What is 35 mm film?

35 mm film (sometimes also referred to as 135 format) is the most common photographic film format. The film is 35 millimetres wide, and each standard image is 24×36 mm. Individual rolls of 35 mm film are enclosed in metal canisters which allows them to be loaded in broad daylight. The end of the film is cut on one side to form a leader so that it is easy for the film to be inserted into a corresponding slot in the camera’s take-up spool.

35 mm film is the most popular format and as such a wide variety of emulsions are commercially available. At Lomography we have an exciting range of creative 35 mm film cameras as well as color negative and black and white 35 mm film for various shooting situations.

It is also possible to experiment with exposing different areas than the standard 35 mm frame. Some cameras such as the Diana Mini and Lomo LC-Wide can also shoot half-frame images (17×24 mm). Using the half frame mode, you will get 72 pictures on an ordinary roll of a 36 exposure film.

Others such as the Sprocket Rocket, HydroChrome Sutton’s Belair Panoramic and Spinner 360° cameras let you create panoramas and can expose the perforations (sprocket holes) of your 35 mm film.