The half-frame format, which is making a comeback with the resurging interest in film photography and the launch of the Pentax 17 35mm half-frame film camera, is an interesting and creative format to work with. The format, also known as the portrait format, measures 3 units in width against 4 units in height (3:4) and became popular when Olympus PEN half-frame film cameras began to be sold in 1959. On film, the image frame is 18x24mm, half the size of the standard 35mm film frame, which is 24x36mm. This cost-effective design fits 72 images on a standard 36-frame film roll.
The frame is equally adaptable to the digital genre where later model digital cameras are already fitted with this image frame setting feature, and on mobiles, where the format is almost the standard for sharing photos on social media platforms. For the casual user, the format which is nearly a square with an elongated height, might be a challenge as it does not conform to the standard width and height of the 3:2 image aspect. Image composition might take a new meaning and adaptability of subject matters might also be a concern.
The strongest suit for the 3:4 image aspect is for portraiture, and subjects with strong vertical orientations, such as tall buildings in the urban scape, waterfalls, and vertical landscape features. The format, however, is just as well adaptable for still-life, close-ups, or everyday general shots where image cropping is kept tight. The format is also favored for large art prints and vertical wildlife images.
Emulated on the half-frame format here are images shot with an Olympus PEN E-PM2, a mirrorless digital with the smallest footprint when it was launched in 2012, mounted with an M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm 1:3.5~5.6 EZ lens. With the lens focal length set to 19mm (equivalent to 38mm on the full frame), image framing should be almost identical to the Pentax 17. Colors and image characteristics are, of course, from two different worlds.
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