[Lex Madera]

I would appreciate thoughts on the following questions:

-If I say "35-mm camera" do you automatically presume that I am speaking of a film camera?

-Is there a digital camera with a sensor of any type that replicates the 35-mm format?

I can't go into the reasons why I'm asking this question (work-related) but I would appreciate others' thoughts and perceptions.

Thanks,
Lex

[mtansley]

1 - I would assume that myself.

2 - The 'full-frame' digital cameras have a sensor that is similar or the same size as a 35mm film negative.

[Pentax Bob]

I think the more important question is how different is the resolution? Although the ff digital is the same size as the 35 mm film, there may be a big difference in the resolution between say Extachrome 200 ASA and a 12 mega pixiel digital. I don't know how many mega pixels it would take to equal fthe film's qulaity of image.

Pentax Bob

[RioRico]

A "35mm camera" is one that uses 35mm-wide film stock. The most common stock fits in 135 cartridges, but that's not a requirement -- note that the first Leica used 35mm rollfilm, and some setups (including for old Nikon, Alpa and Miranda SLRs) used 100-foot rolls of 35mm film.

What I call 135/FF uses 35mm film in 135 carts with 36x24mm frames. That's not the only 135 frame size. I've had and still have 135/HF (half-frame) still cameras, both RFs and SLRs. Ah, my long-lost Olympus Pen-FT... and Canon Dial-35... Others, notably the Robot cameras, shot 24x24mm square frames. Some 35mm panorama cameras shoot P1 (58x24mm) or P2 (65x24mm) frames, or even longer for 360-degree panos. Also note that 126 film carts are loaded with 35mm-wide film stock, but in a different package with 26x26mm frames. 126 cameras *can* be called 35mm. Go figure.

So, the first answer: "35mm camera" means it shoots 35mm film; and commonly (but not always) means 36x24mm frames. Exceptions abound.

Sensor sizes: Canon uses 36x24mm sensors. Nikon's 'FX' sensors are 36x23.9mm. I don't have the Sony numbers in front of me; but since Nikon buys sensors from Sony, I'll assume that Sony FF is also 36x23.9mm. So they *do* replicate the format -- but not the resolution. IIRC a high-res scan of a fine-grain 135/FF slide produces something like a 100mpx file.

Also note that while the term FF often appears in a 135 context, it has other uses:

• The old standard cine frame was 24x18mm, what we'd call Half-Frame but what cine users called Full-Frame. In cine, 36x24mm is Double-Frame.
  .
• The 645 film format has 56x41.5mm frames, not quite 60x45mm. The Pentax 645D produces 44x33mm frames. There's talk of 645/FF digital sensors. So in this context, FF means "a sensor the same size as a film frame".
  .
• The nominal (official) APS-C frame size is 25.1x16.7mm, with a diagonal of 30.1mm. My K20D's so-called APS-C sensor is 23.4x15.6mm, with a diagonal of 28.1mm. If an APS sensor actually was the nominal size, would it be APS-C/FF?

[JimJohnson]

I love RioRico's response. In my employment I frequently get these seemingly simple questions that lack sufficient background to give an equally simple answer. And if you DO give an equally simple answer, they often eventually bite you in the butt because the use gets twisted all out of whack and you, not the requestor, gets the blame.

[RioRico]

And if you DO give an equally simple answer, they often eventually bite you in the butt because the use gets twisted all out of whack and you, not the requestor, gets the blame.

I try to tailor answers to need, and include context as needed. Context rulez. Thus FF to me could mean full-frame or front-focused or fast-forward or others. (I used to work for a firm abbreviated as FFI, commonly referred to a Flying Fockheads Int'l.) 35mm may mean a loosely-defined class of camera, or a genus of filmstocks, or a lens, or filter thread, or a type of cannon or its munitions, etc. It all depends on what 'is' is, eh?

[jogiba]

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Last edited by jogiba; 06-02-2012 at 11:07 AM.

[redrockcoulee]

When I say 35mm I mean film although I do lump the digital and the film equipment together. If I said I was shooting 120 it would be film whereas if I said medium format it could also be digital (as soon as some one gives be a CFV back). But medium format could be anything from 645 to 69. I do not think I would differentiate full frame from cropped sensors if I was calling digital 35mm. The root of the problem is that for this size the label came from the film size whereas both medium and large format do not. And miniature format which 35 was once called is for ones smaller than 35. In conclusion I rarely call my digital 35mm however I do not think anyone would be wrong if they do. I usually call my kit 35mm and digital as it has a film camera in it.

[Lex Madera]

Thanks to all who responded. I appreciate the insight.