Holga 120 S Camera

Rating:
Summary: Get a Holga yourself!
Review: Let's cut to the chase: A Holga really is a piece of [junk]. It weighs next to nothing, even when loaded with 120 film. Mostly plastic, including its "optical" lens, and with cheap metal sliding clasps on the side to (maybe) keep the back on, the camera won't win any prizes for sturdiness or durability. In other words, a Hasselblad it ain't. It's also about 1/100th the price of a Hassie system, and therein lies part of the Holga's charm.

There are other drawbacks to this plastic wonder, though. The viewfinder is so far off to the left side that it gives merely a rough approximation of what that cheesy wide angle lens is actually shooting. The camera needs a lot of light - due to apertures of about f.8 -f.11 (a "sunny" and "cloudy" slider on the lens mount) and a shutter that's around 1/100th of a second - and even then images go black at the corners of a square frame. Therefore, shooting 400 ISO film most of the time is a must. (Throw out the plastic 645 insert - you won't get the classic Holga effects described hence with the insert. Just remember to slide the counter tab on the camera's back from 16 to 12 , or you'll end up with one heck of a panorama shot.) The Holga's simple, fantastic plastic lens creates a sharp center image that blurs out until the edges are ever so less than crisp. And did I mention that the camera is manual wind, with a shutter that will create surprise double exposures if the shooter forgets to crank the film to the next frame? Yup, it does that and leaks light, too, and sometimes doesn't wind the film tightly enough around the spool so that light leaks happen even after a roll is shot. All this for $[money] U.S. (I won't go into the extra "enhancements" provided by the super deluxe flash model...)

By now, you're probably wondering why on Earth - or any other part of the Universe, for that matter - would one bother with such a cheap piece of junk. Good question. The answer, of course, it that a properly housebroken Holga will produce magical images unattainable from just about every other medium format camera. The vignetting and soft focus go a long way toward producing a dreamy, otherworldly quality, especially in black & white work, that's the very essence of Holga photography. Portraits, especially, are wonderful when shot with a Holga. Once tamed - with lots of black photo tape on the edges to seal up the leaks and keep the back on (rubber bands optional) and small bits of cardboard gently wedged under the spools to keep the film winding tightly - a Holga is easy to use. Since it's pretty much a pinhole camera, focusing the lens with its handy distance symbols isn't really necessary. Just wind, aim and click the shutter, then be sure to wind to the next frame to avoid that double exposure mentioned above. The hotshoe will accept a nice flash unit, all the better to provide fill on a sunny day. Buy more than one Holga, too. They're sure inexpensive enough. And Holgas are like children - no two are ever exactly the same - plus, unlike your kids, you can throw a few of them in a backpack, then take off for a day of spontaneous, creative shooting.

So, the word on these puppies is: Holgas are fun. They're unique. They're wonderfully creative tools for the patient shutterbug who takes the time to learn the camera's considerable quirks and who enjoys exploring the unknown, which in this case is every finished roll that comes out of the Holga in the first place. Holgas aren't for everybody, but in the right conditions, there's no other camera I'd want to use. And the real lowdown is, I'm too cheap to shell out the megabucks for a top notch medium format system. Then again, why should I when I can have my Holgas by the dozen, and save myself the hernia from lugging around all that highfalutin' Hassie gear anyway? Try a Holga. You might - just might - be glad you did. Just don't forget the black photo tape...

Rating:
Summary: Get a Holga yourself!
Review: This is as close to you get to a disposable medium format camera. If you want to get into medium format photography, I'd reccommend getting a HOLGA first. It won't produce crisp images by any means, oh no. But there's a soft focus to the images that it produces that is very compelling. For those of you that don't know, it takes 120 roll film, which produces a 2 1/4" square negative. Square format photography puts a different perspective on things. Anyway, ... I'd recommend trying it if you have a more than average interest in photography....

Rating:
Summary: Cheapest Medium Format Camera Ever
Review: This is as close to you get to a disposable medium format camera. If you want to get into medium format photography, I'd reccommend getting a HOLGA first. It won't produce crisp images by any means, oh no. But there's a soft focus to the images that it produces that is very compelling. For those of you that don't know, it takes 120 roll film, which produces a 2 1/4" square negative. Square format photography puts a different perspective on things. Anyway, ... I'd recommend trying it if you have a more than average interest in photography....