Origin of the 6x7 format?

Archlich · Jan 24, 2017

It's a question that made me wonder as there seems to be no 6x7 camera among the prewar classics.

The earliest 6x7 camera I could find is the 1954 Simmons Omega 120, the precursor to the Koni-Omega series rangefinders. I found phrases in the Omega brochure proclaiming the 6x7 to be, as we all came to know it later, "the ideal format". So did Omega effectively invent the format with the Omega 120? It wouldn't be strange considering Omega's primary enlarger business.

ic-racer · Jan 24, 2017

Proportions are closer to 8x10 sheet film and 4x5 sheet film than 6x6 or 6x9. Depending on one's camera viewfinder, the proportions might be very close indeed. For example my Horseman viewfinder shows 6.8cm by 5.7cm.

macfred · Jan 24, 2017

KenRockwell.com said:
"Ideal Format" was coined by a marketeer during the great medium format wars of the 1960s and 70s. It refers to the fact that you can pull an 8 x 10, 11 x 14 or 16 x 20" etc. print with almost exact cropping without losing any of the film image. By comparison, Ansel had to crop off some of the top and bottom from his 6 x 6 images to print an 8 x 10, and likewise folks using 6 x 9 have to crop off some of the sides.

AgX · Jan 24, 2017

I thought it originates from Linhof. If so, it can't be much earlier than the Omega

Dan Fromm · Jan 24, 2017

AgX said:
I thought it originates from Linhof. If so, it can't be much earlier than the Omega

Everything was invented in Germany, but everything was invented first in Russia.

removed account4 · Jan 24, 2017

not sure who invented the format or why,
but it seems to be awfully close to "1/6 plate-size"
so maybe 1/6 plate and 1/4 plate were sweet spots
that a ton of folders, box cameras &c were, and
it enlarged well on 3x5 and 4x6 paper.

moto-uno · Jan 25, 2017

^^ Okay Dan , now you've got my curiosity up with that remark ! Peter

AgX · Jan 25, 2017

jnanian said:
...but it seems to be awfully close to "1/6 plate-size"
so maybe 1/6 plate and 1/4 plate were sweet spots, that a ton of folders, box cameras &c were, and
it enlarged well on 3x5 and 4x6 paper.

The formats of photographic paper is the only argument published in Germany. (There were no historic cameras of that ratio in use.)

Dan Fromm · Jan 25, 2017

moto-uno said:
^^ Okay Dan , now you've got my curiosity up with that remark ! Peter

(1) I was teasing AgX.
(2) In the days of the cold war, Soviet Union propagandists insisted that everything used in the west had been invented in Russia.

Soeren · Jan 25, 2017

Dan Fromm said:
(1) I was teasing AgX.
(2) In the days of the cold war, Soviet Union propagandists insisted that everything used in the west had been invented in Russia.

By Donald Trump offcource

removed account4 · Jan 25, 2017

Dan Fromm said:
(1) I was teasing AgX.
(2) In the days of the cold war, Soviet Union propagandists insisted that everything used in the west had been invented in Russia.

i've heard the same comments from people from other non-soviet countries, even within the past few years ..
for example every language, ancient or modern is based on xyz language ( their mother tongue ) and if
you understand xyz language you fluent in every language, or that lenses/optics &c were invented by them,
when they had never lived where the optics were un-earthed &c ...
its good to read that all roads still lead to rome, where indoor plumbing and lead pipes paved the way to
daguerreotypes and the 6x7 format !

removed account4 · Jan 25, 2017

AgX said:
The formats of photographic paper is the only argument published in Germany. (There were no historic cameras of that ratio in use.)

YES !
but it was rome, wasn't it ?

Origin of the 6x7 format?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency