120 roll film
1901 (Brownie No. 2)
A roll of film about 6 cm wide on a spool with paper backing, introduced for the Brownie No. 2. It became the medium format and is still made today.
How it began
Kodak introduced 120 film in 1901 for its Brownie No. 2 box camera. It was one of many roll-film sizes of the time, each tied to particular cameras, and most of the others died out.
How it works
The film is rolled on a spool together with a longer strip of opaque paper. Frame numbers are printed on the back of the paper, and on simple cameras the photographer winds until the next number appears in a small red window. Different cameras divide the roll into frames of 6×4.5, 6×6, 6×7 or 6×9 cm.
Why it mattered
Its negatives are three to four times the area of 35mm, so they enlarge with finer grain. After the Rolleiflex and the Hasselblad, 120 became the professional medium format for portraits, fashion and landscape.
Limits and what replaced it
A roll gives only 8 to 16 shots. Digital medium-format backs and cameras took over professional work, but 120 is still made and is popular again with film photographers.
Today
The oldest film format still in production; used in medium-format cameras from Holgas to Hasselblads.