Re: [Leica] Format units question

[tedgrant@islandnet.com (Ted Grant)]

christoph wrote:

>When people in the US talk about eg. 8x10 or 16x20 pictures, what is the base
>unit? Is it inch or cm?>>>>>>

Hi Christoph,

It has been standard measurement in North America for years to work in
inches, feet, yards and miles.  So it is true we make 8X10 inche prints as
"standard size" So when you see "8X10"  that is inches.

In Canada several years a go our "wise Prime Minister" ( I have my finger
down my thoat thowing-up with the wise word!) decided Canada would switch
to metric.
Cost our country (read tax payers) and still does, milions upon millions of
dollars for the switch.

Now we have the middle age and seniors generally work in inches and the
younger generations working in metric.  However, photo paper is still
bought in the inches size.

My exhibition work has been in 16X20 inch and larger size "30X40 inches."
This is when Leica glass just "shines" illustrating it's wonderful quality.
To  look at BXW's hanging in galleries of the National Art Gallery of
Canada speaks wonders for why I use Leica.

>I just wondered because it sometimes sounds as if you are doing almost all of
>your work in these sizes which seems to me very big if it is inches.>>>>>

 8"X10" is generally accepted as the "standard size" for most work. It is
my understanding that when the 4X5 Speed Graphic and other cameras of that
size came along, *X10 was the perfect size for a full enlargement without
cropping the negative and that was where the print sizes originated.
Probably wrong, but some other LUG will enlighten us with the correct
version. Long answer!

...short answer....we work in inches! :)

ted