type of film that produces a positive image straight onto the emulsion. Unlike negative film, the light and dark areas appear on the film as they do in reality.

• What is 35 mm film?

  35 mm film (sometimes also referred to as 135 format) is the most common photographic film format. The film is 35 millimetres wide, and each standard image is 24×36 mm.

• What is medium format film or 120 film?

  

  Medium format film (or 120 film) is larger than 35 mm, but smaller than large format (or sheet film.) The terms “120 film” and “medium format film” are pretty much interchangeable nowadays, but you should know that the film is not 120 mm.

• What is a half-frame film camera?

  

  Half-frame cameras shoot 18×24 mm photographs on 35 mm film. This means you can take up to 72 images on one single roll and save a lot of film!

• What is the difference between panchromatic and orthochromatic film?

  

  Orthochromatic film is made with blue-sensitive silver halide crystals, while panchromatic film adds other chemicals to increase the film’s sensitivity into the green and red parts of the spectrum.