Editing 135 film (section)

== History ==

=== 35&nbsp;mm still cameras ===
[[file:History of photography.jpg|thumb|Soviet camera [[Smena (camera)|Smena]] 6 with 35 mm films]]
[[file:Minox 35 ML 2014-08-31 11-01-57.jpg|thumb|Minox 35 ML, one of the smallest cameras built for the 135 film]]

The 135 film size is derived from earlier still cameras using lengths of [[35 mm movie film]], which had the same size but with different perforations. The 35&nbsp;mm film standard for motion picture film was established in [[Thomas Edison]]'s lab by [[William Kennedy Dickson|William Kennedy Laurie Dickson]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spehr |first=Paul |title=The man who made movies : W.K.L. Dickson |publisher=John Libbey |date=November 17, 2008 |isbn=978-0861966950 |pages=239/386}}</ref> Dickson took 70&nbsp;mm film stock supplied by [[George Eastman]]'s Eastman Kodak Company. The 70&nbsp;mm film was cut lengthwise into two equal width (35&nbsp;mm) strips, spliced together end to end, and then perforated along both edges. The original picture size was 18×24&nbsp;mm (half the full frame size later used in still photography). There were four perforations on each side of a motion picture frame.

While the [[#Leica|Leica camera]] popularized the format,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Welsch |first=Colleen |date=2021-12-18 |title=History of the 35mm: The Original Compact Camera |url=https://theoldtimey.com/35mm-camera-history/ |access-date=2024-08-20 |website=The Old Timey |language=en-US}}</ref> several 35&nbsp;mm still cameras used perforated movie film before the Leica was introduced in the 1920s. The first patent for one was issued to Leo, Audobard, and Baradat in England in 1908. The first full-scale production camera was the Homéos, a stereo camera produced by Jules Richard in 1913 and sold until 1920. It took 18x24 mm stereo pairs and used two Tessar lenses.

In 1909, the French {{Interlanguage link multi|Étienne Mollier|fr}} designed a device for small-format photography, the "{{Interlanguage link multi|Cent-Vues|fr}}", which used the 35&nbsp;mm perforated film to take consecutive hundred views in 18×24&nbsp;mm. He manufactured it, won the gold medal in the [[Concours Lépine]], and in 1910 sold at a small scale and without much success.

The first big-selling 35&nbsp;mm still camera was the American Tourist Multiple,<ref name=":0" /> which also appeared in 1913, at a cost of $175 (~5,600 US Dollars in 2024) The first camera to take full-frame 24×36&nbsp;mm exposures seems to be the Simplex, introduced in the U.S. in 1914. It took either 800 half-frame or 400 full-frame shots on 50&nbsp;ft (15.2&nbsp;m) rolls.

The Minigraph, by Levy-Roth of Berlin, another half-frame small camera was sold in Germany in 1915. The patent for the Debrie Sept camera, a combination 35&nbsp;mm still and movie camera was issued in 1918; the camera sold from 1922.

The Furet camera made and sold in France in 1923 took full-frame 24x36 mm negatives, and was the first cheap small 35&nbsp;mm camera of similar appearance to more modern models.

=== Leica ===
[[File:Ur-Leica IMG 0259.JPG|thumb|Replica of a Leica prototype, 1913]]

The [[Leica Camera]] designed by [[Oskar Barnack]] used 35&nbsp;mm film, and proved that a format as small as 24&nbsp;mm × 36&nbsp;mm was suitable for professional photography.

Although Barnack designed his prototype camera around 1913, the first experimental production run of ur-Leicas (Serial No. 100 to 130) did not occur until 1923. Full-scale production of the Leica did not begin until 1925. While by that time, there were at least a dozen other 35 mm cameras available, the Leica was a success. It came to be associated with the format, mostly because of this 35 mm popularity, as well as the entire company legacy. Early Leica cameras are considered highly collectable items. The original Leica prototype holds the record as being the world's most expensive camera,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/top_priced_cameras.php |title=Top 100 maximum valued cameras |access-date=July 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716190102/http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/top_priced_cameras.php |archive-date=July 16, 2013 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref> selling for €2.16&nbsp;million in 2012.

=== Pre-loaded cassettes and Kodak Retina cameras ===
{{More citations needed|date=March 2014}}
[[file:Retina-II.jpg|thumb|Kodak Retina II]]

In the earliest days, the photographer had to load the film into reusable cassettes and, at least for some cameras, cut the film leader. In 1934, Kodak introduced a ''135'' daylight-loading single-use cassette. This cassette was engineered so that it could be used in both Leica and [[Carl Zeiss AG|Zeiss Ikon]] [[Contax]] cameras along with the camera for which it was invented, namely the [[Kodak Retina]] camera. The Retina camera and this daylight loading cassette were the invention of Dr. August Nagel of the ''Kodak AG Dr. Nagel Werk'' in Stuttgart. Kodak bought Dr. August Nagel's company in December, 1931, and began marketing the ''Kodak Retina'' in the summer of 1934.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kodak Retina (Type 117) {{!}} Science Museum Group Collection |url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8205056/kodak-retina-type-117 |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> The first Kodak Retina camera was a Typ 117. The 35&nbsp;mm Kodak Retina camera line remained in production until 1969. Kodak also introduced a line of American made cameras that were simpler and more economical than the Retina. [[Argus (camera company)|Argus]], too, made a long-lived range of 35&nbsp;mm cameras; notably the [[Argus C3]]. Kodak launched 135-format [[Kodachrome]] colour film in 1936. [[Agfa-Gevaert|AGFA]] followed with the introduction of ''Agfacolor Neu'' later in the same year.

The designations ''235'' and ''435'' refer to 35&nbsp;mm film in daylight-loading spools, that could be loaded into Contax or Leica style reusable cassettes, respectively,<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Brief History of Kodak Roll Film Numbers |url=http://www.luk.staff.ugm.ac.id/fotografi/off/www.rit.edu/andpph/tphs-filmnumbers.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622050846/http://www.luk.staff.ugm.ac.id/fotografi/off/www.rit.edu/andpph/tphs-filmnumbers.html |archive-date=2023-06-22 |access-date=2021-09-19 |website=www.luk.staff.ugm.ac.id}}</ref> without need of a [[darkroom]]. The ''335'' was a daylight loading spool for the 24 × 23&nbsp;mm stereo format.

=== Reflex cameras ===
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2015}}
[[file:Nikon F SLR camera with NIKKOR-S Auto 1,4 f=5,8cm.JPG|thumb|[[Nikon F]] chrome with eyelevel prism and NIKKOR-S Auto 1:1,4 f=5,8cm lens (1959) – an early SLR [[system camera]]]]

Reflex viewfinders, both twin-and [[Single-lens reflex camera|single-lens]], had been used with earlier cameras using plates and rollfilm.

The first 35&nbsp;mm single-lens reflex (SLR) was the [[Kine Exakta]], introduced in 1936. [[World War II]] interrupted development of the type. After the war, Exakta resumed development and the Contax S model with the now familiar [[pentaprism]] viewing feature was introduced in 1949. In the 1950s, the SLR also began to be produced in Japan by such companies as [[Pentax|Asahi]] and [[Miranda Camera Company|Miranda]]. Asahi's Pentax introduced the [[instant-return mirror]], important for the popularity of SLRs; until then, the viewfinder on an SLR camera blanked as the mirror sprang out of the optical path just before taking the picture, returning when the film was wound on. [[Nikon]]'s [[Nikon F|F]] model, introduced in March 1959, was a [[system camera]] that greatly improved the quality and utility of 35&nbsp;mm format cameras, encouraging professionals (especially photojournalists) to switch from larger format cameras to the versatile, rugged, and fast SLR design. Numerous other film formats waxed and waned in popularity, but by the 1970s, interchangeable-lens SLR cameras and smaller rangefinders, from expensive Leicas to "point-and-shoot" pocket cameras, were all using 35&nbsp;mm film, and manufacturers had proliferated.

Colour films improved, both for print negatives and reversal slides, while black-and-white films offered smoother grain and faster speeds than previously available. Since 35&nbsp;mm was preferred by both amateur and professional photographers, makers of film stock have long offered the widest range of different film speeds and types in the format. The [[DX encoding|DX film-speed encoding system]] was introduced in the 1980s, as were single-use cameras pre-loaded with 35&nbsp;mm film and using plastic lenses of reasonable enough quality to produce acceptable snapshots. Automated all-in-one processing and printing machines made 35&nbsp;mm developing easier and less expensive, so that quality colour prints became available not only from photographic specialty stores, but also from supermarkets, drugstores, and [[Big-box store|big box]] retailers, often in less than an hour.

=== From 1996 to the present ===

[[file:Nikon-F6 MG 2034.jpg|thumb|[[Nikon F6]] – The last Nikon F series 35mm SLR introduced in 2004, which remained in production until October 2020]]

In 1996, a smaller format called [[Advanced Photo System]] (APS) was introduced by a consortium of photographic companies in an attempt to supersede 135 film. Due in part to its small negative size, APS was not taken seriously as a professional format, despite the production of APS SLRs. In the point-and-shoot markets at which the format was primarily aimed, it enjoyed moderate initial success, but still never rivalled the market penetration of 135. Within five years of its launch, cheap digital compact cameras started becoming widely available, and APS sales plummeted.

While they have shifted the vast majority of their product lines to digital, major camera manufacturers such as Canon and Nikon continued to make expensive professional-grade 35&nbsp;mm film SLRs until relatively recently (such as the [[Canon EOS-1V]] (discontinued in 2018) and the [[Nikon F6]] (discontinued in 2020).

Introductory 35&nbsp;mm SLRs, compact film point-and-shoot cameras, and single-use cameras continue to be built and sold by a number of makers. Leica introduced the digital [[Leica M8]] rangefinder in 2007, but continues to make its M series rangefinder film cameras and lenses. A [[digital camera back]] for the [[Leica R9]] SLR camera was discontinued in 2007. On March 25, 2009, Leica discontinued the R9 SLR and R-series lenses.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://en.leica-camera.com/news/news/1/6378.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829132142/http://en.leica-camera.com/news/news/1/6378.html | archive-date=August 29, 2009 | url-status=dead | title=Leica cease production of R9 and R lenses | publisher=Leica Camera AG | date=March 25, 2009 | access-date=July 9, 2015}}</ref>

By the early 2020s, film photography, particularly 35 mm photography, was experiencing a resurgence in popularity. In a 2021 PetaPixel survey, 75% of respondents expressed interest in newly manufactured analog cameras.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Santamaria |first1=Benjamin |title=Study Confirms There is Still Demand for New Film Cameras |url=https://petapixel.com/2021/12/06/new-study-confirms-there-is-still-demand-for-new-film-cameras/ |website=PetaPixel |access-date=26 October 2024 |language=en |date=6 December 2021}}</ref> Kodak reported in 2022 that it was having trouble keeping up with demand for 35 mm film.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Growcoot |first1=Matt |title=Kodak is Hiring Film Technicians: 'We Cannot Keep Up with Demand' |url=https://petapixel.com/2022/10/12/we-cannot-keep-up-with-demand-kodak-are-hiring-film-technicians/ |website=PetaPixel |language=en |date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

In 2024, the Pentax 17 and the Aflie TYCH+ 35 mm cameras were released, both using the half-frame format to conserve film.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rowlands |first1=Chris |title=Film photography in 2024: the latest analog cameras and what's next for film |url=https://www.techradar.com/cameras/film-photography-in-2024-the-latest-analog-cameras-and-whats-next-for-film |website=TechRadar |access-date=26 October 2024 |language=en |date=21 August 2024}}</ref>  Retrospekt and Mattel put out the Malibu Barbie FC-11 35 mm camera.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coleman |first1=Timothy |title=Bubblegum pink point-and-shoot film camera unveiled for Barbie fans, complete with matching bag |url=https://www.techradar.com/cameras/compact-cameras/bubblegum-pink-point-and-shoot-film-camera-unveiled-for-barbie-fans-complete-with-matching-bag |website=TechRadar |access-date=26 October 2024 |language=en |date=30 July 2024}}</ref> In September 2024, MiNT Camera took pre-orders for the Rollei 35AF, an update of the Rollei 35.<ref name="Rollei 35AF">{{cite web |last1=Baskin |first1=Dale |title=MiNT Camera opens pre-orders for the Rollei 35AF, a modern twist on a classic camera |url=https://www.dpreview.com/news/1720794401/mint-camera-opens-pre-orders-for-the-rollei-35af |website=DPReview |access-date=26 October 2024}}</ref>  Kodak offered six 35 mm film cameras for sale as of October 2024,<ref name="Kodak products">{{cite web |title=Film Cameras - Kodak |url=https://www.kodak.com/en/consumer/products/cameras/film/ |website=Kodak |access-date=26 October 2024}}</ref> including the Ektar H35N, another half-frame camera.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fisher |first1=Jim |title=Kodak Ektar H35N Review |url=https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/kodak-ektar-h35n |website=PCMag |access-date=26 October 2024 |language=en}}</ref>