Is 120 film 120mm wide?

No. The 120 name is a historic Kodak product code, not a measurement. The film is about 61mm wide; the frame size depends on your camera.

Does medium format always look better?

For grain and detail at large sizes, yes. But a good 35mm shot beats a poorly exposed medium-format one — technique still matters most.

35mm vs 120: Choosing Your Film Format

The single biggest decision in film photography is not which film to buy — it is which format to shoot. Here is how 35mm and 120 really differ.

Before you pick a film stock, you pick a format. The size of the negative shapes almost everything downstream: how sharp your enlargements are, how much grain you see, how many frames you get per roll, and how much each shot costs. The two formats that dominate film photography today are 35mm and 120 medium format.

What the numbers mean

A 35mm frame measures 24 x 36 mm. A 120 roll is a wider strip of film that, depending on the camera, produces frames of 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9 cm or larger. Even the smallest 6x4.5 negative has roughly three times the surface area of a 35mm frame, and 6x7 has around four and a half times.

Why negative size matters

A larger negative needs less enlargement to reach a given print size. Less enlargement means finer apparent grain, smoother tonal transitions and more resolvable detail. Shoot the same ISO 400 film in 35mm and in 6x7, and the medium-format frame will look dramatically cleaner. This is why medium format is the traditional choice for portraiture, landscape and any work destined for large prints.

Frames per roll and cost

35mm: 36 exposures (sometimes 24) per roll. Lowest cost per frame.
120 at 6x4.5: 16 frames per roll.
120 at 6x6: 12 frames.
120 at 6x7: 10 frames.
120 at 6x9: 8 frames.

Fewer frames per roll plus larger film area make medium format meaningfully more expensive to shoot and to develop and scan. Many photographers describe the slower, more deliberate pace of ten frames per roll as a feature, not a drawback.

Cameras and portability

35mm cameras range from pocketable point-and-shoots to fast, weather-sealed SLRs — light, quick and discreet. Medium-format cameras are larger, heavier and usually slower to operate, though rangefinders and folders can be surprisingly compact. If you value spontaneity and carry-everywhere convenience, 35mm wins; if you value ultimate image quality from a tripod or a studio, 120 rewards the effort.

Which should you choose?

Start on 35mm if you are new to film, shoot handheld, travel light, or want the widest choice of affordable cameras and stocks. Move to 120 when you want cleaner files, bigger prints, or the meditative rhythm of medium format. Many shooters keep both: 35mm for the street and everyday carry, 120 for portraits and landscapes. The good news is that most film stocks — Portra, HP5, Velvia and more — are sold in both formats, so the look you love travels with you.