Film Dimensions and Specifications

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last updated July 15, 2010
(added 35mm anamorphic & matte image,
removed invalid film format, made minor touches.)

Note, whenever possible, actual film frames are scanned and pictured above the specification list at precisely 180dpi to give an idea of scale. I'm missing some film formats so anyone who has access to these, please get in contact with me so I can add them to this page. Thank you.



Regular 8mm frame dimensions

Camera aperture size (HxW): 3.68 x 4.88mm

Frame area: 17.96sq. mm

Aspect ratio: 1.33:1

16:9 useable frame area: 13.4sq. mm (75%)

normal frame rate: 16fps

 

Super-8 frame dimensions

Camera aperture size (HxW): 4.22 x 5.63mm

Width: 1.15x Standard8

Frame area: 23.76sq. mm (1.32x standard 8)

Aspect ratio: 1.33:1

16:9 useable frame area: 17.83sq. mm (75%)

normal frame rate: 18 or 24fps

 

Super-Duper-8 frame dimensions

Camera aperture size (HxW) 4.22 x 6.36mm

width: 1.13x Super-8

frame area: 26.84sq. mm (1.13x Super-8)

Aspect ratio: 1.5:1

16:9 useable frame area: 22.75sq. mm (85%)

Normal frame rate: 24fps





16mm
top to bottom: silent, optical sound, magnetic sound.

Camera aperture size (HxW): 7.49 x 10.26mm

Frame area: 76.85sq. mm (3.23x super 8)

Aspect ratio: 1.33:1

16:9 useable frame area: 59.21sq. mm (75%)

normal frame rate: 24 or 30fps

 

Super-16

Camera aperture size (HxW): 7.42mm x 12.52mm

Width: 1.21x Standard 16

Frame area: 92.9sq. mm (1.21x Standard 16)

Aspect ratio: 1.66:1

16.9 useable frame area: 88.17sq. mm (95%)

normal frame rate: 24 or 30fps

 

Ultra-16
Note, Ultra-16 was invented specifically for blow up to 35mm matte
without additional negative cropping or recentering the camera lens.

Camera aperture size (HxW): 6.15mm x 11.4mm

Width: 1.11x Standard 16

Frame area: 70.11sq. mm (.91x Standard 16)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

normal frame rate: 24fps

 

35mm Academy 
frame is slightly shrunken to allow
room for the sound tracks on the right.

Camera aperture size (HxW): 15.24mm x 20.96mm

Frame width: 1.67 x Super-16

Frame area: 319.43sq. mm (3.44x Super 16)

Aspect ratio: 1.38:1

16:9 usable frame area: 248.20mm (78%)

normal frame rate: 18 (original) or 24fps (modern)

 

35mm Matte 
The widescreen image for most films comes
from masking off the top/bottom of the frame
.

Camera aperture size (HxW): 11.33mm x 20.96mm

Frame width: same as Academy

Frame area: 237.47sq. mm (.74x Academy)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

16:9 usable frame area: 228.21mm (96%)

normal frame rate: 24fps

 

Super-35

Camera aperture size (HxW): 10.6mm x 24.92mm

frame area: 264.25sq. mm (1.12X Matte) smaller than the obsolete academy format

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Normal frame rate: 24fps

 

MaxiVision (3-perf)

Camera aperture size (HxW): 12.99mm x 24mm

frame area: 311.76mm (.98x academy) very slightly smaller than the extinct academy format

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Normal frame rate: 24 and 48fps (both rates are used in the same viewing)

 

35mm Anamorphic
note, the image is squeezed to fit a wider image into
the frame which will be undone upon projection.
Outside the perforations is the SDDS sound,
beween perfs on right is Dolby Digital,
just inside the perfs is the analogue sound track
pushed obviously into distortion due to the loudness war,
between that & the frame is the time code for DTS

Camera aperture size (HxW): 18.67 x 22.1mm

Frame area: 412.6sq. mm (1.29x Academy)

Aspect ratio: 1.18:1 (native), 2.36:1 (expanded)

normal frame rate: 24fps

 

35mm Full Aperture

Camera aperture size (HxW): 18.67 x 24.92mm

Width: 1.19x Academy

Frame area: 465.26sq. mm (1.13x Anamorphic)

Aspect ratio: 1.33:1

16.9 useable frame area: 349.32sq. mm (75%)

normal frame rate: 24fps

 

35mm Vista Vision (8 perf)

Camera aperture size (HxW): 18.36mm x 37.59mm

Frame width 1.51x Full Aperture

Frame area: 690.15sq. mm (1.48x Full Aperture)

Width: 1.52x Full Aperture

Aspect ratio: 1.51:1 (native)

normal frame rate: 24fps



65mm Standard

Camera aperature size (HxW): 22.04x48.59mm

Frame area: 1070.92sq. mm (1.55x VistaVision)

Aspect ratio: 2.2:1

normal frame rate: 24 (super Panavision, Super Technirama) or 30fps (Todd AO)



70mm

65mm is printed to 70mm to store sound tracks.



70mm 15 perf IMAX


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