Kodak, Fujifilm, Ilford. You know major names in film production, as in those spools of celluloid you jam into film cameras. Even Leica got in on the act recently, a hundred years after they began making 35mm film cameras. Lomography, maker of affordable, low-fidelity film cameras, also counts itself as one of the major producers of film.
I’ve already publicly drooled over explained a few of Lomography’s coolest film cameras. Here, I’m going to explain the difference in the types of film that Lomography sells.
the different types of Lomography film explained
Anyone who’s shot film on something even just a bit more serious than a Polaroid or Instax Mini has almost certainly shot 35mm film.
A 35mm film has a frame size of 24mm x 36mm. Yes, you read that right. The 36mm part has to do with the size of the image sensor in a 35mm film camera, which in turn affects how much detail can be relayed through the camera and transmitted to the film negatives.
Those prioritizing portability, speed, and convenience made 35mm the standard film format in the 20th century, from newspaper photographers to families on vacations. It’s the standard against which other formats are judged.
Want more detail in your photographs? You’re looking for 120 film, a medium-format film that offers significantly higher resolution than 35mm. It’s 61mm wide with various frame sizes like 60 x 45mm, 60 x 60mm, 60 x 70mm, or 60 x 90mm, depending on the camera.
Frames that big can pack a lot of detail; even more than most digital cameras. That means you can zoom in on your photographs and maintain a ton of detail.
The downside of 120 film is that you get fewer shots per roll. Get used to snapping 12 or so shots per roll of this harder-to-find, more expensive film than the 24 or 36 shots per roll of 35mm film.
You can buy 220-format film, which is more or less the same as 120 but comes in rolls with twice as many shots. As you can expect, it’s even more expensive.
Lomography is the only manufacturer still making 110 film, a compact and rarely seen film format specifically designed for use in compact travel cameras. That 110 film is 16mm wide, and its frames measure just 13mm x 17mm. That’s quite a bit smaller than 35mm film, which means less detail in your photographs.
It’s not hard to see why Lomography is the last remaining maker of 110 film. The compact, travel camera that prioritizes convenience over film quality has been supplanted by the smartphones already riding in most people’s pockets.
That’s not to say that you can’t have a ton of fun shooting 110 film, though. As with anything film, part of the romance is in the process and the look, not in the specs.
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