126 Film Format

The film originally designated as 126 film was a roll film introduced by Kodak in 1906. It produced images 4.25" x 6.5". It was discontinued in 1949. In 1963 Kodak introduced a new type of film cased in a plastic cartridge, with the 126 name. The width of the film is the same as 35mm but it has only one registration hole per image.

The cartridge is made up of two spools encased in plastic. The film was available in 12 or 24 image lengths. Today it is only available in 24 picture rolls. When all the pictures are taken, there is no need to rewind the film.

This is the 126 "Instamatic" Slide. The cardboard "holder" is 2" x 2".
The Film size is approx. 1 1/16" square.

The term "126" was intended to show that images were 26mm square, using Kodak's common 1xx film numbering system. However the image size is actually 28 x 28 mm, but usually reduced to approximately 26.5 x 26.5 mm by masking during printing or mounting.

The positioning of the image is fixed by the cartridge. The width of the film is the same as, but the perforation consists of just one registration hole per image.