135 film
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135 (ISO 1007) is a film format for still photography. Introduced in its modern form in 1934 it quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format. Despite competition from formats such as 110 and APS, it remains so today.
The film itself has the same dimensions (35 mm wide) and perforations (16 per 72 mm) as 35 mm movie film but is enclosed in a light-tight cassette to allow cameras to be loaded in daylight. The standard image format is 24 × 36 mm. Other image formats were also used, like the half-frame format of 18 × 24 mm that earned some popularity during an era of unusually high film costs in the 1960s and the 24 × 24 mm of the Robot cameras. Odd formats include the 24 × 32 mm and 24 × 34 mm on the early Nikon rangefinders, and 24 × 23 mm for use with some stereo cameras. In 1998, Hasselblad introduced a 24 × 65 mm panoramic format with the XPan camera. There is also a 14 × 21 mm format used by Tessina subminiature camera.
The film is housed in a single spool metal cassette. The film is clipped or taped to a spool and exits via a velvet-covered slot. The end of the film is cut on one side to form a leader, which is to be inserted into a corresponding slot in the camera take-up spool.
The film is available in lengths for varying numbers of exposures. The standard full-length roll has always been 36 exposures (assuming a standard 24 × 36 frame size). Through about 1980, 20 exposure rolls were the only shorter length with widespread availability. Since then, 20 exposure rolls have been largely discontinued in favor of 24 and 12 exposure rolls. In fact it's possible to get 3 more exposures than the nominal capacity on the film leader if the camera is loaded in a darkroom. 27 exposure disposable cameras are loaded in the dark with standard 24 exposure cassette. Other, mostly shorter lengths have been manufactured. There have been some 6, 8, 10, and 15 exposure rolls given away as samples, sometimes in single-use cameras, or used by insurance adjusters to document damage claims. Photographers who load their own cassettes can use any length of film — with thinner emulsions up to 45 exposures will fit.
Ordinarily, the film must be rewound before the camera can be opened. Some cameras, particularly disposables, unwind the film fully upon loading and then expose the images in reverse order, returning the film to the cassette. This enables counting of the available exposures and protects exposed film (except the most recent images) should the camera back be accidentally opened.
Since the 1980s, film cassettes have been marked with a DX encoding pattern for automatically setting the camera to use the correct sensitivity value for the film. Different films are sensitive to light at different degrees, and are usually written as a number preceded by "ISO." Common film sensitivies for consumers are ISO100 through ISO800, although films with much greater and much less sensitivity are available, and are generally for professional use.
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History
Earliest 35 mm still cameras
The 35 mm film standard for motion picture film was established in Thomas Edison's lab by William Kennedy Laurie Dickson. Mr. Dickson took 70 mm film stock supplied by George Eastman's Eastman Kodak Company. The 70 mm film was cut lengthwise into two equally thick strips, hence the 35 mm thickness, spliced together end to end, and then perforated along both edges. The original picture size was 18 x 24 mm, which in modern times is considered to be a "half-frame" format. There were four perforations on each side of a motion picture frame.
There were a number of 35 mm still cameras using perforated movie film prior to the Leica. The first patent for one was issued to Leo, Audobard and Baradat in England in 1908. The first full scale production camera was the Homeos, a stereo camera, produced by Jules Richard in 1913. It took stereo pairs, 18x24 mm, with two Tessar lenses, and was sold until 1920.
The first big-selling 35 mm still camera was the American Tourist Multiple, which also appeared in 1913, at a cost of $175 (at today's prices, the same cost as a modern $3000 Leica.) The first camera to take full frame 24x36 mm exposures seems to be the Simplex, introduced in the U.S. in 1914. It took either 800 half frame or 400 full frame shots on 50 ft. rolls.
The Minigraph, by Levy- Roth of Berlin, another half frame small camera was sold in Germany in 1915. The patent for the Debrie Sept camera, a combination 35 mm still and movie camera was issued in 1918, but was not marketed until 1922.
Finally, the Furet camera (made and sold in France in 1923) took full frame 24x36 mm negatives and was the first cheap small 35 mm camera to look vaguely like today's models.
Leicas
Although Oskar Barnack designed his prototype camera around 1913, the first experimental production run of ur-Leicas (Serial No. 100 to 130) did not take place until 1923. Full scale production of the Leica did not begin until 1925. By that time there were at least a dozen other 35 mm cameras available. The success of the Leica was attributed by contemporary photographic writers, not only to its small size and to the precision of its construction, but also to its relatively high price which established it as a "prestige" item amongst both photographers and people of fashion.
The Leica camera designed by Oskar Barnack used 35 mm film and proved that a format as small as 24 mm × 36 mm was suitable for professional photography.
Kodak Retina cameras
In the earliest days, the photographer had to load the film into reusable cassettes and cut the film leader. In 1934, Kodak introduced a 135 daylight-loading single-use cassette. This cassette was engineered so that it could be used in both Leica and Contax cameras along the camera for which it was invented, namely the Kodak Retina camera. The Retina camera and this daylight loading cassette were the invention of Dr. August Nagel of the Kodak AG Dr. Nagel Werk in Stuttgart. Kodak bought Dr. August Nagel's company in December, 1931, and began marketing the Kodak Retina in the summer of 1934. The first Kodak Retina camera was a Typ 117. The 35 mm Kodak Retina camera line remained in production until 1969. Kodak launched 135-format Kodachrome color film in 1935. AGFA followed with the introduction of Agfacolor-Neu in 1936.
The designations 235 and 435 refer to 35 mm film in daylight-loading spools, that could be loaded into Leica or Contax style reusable cassettes without need of a darkroom. The 335 was a daylight loading spool for the 24 × 23 mm stereo format.
1960s onwards
In the early 1960s, the Nikon F SLR system camera greatly improved on the quality and utility of 35 mm format cameras. The DX film-speed encoding system was introduced in the 1980s.
1990s - today: APS and the digital future
In 1996, a new format called APS was introduced by a consortium of photography companies in an attempt to supersede 135 film. Due in part to its small negative size, APS was not taken seriously as a professional format, despite the production of APS SLRs. In the point-and-shoot markets the format was primarily aimed at, it enjoyed moderate initial success, but still never rivalled the market penetration of 135. Within five years of its launch, cheap digital compacts started becoming widely available, and APS sales plummeted.
Such digital compacts have also inevitably eroded the market for 35 mm compact cameras. However, digital SLRs at a price (and quality) comparable with consumer-level 35 mm SLRs are a more recent phenomenon.
