What does medium format mean?

[carolyn_hugley]

I am in the market for an inexpensive negative scanner which will

accept 35mm and other size negatives from old home use cameras from

the 40's and 50's. I found an Epson Perfection Flatbed Photo

Scanner Model 3170 for $200 with a negative adapter which accepts

Medium Format. I don't know what this means. Could this adapter be

used to hold old Brownie Starmite negatives, etc.

Thank you.

[m_.]

any film size that is bigger than a 35mm (24mmx35mm) and smaller than 4x5 is medium format film. any camera that takes thesee films is called a medium format camera. the most common medium format sizes are 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9 (all in cm).

[robert_davis2]

Not really true. Some old cameras used film that was much bigger then what anybody would call medium format today.

 

Did the camera look like this?

 

 

http://www.geh.org/fm/brownie/htmlsrc/mE13001029_ful.html

 

That's 4cmx4cm and actually smaller then what is commonly called medium format. Measure the various negatives you have.

 

Unless somebody has tried the scanner with all the formats the best idea would be to ask Epson tech support.

[david_holland1]

What medium format means: Generally medium format refers to a film size between 35mm and 4" x 5", the latter being the smallest "large format" size. In practice, it means 120 size roll film, which is 6 centimeters (cm) in width, with an actual negative width of 52mm (i.e., 5.2cm). Some cameras use the width as the long side of a rectangular frame and 3/4 as much for the narrow side(i.e.,6x4.5, usually called "645") and some use length equal to width (called "6x6" or "2 1/4 square"). Others use the width of the film as the narrow side, and 69mm of the film's length (called "6x7"), and a few use even more length--6x8 and 6x9.

 

Could the medium format adapter be used for the Brownie negatives: The Brownie, I believe, used 127 film, which produced a 4cm by 4cm negative--smaller than 645 but bigger than 35mm (which is 2.4cm x 3.6cm).

 

Therefore, the medium format film holder will be to large for the 127 negatives. I suspect that it is nevertheless possible to scan the smaller film size by making a frame out of cardboard and taping the negative to it. It is also possible that the scanner has some kind of generic holder that allows sizes to be scanned for which there is no dedicated holder. I have an Agfa, and it came with holders for 35mm, 6x7, and 4x5, plus a glass plate that would accomodate any size.

 

Perhaps someone who has a 3170 can help out with the adaptability to the smaller format.

 

I hope this helps.

[blueviews]

You will either have to make an adapter or use an anti-Newton glass to put the negatives directly on the bed but still use the transmission scanner set up.

It will work OK depending on what size you want the ultimate print to be.

[stephen_w.]

Minuiture = Minox

 

Small = 35 mm

 

Medium = In Between

 

Large = 4X5 +

[chris_henry1]

Today, it means cameras that use either size 120, 220 or 70mm rollfilm stock.

Exposure sizes vary by camera and back used: 6x4.5, 6x6, 6.6x4.4, 6x7, 6x8, 6x9,

6x12, 6x17, to name a few.

[lbi115l]

Ok, so here's a question: is medium format limited to only rollfilm? I shoot medium and large format, but am at a loss for where to classify sheet film in the smaller sizes. I guess that the 2x3 and 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 films could be considered medium, but what about 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 and the like?

[chris_henry1]

Limited to only rollfilm? No, since many medium-format cameras accept digital and

Polaroid backs, too. I guess that one requirement might be that a medium format

camera must at least be able to accept 120 rollfilm, whatever else it can accept, but

that it may not also accept 4x5 sheet film or another large-format film size.

 

Even a view camera with a rollfilm back is a medium format camera; a Linhof 679 or

similar view camera designed specifically for either digital or rollfilm use is a

medium-format camera, too.

[Sandeha Lynch]

I'm using an Epson Perfection 3200, but only for negs that are larger than 35mm. Some of them have come from a collection of WW2 photos with quite a range of neg sizes. Don't bother with the Epson supplied adapters as a piece of new picture frame glass will hold your negatives flat and will be good for any non-standard size that fits within the space of the top light. <p>It's a good idea to cut a mask/template/screen of A4 black paper using the plastic adapter as a guide for the overall shape. It doesn't have to be a close fit to the neg, but you do have to leave the strip open at the top end for the scanner calibrator. Doing it this way you can lay down half a dozen Brownie negs, scan them all as one massive file, and separate them in PS - a bit like making a contact sheet.

[gary_ferguson1]

Britain's Royal Photographic Society used to classify any negative smaller than six square inches as a "miniature negative" from a "miniature camera", a definition they continued to use until the 1960's. By this standard 645 and 6x6 would be classed as miniature, but 6x9 would not!

[lbi115l]

I believe that at the time, they called 35mm "subminiature".

 

Well, times sure have changed. I use 'subminiature' for smaller than 35mm, 'small' for 35mm...

 

Maybe I'll stick to the 4x5+ definition for LF.

[fwstutterheim]

Forget about academic discussions on film format. It means Epson supplie a 6x9 cm

film holder. As was pointed out earlier, this thing is a PITA and you will not need it.