One of the biggest things film photographers debate is what film style they should shoot. Bouncing back and forth between 35mm like I’ve posted about before on the blog or 120mm. What’s the difference, is one better than the other, and which lifestyle should have which mm.
To the right, you see the two different film rolls that can be shot in film cameras, 120 and 35mm. Between the two, there are some differences other than just the size of the film roll. There are more negatives in a 35mm roll than a 120mm. Along with that, the difference in the size of the camera is very noticeable, but what can that mean for the photographer. 35mm is just an all-around great film to use for just about any situation. They are great for portraits, action shots, and everything in between. Whereas 120mm is used more for still imagery like landscape shots and portraits.
A lot of people hopping into film photography see 120mm as an upgrade from 35mm, but that’s not necessarily the case. 120mm film, is a much larger negative which means there’s more surface for the image to be displayed, giving it a higher resolution. This can give 120mm pictures a nicer look than 35mm. The downside to this is that 120mm cameras are much more expensive than 35mm cameras. If you go on eBay and start looking at the prices between the two, you’ll quickly notice several hundred-dollar differences between the two.
When it comes down to it, it just depends on what kind of photography you’re interested in shooting. Are you more of the running and shooting type that follows the action and needs to be able to shoot a lot of pictures? Or, are you more about portraits and waiting till sunset for the perfect lighting on the mountain? These are just some things you need to consider.
Let me know if any of you have ever used 120mm film instead of 35mm in the comments, I’d love to know if there are things I didn’t mention. If you enjoyed the post let me know by following me, that way you can stay up to date on my posts. For a reference to my post, I’ll post my favorite film photographer’s YouTube video down below.
(65) 35mm VS Medium Format Film (The differences) – YouTube