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Thread: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

  1. #51
    tim atherton's Avatar
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    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    Quote Originally Posted by Darren Kilgore View Post
    Because we use the length by width (by height by depth) formula sequence. Measurements listed will always be in that order, film or otherwise.
    As i recall, Brits (and Aussies) also say, for example, "use a 4x2 plank of wood" (not a 2x4 as in Canada and the US)

    4x2 also being and insult...
    You'd be amazed how small the demand is for pictures of trees... - Fred Astaire to Audrey Hepburn

    www.photo-muse.blogspot.com blog

  2. #52

    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    Quote Originally Posted by tim atherton View Post
    As i recall, Brits (and Aussies) also say, for example, "use a 4x2 plank of wood" (not a 2x4 as in Canada and the US)

    4x2 also being and insult...
    Woods gone metric, its 10x5 now

  3. #53

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    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    It is a convention when specifying material sizes in the engineering and construction industries, to quote the dimesions in sorted order, largest dimension first and (eg. a piece of wood 32x3x2). The practice of quoting paper and film sizes could possibly follow from that, depending on the preferences of those involved in the early days of photography.

  4. #54
    grumpy & miserable Joseph O'Neil's Avatar
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    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    Quote Originally Posted by tim atherton View Post
    As i recall, Brits (and Aussies) also say, for example, "use a 4x2 plank of wood" (not a 2x4 as in Canada and the US)
    4x2 also being and insult...
    Ah, but in Canada, the phrase "2x4" is easily mistaken anymore for the term "two four", which is a reference for both a case of beer and the holiday weekend to spend totally and senselessly drunk on the beach.
    eta gosha maaba, aaniish gaa zhiwebiziyin ?

  5. #55
    grumpy & miserable Joseph O'Neil's Avatar
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    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    Quote Originally Posted by Van Camper View Post
    Size matters. If a stranger heard you talking, and didn't know what it was about, I certainly would rather say it is 5" by 4" (but to play it safe stick to 10x8 formats with women around). Obviously a Brit problem.
    ... so in the UK they prefer width while in the USA they prefer length......some social scientist working on their doctorate thesis could have a field day with the Freudian implications of that finding...
    eta gosha maaba, aaniish gaa zhiwebiziyin ?

  6. #56
    Andrew Moxom
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    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    now ask someone in England what a 4x2 means :-)

  7. #57
    tim atherton's Avatar
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    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    a thick plank... :-)
    You'd be amazed how small the demand is for pictures of trees... - Fred Astaire to Audrey Hepburn

    www.photo-muse.blogspot.com blog

  8. #58
    Virtually Grey Steve Gledhill's Avatar
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    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    My theory - which I've held for years - is that it's to do with our accents. We Brits tend not to extend our syllables - especially at the end of words, but not so in the US. 5x4 is short and clipped - and British - and the 4 doesn't lend itself to being drawn out. Unlike 5 which which can readily be extended to suit an American accent. So it's "5 bi 4" for the Brits and "4 biiii fiiiive" in the US. So it's done to suit our accents ...

  9. #59

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    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    So... is it a 5x7 or 7x5?

  10. #60

    Re: Why do the Brits say 10x8 and 5x4?

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Gledhill View Post
    My theory - which I've held for years - is that it's to do with our accents. We Brits tend not to extend our syllables - especially at the end of words, but not so in the US. 5x4 is short and clipped - and British - and the 4 doesn't lend itself to being drawn out. Unlike 5 which which can readily be extended to suit an American accent. So it's "5 bi 4" for the Brits and "4 biiii fiiiive" in the US. So it's done to suit our accents ...
    Evesham? If you've been drinking in that cider house in Elmley Castle, then there's no telling how you would pronounce 5x4

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