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so this evening i thought i would write a bit about 16mm and the literal poster girl of #undeadformatweek, the yashica Y16. you may have seen the recent news that the scamera outfit currently using the yashica name is planning a digicam 'inspired by' it, but this is the real deal! (photo: submin)

🦇bat-ilda jay

@wavesounds.bsky.social

in truth, 16mm is more a film width than a format. 110 is 16mm, but before it took over the subminiature niche there were a number of different companies offering their own 16mm formats, minolta, mamiya, yashica, rollei. many were marketed as spy cameras, though i doubt they saw such use often

26/10/26, 10:37 pm0 reposts5 likes

🦇bat-ilda jay

@wavesounds.bsky.social

15h

early models mostly took 8x10mm negatives, later minoltas (generally the most successful in 16mm) and the rollei shot 12x17mm, very nearly as large as a 110 frame. shooting 16mm still photos in 2026 is fairly uncomplicated, you will need to source 16mm cine film, and the appropriate cartridges

🦇bat-ilda jay

@wavesounds.bsky.social

15h

some of the cartridges may be suitable for 3d printing, others will not be. the Y16 cartridges in particular are complicated and fiddly, since it contains the entire film transport system. the later yashica model adopted the minolta catridge