Who Decided 35mm Film Comes in 24 or 36 Exposures?
Leica set the standard and Kodak introduced it as a 135 cartridge. Barnack set the 36 exposure standard somewhat arbitrarily; as mentioned earlier 36 exposures is ~5 feet. Remember, the Leica was originally conceived in 1914 as an instrument to batch test movie film and not as the popular camera we know now. Apparently, five feet was a good length to test. As I recall the Leica later became commercially available as a camera in 1925. Kodak introduced the 135 cartridge with the original Retina in 1934. Until that time the cartridges (usually brass) were handloaded, either from bulk or 36 exposure “handload” strips with a paper leader attached. 36 exposures became the standard, 18 was offered in 1939 and after WWII the film industry settled on 20 and 36 until much later when 20 became 24.
