Does anyone know the inch equivalents for the old plate sizes?
I would really appreciate a list, but specifically I'm talking about sheets which are approx. 2 3/4" x 4 1/2".
Thanks.
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Does anyone know the inch equivalents for the old plate sizes?
I would really appreciate a list, but specifically I'm talking about sheets which are approx. 2 3/4" x 4 1/2".
Thanks.
American plates from the 19th Century were usually (but not always) as follows
1/9 Plate: 2" x 2 1/2"
1/8 Plate: 2 1/8" x 3 1/4"
1/6 Plate: 2 3/4" x 3 1/4"
1/4 Plate: 3 1/4" x 4 1/4"
1/2 Plate: 4 1/2" x 5 1/2"
4/4 (Whole) Plate: 6 1/2" x 8 1/2"
Note that an English Half Plate measures 4 3/4" x 6 1/2"
19th and early 20th Century print sizes:
Carte de Visite: 3 1/2" x 2 5/16"
Cabinet: 5 5/8" x 4 1/16"
Boudoir: 8" x 5.25"
Panel: 11.5" x 7"
Odd. I thought the half-plate was 6 1/2" x 4 1/4", derived from cutting daguerrean whole plates in half with tin snips...
Yes, you would think that there would be a logic to the sizes, but there isn't...
I should point out that the logic of the sizes is that the plates all keep a ratio of 1:1.3, more or less.
Mark, some British cmera makers, Newman & Guardia being one,, I think, made reference to the also illogical term "Double 1/4 Plate". This was indeed 6 1/2" X 4 1/4".
Your 2 3/4" X 4 1/2" isn't very far from 7 X 11cm. This leads me to suspect that it might be one of the several non-standard sizes offered by Continental makers..
Standard metric sizes, both film and plates (but the films are a fraction smaller), in cm:
6.5x9
9x12
13x18
18x24
24x30
30x40
If you'd like to see a surviving relic of old times, look at the lens specification table on the Congo web site:
www.cosmonet.org/congo/spec_e.htm
Note the column for maximum film size. In addition to the familiar 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10, there are lenses specified for maximum 3x4, 6x8, 10x12, and the curious "Cabinet". The Japanese versioon of the page...
www.cosmonet.org/congo/spec.htm
...actually uses traditional size names for all the obsolete formats. For those who have a browser set to display Japanese text, and who can read Japanese characters, the corresponding entries in that column are as follows:
"tefuda" = quarter-plate (3x4, our 3.25x4.25)
"yatsugiri" = eighth(-cut) or octavo (6x8, our 6.5x8.5)
"yotsugiri" = quarter(-cut) (10x12)
"kabine" = "cabinet" (12x1.5 cm, which is very close to the English half-plate 4.75"x6.5")
I don't know how it was that English half-plate came to be called "cabinet" in Japan. There's probably an interesting story behind it.
Oops, typo: "kabine" = 12x16.5 cm, which maps to the English half-plate as stated.