Film gauges

There have been many film gauges and formats used to expose and project moving images. Identification of the gauge and format can help date the film for archival purposes.

The 35mm motion picture film gauge is now over one hundred years old with many others added along the way. The following is an historical listing of motion picture film gauges and bases:

1888 to 1910

Year	Name	Film Width, perforation location	Support type	Inventor or manufacturer
1888	Chrono- photographe	90mm x 2m		Marey
1891	Kinetograph Kinetoscope	4perf/frame 35mm x 15m		T.A.Edison&W.K.L.Dickson
1898	Lumiere Wide	8perf/frame 75mm	nitrate	Louis Lumiere
1898	Birtac	17.5mm perf. along one side	nitrate	B.Acres (London)
1900?	Biokam	17.5mm perf. in center	nitrate	Warwick Trading Co. (London)
1900	Mirographe	21mm notched on each edge	nitrate	Reulos, Goudeau&Co. (Paris)
1900?	La Petite	1perf 17.5mm 1 sq.perf. in center	nitrate	Hughes (London)
1900	Pocket-Chrono	1perf 15mm center perforation	nitrate	L.Gaumont&Co.(Paris)
1902	Vitak	1perf 17.5mm center perforation	nitrate	W.Wardell (a mail order project)
1903	Kino	1perf 17.5mm center perforation	nitrate	Ernemann (Dresden)
1905?	Ikonograph first projector that could reverse the movement of the film	17.5mm	nitrate	E.J.Rector (New York) (Ikonograph Commercial Co. of Manhattan, N.Y.)

1910 to 1920

Year	Name	Film Width, perforation location	Support type	Inventor or manufacturer
1910	Empire Cinematograph	35mm	nitrate	W.Butcher&Son Ltd.(London)
1910	Picturescope	35mm with 2 rows of images	nitrate	Chas.E.Dressler (N.Y.)
1910	Animatograph	spiral film	nitrate disk	A.F.Victor (Davenport, Iowa)
1912	Duoscope	17.5mm with 2 cnter perf.	nitrate	A.F.Victor
1912	Pathe K-O-K In France	28mm, 3 perf. on 1 edge; 1perf. on other.	safety	Pathe Freres (Paris)
1912	Home Kineto-scope	22mm 3 rows of image; perf.between rows	safety	Thomas A. Edison Inc.(Orange, N.J.)
1913	Pathescope	28mm as for	safety	Pathescope Co. in U.S.Pathe K-O-K (N.Y)
1913	Spirograph	Images on circular film disk in spiral order	nitrate	Charles Urban Trading Co., Ltd (London)
1914	Atlas	35mm	nitrate	Atlas Educational Film Co. (Chicago)
1914	Animatograph	35mm	nitrate	Victor Animatograph Co. (Davenport Iowa)
1914	Ensign Cinematograph	35mm	nitrate	Houghton’s Ltd.(London)
1915	Animatograph (Model 2)	35mm	nitrate	Victor Animatograph
1915	Sinemat	17.5mm	safety	Sinemat Motion Picture Machine Co.
1915-1916?	Autograph	17.5mm	nitrate?
1915-1916?	Duplex	11mm, 2round perf. on each edge	nitrate?	G.J.Bradley
1916-1917	DeVry	35mm	nitrate	H.DeVry Co. (Chicago)
1917	Victor	35mm	nitrate	Victor Animatograph Projector
1917	Safety Cinema	3perf 28mm, on each edge	safety	A.F.Victor, Victor Victor Animatograph
1917	Movette	17.5mm, 2round perf. each edge	nitrate neg.safety pos.	Movette Camera Co. (Rochester, N.Y.)
1917	Simplex	35mm	nitrate	Simplex Corp.(Long Island, N.Y.)
1917	Cub	35mm	nitrate	American Cinematograph Corp. (Chicago)
1918	Actograph	17.5mm	nitrate	Wilart Instrument Co.(New Rochelle N.Y.)

Post 1920

Year	Name	Film Width, perforation location	Support type	Inventor or manufacturer
1920	Home Cinema Pathescope	28mm	safety	Victor Animatograph
1920	Clou	2perf 17.5mm	nitrate	Firm name unknown (Austria)
1920	Sept.	17ft of 35mm motion pictures or 250 still frames	nitrate	A.Debrie (France)
1921	Coco	17.5mm	nitrate	Linhof (Munich)
1921	Defranne	35mm	nitrate	Bass Camera Co.(Chicago)
1921	Kinamo	35mm	nitrate	Ica, A.G. (Dresden)
1922-1923	Pathe-Baby or Pathex	9.5mm,1 center perf between frames	safety, (dev. to pos. by reversal)	Pathe Cinema (Paris)
1923	Baby Standard	35mm	nitrate	Vicam Photo Appliance Corp. (Philadelphia)
1923	Cine-Kodak	1perf 16mm	safety, dev. by controlled reversal	Eastman Kodak Co. (Rochester, N.Y.)
1923	Victor	1perf 16mm	safety	Victor Animatograph
1923-1924	Filmo	16mm	safety	Bell&Howell Co
1926	Pathe Rural	1perf 17.5mm	safety	Pathe
1928	Kodak Lenticular Colour	16mm	safety	Eastman Kodak Co.
1929	Grandeur	4perf 70mm	safety	20th Century Fox
1930	Vitascope	5perf 65mm	nitrate	Warner Brothers
1932	Standard 8mm	1perf 16mm split to 8mm	safety	Kodak
1932	Academy	4perf 35mm	nitrate	Academy of Motion Picture Arts&Sciences
1934	Dufaycolor	16mm, 9.5mm, std8mm	safety	Dufay
1935	Kodachrome (early system)	16mm, st8mm	safety	Eastman Kodak Co.
1936	Agfacolor	16mm	safety	Agfa-gaevart
1944	Kodachrome (later system)	16mm, st8mm	safety	Eastman Kodak Co.
1950	Kodacolor	16mm	safety	Eastman Kodak Co.
1953	CinemaScope	4perf 35mm	safety	20th Century Fox
1954	Vistavision	8perf 35mm horizontal	safety	Paramount
1954	Kodak Tri-X (B&W film)	16mm	safety	Eastman Kodak Co
1955	Todd-AO	5perf 65mm	safety	Michael Todd / American Optical Co.
1958	Ektachrome	16mm	safety	Eastman Kodak Co.
1959	Panavision	4perf 35mm	safety	Panavision
1960	Cine System 3	1perf 3mm	safety	USAF
1965	Super 8	1perf 8mm	safety	Eastman Kodak Co.
1966?	Fuji	Single 8mm	polyester	Fuji
1970	Super16	1perf 16mm	safety	Eastman Kodak
1970	IMAX	15perf 65mm horizontal	safety	IMAX Corporation
1971	Todd-AO 35	4perf 35mm	safety	Todd-AO
1973	OMNIMAX	15perf 65mm horizontal	safety	IMAX Corporation

For a more detailed look at this subject please refer to Film Identification by Examination of Film Copies by Harold Brown for FIAF.

References

Happe, L. B., 1983, Your Film and the Lab, 2nd Edition, Media Manuals, Focal Press, London, Boston