Digital BW, The Print

Silent film images were 1" by 0.75", 16 per foot, with an aspect 
ratio of 4:3. The film ran vertically through the camera and 
projector.

When movie film was adapted for use in still cameras ("minicams"), 
the space for two movie images was allocated to each still image, 
and the film strip was oriented horizontally in the camera. This 
resulted in still images of 1.5"(2 x 0.75) by 1", 8 per foot, with 
an aspect ratio of 3:2. (Actual metric image dimensions are slightly 
smaller, 36mm by 24mm, to avoid the sprocket holes and frame overlap.)

"Half-frame" cameras of the 1960s necessarily reverted to the 4:3 
ratio of their cinema roots.



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Clayton Jones" 
<cj@c...> wrote:
>
> Hello Adam,
> 
> >Standard Print sizes long predate the dominance of 35mm, it's only 
> >from the 1960's to the 1990's that 35mm was the dominant format. 
> >Most larger print sizes either match a Sheet Film size or are an 
> >easy enlargement from a sheet film size.
> 
> My understanding is that 35mm is/was originally motion picture film,
> so I suppose that aspect was for theater screens.  I have never 
liked
> the 2:3 ratio for photos, it always seemed too long.  My favorite
> camera for years was a Pentax 6x7 which was closer to the ratio of
> photo papers.  With 35mm I always had to compose while remembering 
how
> much would have to be cropped.  But I also often felt that the 8x10
> ratio was a bit too fat.  
> 
> I have really come to love the 3:4 ratio of digicams.  It's right in
> between the two extremes.  I don't know how the industry decided on
> 3:4 for digicams but I'm glad they did.  The photos look great and
> they fit nicely on 8.5x11 paper.  Unfortunately, standard frame and
> mat sizes are still 8x10/11x14, so framing at 8.5x11 is still a 
custom
> job.
> 
> I like to reduce the various ratios to a single aspect number, 
derived
> by dividing the short side by the long.  It makes it easier to
> mentally sort them. Here they are in order, for various films and 
papers:
> 
> Size               A#
> ----------------------
> 35mm/DSLR 2:3-----.66
> 4x6---------------.66
> 13x19-------------.68
> 5x7---------------.71
> 645 (41x56mm)-----.73 (image size from a Mamiya 645 contact sheet)
> digicams 3:4------.75
> 8.5x11------------.77
> 11x14-------------.78 
> 6x7 (55x70mm)-----.78 (image size from a Pentax 67 contact sheet)
> 8x10/4x5----------.80
> 6x6--------------1.00
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Clayton
> 
> 
> Info on black and white digital printing at    
> http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm
>