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Film gauge

Physical width of film stock From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Film gauge is a physical property of photographic or motion picture film stock which defines its width. Traditionally, the major movie film gauges are 8 mm, 16 mm, 35 mm, and 65/70 mm (in this case 65 mm for the negative and 70 mm for the release print; the extra five millimeters are reserved for the magnetic soundtrack).[1][2] There have been other historic gauges in the past, especially in the silent era, most notably 9.5 mm film, as well as a panoply of others ranging from 3 mm to 75 mm.[citation needed]

A 35 mm film gauge illuminated with the flashlight of a smartphone.

Larger film gauge is generally associated with higher image quality, higher image detail, greater materials expense, heavier camera equipment, larger and most costly projection equipment, as well as greater bulk and weight for distribution and storage (both interim and archival).

Size comparison between different film gauges

Size comparison between different film gauges.
More information Format, Gauge ...
Format Gauge Orientation Perfs Aspect ratio (approx.) Notable for
Super 8 8 mm Vertical 1 1.33:1 Home movies, nostalgia
Standard 8 8 mm Vertical 1 1.33:1 Early amateur use
Standard 16 16 mm Vertical 1 1.33:1 Docs, newsreels
Super 16 16 mm Vertical 1 1.66:1 – 1.85:1 Indie film, TV
4-Perf 35 mm 35 mm Vertical 4 1.37:1 (flat) / 2.39:1 (anamorphic) Industry standard
3-Perf 35 mm 35 mm Vertical 3 1.85:1 Efficient widescreen
2-Perf 35 mm 35 mm Vertical 2 2.39:1 Techniscope, budget
VistaVision 35 mm Horizontal 8 1.50:1 (cropped to 1.85:1) High-res, VFX
Dynavision 70 mm Vertical 8 1.39:1 Rare large-frame format
5-Perf 70 mm 70 mm Vertical 5 2.20:1 Epic cinema
IMAX 70 mm Horizontal 15 1.43:1 Ultra-large format
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