Why is it, that only disposable 35mm cameras offer 27exposures? I’ve seen some advertised as containing 24exposures, plus three BONUS exposures.
If I’m buying a roll of film to go into my SLR, I can only find 35mm film in 12, 24 or 36 exposures, but not 27.
Just a WAG put maybe the film in the disposables is what you’d get on a 24 exposure film.
I often find that I can get a couple of extra photos on a 24 film depending how my camera winds it … perhaps because the film comes with the camera it doesn’t need a ‘lead in’ section can get 27 photos on a standard 24 length film.
I could be hopelessly wrong of course …
SD
35mm film also comes in 100ft spools in a can. You can then load it into your camera in any length you want.
Grizz- The 24-exposure rolls do give you a couple extra pictures notmally. My rolls of 36 normally shoot 38 pix, and I could swear that most of my 24-exposure rolls hit 27. I’ve only used 36-exposure rolls for the last 5-7 years, so I may be misremembering. Why do you want a roll of precisely 27, anyway? If you’re concerned, get a roll of 36. I see no reason to use 24 or 12 exposure rolls.
I think SpaceDog’s about the “lead-in” is probably right. I can usually squeeze an extra frame from my manual Nikon FM2 than I can with my autowinding F5. That’s because with the FM2 I advance the film slightly less than the F5 automatically does when you load the film.
I neither need nor want specifically 27exposures to put into my SLR.
Just wondering why the difference exists.
SpaceDog and Pulykamell are right. You lose two, three or even four pics when you load and prep your film. Since “throw away” cameras are loaded in darkroom conditions you don’t get that. If you loaded all your film in darkness you would get the extra frames too.
The film is measured and rolled by machine (even the film in disposables) so it is all the same length.
If you ever watch professional photographers (who still use film as opposed to digital images), they “burn” three to four of the first shots on a roll by shooting at the ground, a downs marker, scoreboard or a cheerleader’s bottom to make sure none have been exposed by loading.
ticker is also correct and if you are concerned about losing those pics (or the money) a good way of countering this is to get bulk film and load your own. Most newspapers who still use film do this and find it saves a great deal of money.
I can usually get 1 or 2 extra shots on a roll of 24, and 2 or 3 extra shots on a roll of 36. Dunno how some folks are getting 3 extra shots on a roll of 24, myself.
IIRC, from my film processing days, some brand’s negatives (Kodak, I think, but possibly Fuji) were marked all the way to number 27 in the disposable cameras, but other brands appeared to be standard rolls that were being maximized. But I don’t remember if a #'d to 27 roll was longer than the others.
BTW, the film cannisters are different in disposables (outside winding spool, or whatever its called), so there is some difference in their production.
You can get 27-exposure film from Mystic Color Labs. In fact, they don’t sell 24-exposure rolls, just 27.
So other film manufacturers shouldn’t have any problem making 27-exposure rolls, either. Probably it’s a matter of tradition and $.
I always get 27 exposures with a 24 exposure roll of film. 
Kodak 35mm is numbered from 00 to 25. If you don’t burn any frames loading, you’ll get 27 shots, but usually you throw away the first few frames to get it started on the takeup spool. One-use cameras, being preloaded (and APS, since they load automatically), start on the first frame.
Actually, disposable cameras are loaded with the film already pulled out of the cassette; as you take pictures and advance the film, you’re winding it into the cassette. (Ever realize that you never have to ‘rewind’ the film in a disposable?
This is done so if the camera is dropped and breaks open, the frames you’ve already exposed won’t be lost.
Thus, because this is done in darkroom conditions, as someone has pointed out, you can shoot all the available film.
In the past, I’ve loaded my SLR in a blackout room; best I got was 38 1/2 frames. Hardly worth the trouble. Film is cheap enough that I’ll just load extra rolls…
If you have a camera that automatically loads the film (you pull the film leader to the orange mark, close the back, and the camera takes care of the rest), you can generally get a few of those extra frames. I have a little Olympus Stylus that regularly gets about 26 pictures for a roll of 24.
I’m sure that they market this as “24-exposure” film because they don’t know what kind of camera you have. If you have an old camera and load it in the light, you’ll get about 24 exposures, and you’ll be happy. If you have a newer one, you might get a few bonus shots and be really happy. This is preferable to the alternative–people with older cameras feeling ripped-off and sending flame mail to Kodak.
They found an advantage to their darkroom-loaded disposable cameras, and they are milking it for a marketing edge.