6X7 as "British Format"

[agf]

I am just curious to know why often 6X7 is reffered as "British Format".

Thanks!

[dougmiles]

I hadn't ever heard that... Though it has been called "ideal format"...

[NetR]

Perhaps it is because the British are so often at sixes and sevens ;-)

 

Ross

[david_m]

Since Britain invented everything it should be obvious.

[paulr]

If it was British it would be 7x6.

[wim_van_velzen]

Or 2 1/4 x 2 3/4?

<p>

From what I have seen of British photography magazines, the format is very popular there indeed, probably more so than in continental Europe. On the other hand, the format was introduced by Linhof as 'das ideal Format'.

<p>

<a href="http://www.fotografiewimvanvelzen.nl">Wim</a>

[stephen_haynes]

Because it's a compromise?

 

I've never heard of it either. At a meeting the other day in

London's Art Workers' Guild, I noticed that many of the portraits

on the walls (1880s-1950s) seem to be in a 6:7 proportion -

neither square nor decidedly rectangular.

[dan_fromm2]

6x7??? What ever became of 2.25" x 2.75"? I b'lieve that's been around as long as 120 film. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.

 

British format? In what language? I ask, Federico, because (a) I've never seen "British format" in english and (b) because british plate formats (1/2 plate, 1/4) plate aren't remotely 2.25" x 2.75". A plate is 8.5" x 6.5"; 1/4 plate is 4.25" x 3.25".

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

[agf]

Dan, I just have seen that term around a few times. For ex., quoting Peter Marlow (in

Magnum Stories, Phaidon, pp.307: "... decided to adopt the 'British format',

shooting medium-format 6 x 7 with a Plaubel." That's it!

Greetings.

[geoff_mcauliffe]

It is my understanding the the 2.25x2.75 (6cm x 7cm) format was used by by the Simon Brothers for an aerial reconnaissance camera for the US military during the second World War. This format was chosen because it enlarged to 8"x10" without cropping. The camera they developed became the Simon Omega and later the Koni Omega, a 6x7 rangefinder with interchangable lenses. The Plaubel is a German camera that used the 6x7 format as early as the 1930's? I know little about British cameras but perhaps they developed a camera using that format ever earlier? Or maybe the format was/is very popular in England?

[photom]

Of course there really is no such thing as a 6x7 picture format that comes out of a 6x7 camera (photos having a ratio of 6 to 7). This is the name used to refer to a class of camera size which uses 60 mm wide film. The actual format produced by this class of camera is typically very close to 4:5 (which I normally call 5:4) which is a much more practical ratio for a rectagular photo.

[hakon_soreide]

Never heard the term "British format" about this either, but from what I've read of British photo magazines, 6x7, and other medium format formats for that matter, seem rather popular in Britain. Walking around London, I've never seen so many medium format cameras adorning shop windows before as I did there, albeit not particularly many of them were 6x7s, come to think of it.<p>

Anyway, as the British are generally thought of to be not quite square, but almost, with some stiff upper lip and afternoon tea thrown in, I'd say 6x7 might be the format closest to sum up that in rectangle form =P<p>

<a href="http://www.hakonsoreide.com/Photos">www.hakonsoreide.com</a>

[andy m.]

I agree with David M ;-)

[chris_waller]

Although British (English, actually) and a photographer of forty years standing I have never heard that term. I know it is sometimes called 'ideal format' since it is reputedly the most aesthetically balanced.

[hakon_soreide]

The thing about "ideal format" has, from what I've gathered, nothing to do with aesthetics, rather that some seem to claim that the full frame can be used in a magazine without cropping. Since standards are diverse, it might be that some think this would be the format best fitting a British magazine page? Let's have a look at this:<p>

 

It's a far cry from the 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 most common in British photo magazines these days where the term "ideal size" is mentioned every time a 6x7 photo is presented, but that format is a continental thing forced upon them (by the French, I suppose?). It is closer to the 11 x 9 which I see used in most British art magazines, though, and perhaps that's a more traditional standard size? <p>Measuring the actual film frame from my Mamiya 7, I find that that is 6.9 x 5.7cm, which is basically the same size relation as the 11 x 9, and so it might be tempting to conclude that it's the <i>ideal size</I> for a <i>British magazine</I>, and hence someone happened to call it the "British format".<p>

Of course it is also an aesthetically pleasing format, but then again, so are many other formats, all depending on what is inside the frame and relation to it rather than the frame itself. The most difficult frame to fill and keep interesting on its own might be the square, and I guess the film format that sees the most cropping (at least cropping is often mentioned with it) is the 6x6.<p>

<a href="http://www.hakonsoreide.com/Photos">www.hakonsoreide.com</a>