Half-frame camera

Last updated
An Olympus Pen F half-frame SLR Olympus Pen F.jpg
An Olympus Pen F half-frame SLR
Half-frame film (left and right) with standard 35 mm (centre) Half-Frame 4442.jpg
Half-frame film (left and right) with standard 35 mm (centre)

Half-frame cameras, also called single-frame or split-frame cameras, are film cameras compatible with 35mm film types. These cameras capture congruent shots that take up half of each individual frame in the roll of film. They can be still frame or motion picture cameras and are the standard format of 35mm movie cameras. This is commonly expressed, more technically, as 18×24 mm using 18×24 mm of a regular 135 film. It is closer to the normal frame size of a 35 mm motion film. This leaves half frame cameras to derive their film plate size from the aspect ratio, and frame size that was first designated by Thomas Edison (24.89 by 18.67 millimetres or 0.980 by 0.735 inches) at the dawn of the motion picture industry. [1] Traditionally, the additional film width on motion picture film is used for audio in later film standards, although the original patent for sound on film is derived from the 1880s. [2]

Contents

General context

The usual frame size of 35mm still cameras is 24×36 mm, however half-frame cameras typical use an image area of 18×24 mm. One net result of this is that a roll of film can typically contain twice the number of exposures as in a full frame 35mm camera (that is, a roll that is nominally 36 exposures allows 72 in the half-frame format).

These cameras are called "half-frame" as they expose frames half the width of typical 35mm still cameras. The resulting frame is similar in size to that recorded by 35 mm movie cameras. [1]

Half frame became popular as a less expensive alternative to full frame cameras in the 1960s. This was particularly popular in Japan. [3] Among the more popular half frame cameras are the Olympus Pen models. [3] Half frame cameras allowed for more compact cameras to exist alongside full frame cameras, particularly in rangefinder type cameras. Half frame single lens reflex cameras require a smaller mirror than their full frame counterparts. The smaller frame also permitted the use of physically smaller lenses as a smaller image circle was needed. imaging circle. [4] This resulted in far smaller cameras such as the Olympus Pen cameras. [5]

In the 1960s, as half frame cameras grew in popularity with new models such the Kodak Instamatic in 1963, concerns were raised about the true economic benefits. [6] While allowing 72 shots on a standard 36 shot roll was appealing, the reduced image quality made this less appealing. [6] This would also become true for many other formats including 110 film and APS film that attempted to and failed to augment 35 mm film. [6] However unlike APS, as a separate format, half frame survives as it can be shot on standard 35 mm film, which is still widely available. [7]

Due to the fact that half frame cameras use standard 35 mm film stocks, "half frame" continues to exist as a niche photographic format to the present date for diptych photography. [8] The irregular frame markers and its novelty of exposing two frames on one slide or negative has led to the growth of half frame cameras as a diptych format. [8] The diptych format allows photographers to convey meaning through multiple images in one frame. [6]

The default orientation for most half frame cameras is vertical (portrait) as opposed to the horizontal (landscape) orientation of a full frame 35 mm SLR or rangefinder. The exceptions are cameras that use vertically run film mechanisms (examples including the Konica Recorder and Belomo Agat 18). Consumers did not always like having to hold half frame cameras vertically for a horizontal orientation photograph. The half frame camera can be seen as defying traditional camera ergonomics. More recently, social media use has made some see the default portrait orientation as beneficial, particularly with Instagram changing from the 1:1 aspect ratio to 4:5 and 9:16 to fit more image on a mobile device. The 3:4 aspect ratio of half frame photos can easily be cropped to 4:5 in portrait orientation without a significant reduction in image quality producing an "Instagram ready" photo. This has been reinforced by Kodak's reintroduction of half frame cameras [9] through the Kodak Ektar branded H35 half frame camera.

Technologically, the most advanced electronic half-frame camera is the Yashica Samurai single lens reflex. [10] The earlier Olympus PEN and Konica Auto Reflex reached a pinnacle for mechanical half frame cameras by offering fully functional rangefinder styled options such as the Olympus Pen and SLR options respectively. These cameras remain popular among film shooters today.

A Konica Auto Reflex full/half-frame SLR, with hot shoe "eye piece" adapter attached for electronic X flash cable attached units or manual bulbs. Vintage Konica Auto-Reflex 35mm SLR Film Camera, Made In Japan, First Focal-Plane-Shutter Auto Exposure 35mm SLR, Circa 1966 (13490913093).jpg
A Konica Auto Reflex full/half-frame SLR, with hot shoe "eye piece" adapter attached for electronic X flash cable attached units or manual bulbs.

The Konica Auto Reflex can also switch between full and half frame while shooting. The Auto Reflex SLR gives access to the full Konica AR lens library in half frame, and additionally Nikon F, M42, and Leica M mount with adapters under the provision of stop down metering. Konica at the time created a camera with some deliberation, so that due to its lens flange register, and therefore mount distance, it could be used by photographers from other brand manufacturers with simple lens mount adapters.

Some cameras originally designed for use as full-frame cameras were produced or custom modified in very small production runs as half-frame models for specific purposes. Examples of these include Leica (1950 made in Canada Leica 72), Nikon (1960–61 Nikon S3M 18x24mm rangefinder, Nikon FM2 SLR), Konica (FT-1 Pro Half) or Robot (Robot 24x24mm camera) rangefinders, and some Alpa (Alpa 18x24 SLR) and Minolta SLRs. [11] These limited production run cameras are mainly of interest as collectibles. Due to scarcity value these cameras attract more value as a stock commodity than as a commonly used camera. In other cases, the smaller size of the cameras at the time, coupled with the increase in image quality saw half frame as a viable replacement option for the 110 film format.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single-lens reflex camera</span> Camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system

A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin lens reflex and rangefinder cameras, the viewed image could be significantly different from the final image. When the shutter button is pressed on most SLRs, the mirror flips out of the light path, allowing light to pass through to the light receptor and the image to be captured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rangefinder camera</span> Camera fitted with a rangefinder

A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder, typically a split-image rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">135 film</span> 35 mm photographic film format

135 film, more popularly referred to as 35 mm film or 35 mm, is a format of photographic film with a film gauge of 35 mm (1.4 in) loaded into a standardized type of magazine for use in 135 film cameras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced Photo System</span> Still image film format

Advanced Photo System (APS) is a discontinued film format for still photography first produced in 1996. It was marketed by Eastman Kodak under the brand name Advantix, by FujiFilm under the name Nexia, by Agfa under the name Futura and by Konica as Centuria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subminiature photography</span>

Subminiature photography is photographic technologies and techniques working with film material smaller in size than 35mm film, such as 16mm, 9.5mm, 17mm, or 17.5mm films. It is distinct from photomicrography, photographing microscopic subjects with a camera which is not particularly small.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focal-plane shutter</span> Mechanism that controls the exposure time in cameras

In camera design, a focal-plane shutter (FPS) is a type of photographic shutter that is positioned immediately in front of the focal plane of the camera, that is, right in front of the photographic film or image sensor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minolta</span> Former Japanese imaging corporation

Minolta Co., Ltd. was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as Nichi-Doku Shashinki Shōten. It made the first integrated autofocus 35 mm SLR camera system. In 1931, the company adopted its final name, an acronym for "Mechanism, Instruments, Optics, and Lenses by Tashima".

Konica was a Japanese manufacturer of, among other products, film, film cameras, camera accessories, photographic and photo-processing equipment, photocopiers, fax machines and laser printers, founded in 1873. The company merged with Japanese peer Minolta in 2003, with the new company named Konica Minolta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosina</span> Japanese optical equipment manufacturer

Cosina Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer of high-end optical glass, optical precision equipment, cameras, video and electronic related equipment, based in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital single-lens reflex camera</span> Digital cameras combining the parts of a single-lens reflex camera and a digital camera back

A digital single-lens reflex camera is a digital camera that combines the optics and mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a solid-state image sensor and digitally records the images from the sensor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">APS-C</span> Image sensor format

Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System film negative in its C ("Classic") format, of 25.1×16.7 mm, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and Ø 30.15 mm field diameter. It is therefore also equivalent in size to the Super 35 motion picture film format, which has the dimensions of 24.89 mm × 18.66 mm and Ø 31.11 mm field diameter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the single-lens reflex camera</span> Aspect of photography history

The history of the single-lens reflex camera (SLR) begins with the use of a reflex mirror in a camera obscura described in 1676, but it took a long time for the design to succeed for photographic cameras. The first patent was granted in 1861, and the first cameras were produced in 1884, but while elegantly simple in concept, they were very complex in practice. One by one these complexities were overcome as optical and mechanical technology advanced, and in the 1960s the SLR camera became the preferred design for many high-end camera formats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double-Gauss lens</span>

The double Gauss lens is a compound lens used mostly in camera lenses that reduces optical aberrations over a large focal plane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konica Hexar RF</span> 35 mm rangefinder camera

The Konica Hexar RF is a 35 mm rangefinder camera which was sold by Konica. It was introduced to the market on 13 October 1999. and subsequently discontinued some time before the end of 2003. The camera used the "Bayonet Konica KM-mount", a copy of the Leica M-mount, thus sharing interchangeable lenses with those designed for Leica cameras and others compatible with them. The Hexar RF has a combined rangefinder/viewfinder modeled on that of Leica cameras, a similar body shape and size - and so is similar to Leica M-mount cameras in many aspects of operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenses for SLR and DSLR cameras</span>

This article details lensesfor single-lens reflex and digital single-lens reflex cameras. The emphasis is on modern lenses for 35 mm film SLRs and for "full-frame" DSLRs with sensor sizes less than or equal to 35 mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konica Hexar</span> 1990s 35 mm autofocus camera

The Konica Hexar is a 35 mm fixed-lens, fixed focal length autofocus camera which was produced through the 1990s. It was introduced to the market in 1993. While styled like a rangefinder camera, and intended for a similar style of photography, in specification it is more like a larger "point and shoot" camera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minolta CLE</span> 35 mm rangefinder camera

The Minolta CLE is a TTL-metering manual & automatic exposure aperture-priority 35 mm rangefinder camera using Leica M lenses, introduced by Minolta in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of photographic lens design</span>

The invention of the camera in the early 19th century led to an array of lens designs intended for photography. The problems of photographic lens design, creating a lens for a task that would cover a large, flat image plane, were well known even before the invention of photography due to the development of lenses to work with the focal plane of the camera obscura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikon I, M and S</span>

The Nikon was the first camera introduced by the optical manufacturer Nippon Kogaku KK. It is a 35mm rangefinder camera, in retrospect known as the Nikon I. The original design was approved by September 1946, and the camera was released in March 1948. At first, it was sold locally, and it did not come to the attention of the western media until 1950, when photographers from the magazine Life were shown photographs taken with these cameras. The lenses draw special attention, like the Nikkor-P.C 1:2 f=8.5cm. A demand to fit Nikkors to the reporters' Leicas were immediately met at the factory in Tokyo, and soon the word spread about these Japanese lenses which were just as good as, or possibly better than their German counterparts. The camera design was strongly inspired by the German Contax and Leica cameras. After careful studies of these, Nippon Kogaku had decided to base their camera on the Contax, but substitute the complicated shutter design for the cloth focal plane shutter of the Leica, these being considered the best features from either camera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikon Ti cameras</span> 35mm point and shoot camera

The Nikon 35Ti (1993) and Nikon 28Ti (1994) are luxury titanium-clad point and shoot cameras that were produced by Nikon, equipped with a high-quality lens and body, competing with similar luxury compact cameras produced during the Japanese bubble-economy era, including the Contax T line, Konica Hexar, Leica minilux, Minolta TC-1, Ricoh GR series, and Rollei QZ 35W/35T. Both the 35Ti and 28Ti are 35 mm cameras with nearly identical operation; as the name implies, the 35Ti is equipped with a 35 mm focal length lens, while the 28Ti is equipped with a 28 mm lens. Externally, they may be distinguished by their color: the 35Ti is finished in chrome/silver, and the 28Ti is finished in black.

References

  1. 1 2 Belton, John (1992). Widescreen Cinema. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 17–18. ISBN   978-0-674-95261-4.
  2. ↑ Fayne, John G. "(History of) Motion Picture Sound Recording" (PDF). The Journal of Audio Engineering Society . Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Photography". Popular Science . United States: Bonnier Corporation. 1965. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ Adams, Ansel. 1980. The Camera. The New Ansel Adams Basic Photography Series/Book 1. ed. Robert Baker. Boston: New York Graphic Society. ISBN   0-8212-1092-0
  5. ↑ "Focal length and image circle – only images".
  6. 1 2 3 4 Hirsch, Robert (2013). Exploring Color Photography Fifth Edition From Film to Pixels. New York: Routledge. p. 29. doi:10.4324/9780240813363. ISBN   9781136089749.
  7. ↑ "Camera Shows". Popular Science . United States: Bonnier Corporation. 1963. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Hirsch, Robert (2013). Exploring Color Photography Fifth Edition From Film to Pixels. New York: Routledge. p. 150. doi:10.4324/9780240813363. ISBN   9781136089749.
  9. ↑ Martyr, Johnny (July 12, 2022). "Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame Camera Review: Out-Of-The-Box Fun". PetaPixel.
  10. ↑ "Keppler's SLR World Samurai: Autofocus zoom half frame SLR!". Popular Photography . Los Angeles: Diamonds Communications Inc. 1988. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ A batch of 30 Minolta X-300 35 mm full-frame SLRs custom modified to half-frame for the police in the Netherlands Forum article in German Minolta-Forum as of 2007

This article was originally based on "Half-frame" in Camerapedia, retrieved at an unknown date under the GNU Free Documentation License.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.