>>3748856For film, it's literally just the size of the format compared to the optical size your subject occupies on that film (in other words, resolution), and the enlargement ratio. Attached are two seemingly identical images, but they're "shot" on two different film formats. The left is the original 36x24mm frame from the first image, and then I cropped a 36x24mm frame out of the center of the big, smooth, beautiful 8x10 in the same image.
And, guess what? They're functionally the same, as you would expect them to be if you really think about it. There's nothing inherently magical about larger film. You could cut up a sheet of 8x10 and get a bunch of 36x24mm frames. But, you have to enlarge larger film LESS than smaller film to get the same size print, which minimizes the physical appearance of grain, especially in relation to the size of the subject.
