8x10

[Dmitri]

Is this standard or something? If so, why are photos 8x12?

 

[c.cloudwalker]

8x10 was a standard film size and a standard paper size. Although 8x10 paper did not make much sense when using 35mm film.

35mm is also known as 24x36 which is a 2:3 format. 8x12 is also a 2:3 format and thus makes a lot more sense.

 

[Dmitri]

That was kind of what I thought. Some people lately made issue of 8x10, so I was wondering if I missed something.

 

[KmH]

The 3 most popular photo aspect ratios are 3:2, 5:4, and 7:5.

An 8x12 is 3:2. So is 4x6, 6x9, 10x15, 12x18, 16x24, 20x30, and 24x36.

5:4 is 4x5, 8x10, and 16x20

7:5 is 2.5x3.5 (wallets), and 5x7.

1:1 is square and panoramics are often done as 2:1, 3:1, etc.

 

[Dwig]

The 3 most popular photo aspect ratios are 3:2, 5:4, and 7:5.

An 8x12 is 3:2. So is 4x6, 6x9, 10x15, 12x18, 16x24, 20x30, and 24x36.

5:4 is 4x5, 8x10, and 16x20

7:5 is 2.5x3.5 (wallets), and 5x7.

1:1 is square and panoramics are often done as 2:1, 3:1, etc.

This list assumes that the prints are borderless. Many of the old standard print sizes evolved around prints with borders. The old 3.5x5 and the 2.5x3.5 sizes work out to 2:3 ratios for the image area when they have the classic 1/4" borders. 5x7 is very close to 2:3 when printed with 1/4" borders, closer than the error in most optical viewfinders.

The classic photo sizes were 2.5x3.5, 3.5x5, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, & 16x20. The 4x6, 8x12, & 16x24 sizes were "modern" additions that were first promoted by Kodak's labs after 35mm became the dominant format and borderless printing became universal (when they dropped the option of printing with borders). Kodak and other labs also offered 7x10 bordered prints for a number of years to fill the need for a roughly 2:3 ratio on 8x10 paper.

Other new formats have arisen with the advent of digital printing. These include the 12x18 (13x19 paper "A4 Super" with 1/2" borders) and 11x17.