# 120 film
**120 film** is a still-photography roll film format, about 61 mm wide, wound on an open spool with an opaque backing paper, that Eastman Kodak introduced in 1901 for its Brownie No. 2 box camera. It remains the standard film for medium format photography more than 120 years later.[1](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120) • [2](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1901 by Kodak, together with the Brownie No. 2 camera, which gave eight exposures of 2-1/4 by 3-1/4 inches per roll[1](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120) |
| Physical form | Film roughly 61 mm wide and typically 76 to 84 cm long on an open spool, protected by opaque backing paper printed with frame numbers[2](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/) |
| Frame counts | 8 frames at 6x9 cm, 12 at 6x6 cm, depending on the camera[3](https://www.elainegriffinphotography.com/uploads/4/9/7/2/49725425/medium_and_large_format_photography_-_moving_beyond_35mm_for_better_pictures.pdf) |
| Standardization | Dimensions governed by ISO 732:2000 (edition 4, published November 2000), confirmed as current in 2025[4](https://www.iso.org/standard/29302.html) |
| Related formats | 620 (1932) uses the same film on a smaller spool; 220 (1965) drops the backing paper for up to twice the exposures[2](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/) |
| Status | Never discontinued; new emulsions are still produced by Kodak, Ilford (Harman), and other manufacturers[1](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120) |
## Origin and the Brownie No. 2
Kodak launched 120 roll film in 1901 together with the Brownie No. 2, a cheap box camera that sold for two dollars and produced eight exposures of 2-1/4 by 3-1/4 inches (about 6 x 9 cm) per roll.[1](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120) • [5](https://www.brownie-camera.com/53.shtml) The film is wound onto a spool with an opaque paper backing, which lets photographers load it in daylight without a darkroom.[1](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120) The number 120 comes from Kodak's internal numbering system for roll film sizes, not from any dimension of the film.[6](https://frameandfocal.com/photography-glossary/medium-format-film-cameras-a-complete-history)
The No. 2 Brownie was the first camera to use the format, and over 2,500,000 were made before 1921.[5](https://www.brownie-camera.com/53.shtml) For the next fifty years 120 remained a standard in snapshot photography, used in a large number of Brownie box cameras and folding Kodaks.[1](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120)
## Physical format and the backing paper
A roll of 120 film is between 76 and 84 cm long and about 61 mm wide, carried on an open spool rather than in a cartridge.[2](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/) The film itself is sandwiched against a length of opaque backing paper, slightly wider than the film, that protects it from light and carries printed frame numbers.[2](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/)
The backing paper is marked with three series of numbers for the common frame counts: 8-on for the nominal 6x9 cm frame, 12-on for 6x6 cm, and 16-on for 6x4.5 cm.[3](https://www.elainegriffinphotography.com/uploads/4/9/7/2/49725425/medium_and_large_format_photography_-_moving_beyond_35mm_for_better_pictures.pdf) In older cameras with a red viewing window, the photographer advanced the film until the next number appeared; almost all modern cameras instead count frames automatically after the start arrow on the backing paper is lined up with a mark inside the camera back.[3](https://www.elainegriffinphotography.com/uploads/4/9/7/2/49725425/medium_and_large_format_photography_-_moving_beyond_35mm_for_better_pictures.pdf)
The dimensions are set by the international standard ISO 732, whose fourth edition, ISO 732:2000, specifies the dimensions of 120-size and 220-size films, the spools common to both, the backing and leader papers, and the paster tape that attaches paper to film.[4](https://www.iso.org/standard/29302.html) The standard limits the backing paper width to a maximum of 62.90 mm and specifies a combined thickness of backing paper, film, and paster tape of 0.40 ± 0.10 mm.[7](https://theiteh.com/catalog/standards/iso/41a3a055-75c1-41c6-9d1a-08b4fbbec6ca/iso-732-2000) ISO 732:2000 was last reviewed and confirmed in 2025, so the specification remains current.[4](https://www.iso.org/standard/29302.html)
## Frame sizes and cameras
Because the photographer can choose where the frame falls along the 6 cm-wide strip, one roll yields different numbers of exposures depending on the camera. The common frame sizes are 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, and 6x9 cm.[1](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120) A Kodak catalog lists 15 exposures of 6 x 4.5 cm on a 120 roll,[8](https://filmcolors.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2003KodakProfessionalCatalog_L9.pdf) and the Pentax 6x7 makes 10 exposures of 6x7 cm per roll.[9](https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/film-cameras/this-oversized-35mm-camera-changed-medium-format-photography-forever-and-photographers-are-still-obsessed-with-the-pentax-6x7-almost-60-years-later) The range of possible image sizes runs from 6 x 4.5 cm up to 6 x 24 cm depending on the camera.[2](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/)
When amateur photographers moved to 35 mm and cartridge films after the 1950s, 120 became the standard medium format film. It was popular in [twin-lens reflex cameras](https://www.edgepedia.org/twin-lens-reflex-camera) and in professional models such as the [Rolleiflex](https://www.edgepedia.org/rolleiflex) and [Hasselblad](https://www.edgepedia.org/hasselblad).[1](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120) The Rolleiflex Standard of 1932, and all later Rolleiflex and Rolleicord cameras apart from the Baby Rollei models, used Kodak 120 film, then also designated B2.[10](https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/film-cameras/how-a-trench-warfare-invention-became-germanys-most-iconic-camera-for-a-whole-generation-of-professional-photographers)
## Related formats: 620 and 220
**620 film**, introduced by Kodak in 1932, uses exactly the same film as 120 wound on a smaller spool.[2](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/) Kodak intended the thinner spool to allow smaller camera bodies.[11](https://library.umbc.edu/cavanaugh/home/lens/kodak-junior/) Because the film itself is identical, 120 film can be re-spooled onto 620 spools at home or commercially for use in the many Kodak folding and box cameras made for 620.[12](https://ksccc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-renaissance-of-film-photography-ksccc-feb-7-2025.pdf) Kodak discontinued 620 in 1995.[13](https://www.italianfilmphotography.it/en/roll-film-formats/)
**220 film**, introduced in 1965, is the same width as 120 but carries no backing paper behind the film, only leader and trailer paper, so a roll holds up to twice the number of exposures.[2](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/) ISO 732:2000 covers both sizes and the spools they share.[4](https://www.iso.org/standard/29302.html)
## Image quality compared with 35 mm
The larger negative is the format's principal advantage. A 6x6 cm negative has roughly three and a half times the area of a 35 mm frame, and a 6x9 cm negative about six times.[14](https://neptunephoto.com/blog/35mm-vs-120-medium-format-film) Because the same emulsions are coated in both sizes, grain structure is identical, but the larger negative needs less enlargement for a given print size, so grain and tonal gradation work in the photographer's favor.[15](https://metergeist.com/learn/14-120-film) The trade-offs are larger, heavier cameras and fewer exposures per roll.[16](https://blurryframes.com/articles/35mm-vs-120-film)
## Continuing use
120 was the most popular film format in the 1960s and, despite being superseded by 135 film for casual use, is still shot by professionals and amateur enthusiasts.[2](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/) It has never been discontinued, and new 120 emulsions continue to be produced by Kodak, Ilford (Harman), and other companies.[1](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120) Processing is straightforward at most labs, since 35 mm and 120 are the two roll formats labs handle routinely.[17](https://www.vintagecamerahut.com/blogs/vintage-camera-hut-blog/kodak-film-formats-explained-35mm-120-620-127-and-126)
## References
1. [Kodak Cameras using film type 120, The Kodak Camera List](https://www.kodaklist.com/film/120)
2. [120 film (1901– ), Museum of Obsolete Media](https://obsoletemedia.org/120-film/)
3. [Medium and Large Format Photography: Moving Beyond 35mm for Better Pictures](https://www.elainegriffinphotography.com/uploads/4/9/7/2/49725425/medium_and_large_format_photography_-_moving_beyond_35mm_for_better_pictures.pdf)
4. [ISO 732:2000, Photography — 120-size and 220-size films — Dimensions, ISO](https://www.iso.org/standard/29302.html)
5. [Kodak No.2 Brownie Camera Information, The Brownie Camera Page](https://www.brownie-camera.com/53.shtml)
6. [Medium Format Film Cameras: A Complete Technical History, Frame & Focal](https://frameandfocal.com/photography-glossary/medium-format-film-cameras-a-complete-history)
7. [ISO 732:2000 standard preview (dimensions of 120-size film and backing paper), iTeh](https://theiteh.com/catalog/standards/iso/41a3a055-75c1-41c6-9d1a-08b4fbbec6ca/iso-732-2000)
8. [Kodak Professional Film Catalog (2003)](https://filmcolors.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2003KodakProfessionalCatalog_L9.pdf)
9. [This oversized 35mm camera changed medium format photography forever, Digital Camera World](https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/film-cameras/this-oversized-35mm-camera-changed-medium-format-photography-forever-and-photographers-are-still-obsessed-with-the-pentax-6x7-almost-60-years-later)
10. [How a trench warfare invention became Germany's most iconic camera, Digital Camera World](https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/film-cameras/how-a-trench-warfare-invention-became-germanys-most-iconic-camera-for-a-whole-generation-of-professional-photographers)
11. [Kodak Junior Six 20 c.1935-1937, William B. Cavanaugh Collection, UMBC](https://library.umbc.edu/cavanaugh/home/lens/kodak-junior/)
12. [The Renaissance of Film Photography, KSCCC](https://ksccc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-renaissance-of-film-photography-ksccc-feb-7-2025.pdf)
13. [Roll film formats, Italian Film Photography](https://www.italianfilmphotography.it/en/roll-film-formats/)
14. [35mm vs 120 Medium Format Film — What's the Difference?, Neptune Photo](https://neptunephoto.com/blog/35mm-vs-120-medium-format-film)
15. [120 Film — The Medium Format Advantage, Metergeist](https://metergeist.com/learn/14-120-film)
16. [35mm vs 120 Film: What's the Difference?, Blurry Frames](https://blurryframes.com/articles/35mm-vs-120-film)
17. [Kodak Film Formats Explained: 35mm, 120, 620, 127 and 126, Vintage Camera Hut](https://www.vintagecamerahut.com/blogs/vintage-camera-hut-blog/kodak-film-formats-explained-35mm-120-620-127-and-126)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Communications and everyday technology › Phonographic and magnetic recording media › Record formats › Record format generations — overview*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license