Film is analog so there are no real "pixels." However, based on converted measures, a 35mm frame has 3 to 12 million pixels, depending on the stock, lens, and shooting conditions. An HD frame has 2 million pixels, measured using 1920 x 1080 scan lines. With this difference, 35mm appears vastly superior to HD.
Therefore film (Fig. 2) can resolve about 4000-6500 pixels per inch. A piece of 35 mm film is about 1.5 inches in width, so it can contain about 6000 - 9750 pixels along its length. It is about 1 inch in height and this dimension can handle between 4000 - 6500 pixels.
Old movies were shot on either 35mm or 70mm film reel. These reels were analogue. Analogue gives you the ability to go back to it and 'transfer' it to what ever technology is available at the time.
Thirty-five-millimeter film has a digital resolution equivalent to approximately 5.6K — a digital image size of about 5,600 × 3,620 pixels. The finite resolution of film will fluctuate, based on multiple variables (see list below). A film's image quality depends on its "grain".
Film is analog so there are no real "pixels." However, based on converted measures, a 35mm frame has 3 to 12 million pixels, depending on the stock, lens, and shooting conditions. An HD frame has 2 million pixels, measured using 1920 x 1080 scan lines. With this difference, 35mm appears vastly superior to HD.
Around The World in 1896 Colorized (4K 60fps) New York, London, Jerusalem, Paris ++
Is 70mm film better than 4K?
70mm has a higher resolution than both 35mm and 4K DCP. It captures a bigger, brighter picture, complete with a broader color range and detailed, vibrant visuals. However, by the mid-'90s, showing films in 70mm began to die down, years before showing films on 35mm began to die down.
When done well, 4K can bring out the best in viewers' favorite films while preserving their original look. Not all accomplish this though, as some make the older film look just a bit too glossy and modern (removing the specific feeling of watching a certain movie).
Theaters began projecting movies at 4K resolution in 2011. Sony was offering 4K projectors as early as 2004. The first 4K home theater projector was released by Sony in 2012. Despite this, there's not many finished films with 4K resolution as of 2023.
That's because very little light hit the light-sensitive silver crystals, so the smaller unexposed crystals wash off the film in processing while the bigger crystals remain. If you dramatically overexpose your film, you will also start seeing more grain in the highlights and midtones of your image.
Many early films used microphones that were less sensitive and had a shorter range, which meant that actors projected their voices more and spoke with clearer diction to ensure that their dialog was captured effectively. This may have resulted in more pronounced and articulate delivery.
Because the definition of 35mm film - which was the industry standard for decades - is potentially much higher than HD video. HD video has up to 2 million pixels per frame; 35mm film has the equivalent of 3-12 million pixels.
35 mm translates to 4-16 megapixels depending on the film quality. These 16 megapixels (if the movie was shot on a good film) translates into 4920 x 3264 and it's about 5K in modern digital equivalents. Yeap, the old movies shot many years ago have approximately 4-5K of modern quality.
In digital cinema, resolutions are represented by the horizontal pixel count, usually 2K (2048×1080 or 2.2 megapixels) or 4K (4096×2160 or 8.8 megapixels). The 2K and 4K resolutions used in digital cinema projection are often referred to as DCI 2K and DCI 4K.
The Blu-Ray has an HD picture commonly referred to as 1080p. This means that there are 1080 horizontal lines that make up the picture in comparison to the traditional 576 lines that are used on a standard-definition DVD. The added resolution allows the images to look sharper and more realistic.
Hence, while the 2160p resolution is 4K, it is essential to understand that "4K" and "2160p" focus on different aspects of the display resolution. "4K" emphasizes the horizontal resolution, while "2160p" highlights the vertical resolution.
Back in 2019, executive director of the 8K Association, Chris Chinnock, cast doubt on the possibility of 8K Blu-rays ever happening. He said there was "a low probability" that physical 8K discs would be developed, and that was four years ago; not much has changed since then.
They also are a reminder of the past and life at the time. For many people, old movies are a beautiful reminder of a time when things were simpler. These movies don't rely as much on technology to wow and shock the viewer, the story lines are clear and straighter forward, their plots simpler.
Because it's twice as large as 35mm, films in 70mm would often be in very wide formats and because you're shooting on larger negatives you get a bigger, brighter, and more detailed and vivid picture.
15/70mm refers to the physical characteristics of the film reel. The 15 indicates the number of perforations along the edge of the film and 70mm is the height. This full frame IMAX format produces images up to 18k resolution, far superior to the 4k images seen in most digital cinemas.
For a beginner, we would recommend starting with a 1080p, since jumping straight into 4K might be overwhelming when it comes to the heavy workflow and storage space. Can you have the best of both worlds? Yes you can! Many video creators will start shooting with 4K and edit and upload in 1080p.
