Holga

The Holga 120 S is a very cheap medium format camera built in China. It was first manufactured in 1982 in Hong Kong. A removable film mask allows recordings on 120 roll film either in format 6 × 6 or 4.5 × 6 cm.

For some time now a pure Holgalinse is available, with which the holgatypischen error of modern SLR cameras can be achieved.

Specifications

  • Lens: uncoated meniscus lens with 60 mm focal length; Horizontal angle of 53 °, vertical 53 °, 70 ° diagonal (6 × 6) or 41 ° vertically, diagonally 64 ° ( 4.5 × 6)
  • Light intensity ( Photography ): nominally f = 1:8, the proposed adjustment of "cloud " to " sun " does not change in the older models. The effective aperture is about 4.5 mm, which corresponds to an aperture of about 1:13. For models from 2009 production of the iris switch works. One thus has the choice between "cloud" ( f/13 ) and "Sunshine " ( f/19 ).
  • Manual focus for symbols
  • Closure: metal hole rotation Spring iris for fixed shutter speed of about 1 /100 second, some models in addition to the B setting
  • Hot shoe with center contact and X-sync, some models with built-in electronic flash unregulated
  • Viewfinder: Simple telescopic viewfinder
  • Format: 120 roll film

Properties

The Holga camera was designed as a people for the Chinese market, which should be affordable for everyone. By the time she found her way into the West and now enjoys in Europe and the United States a certain cult status.

Prepared with the Holga photos have many defects, such as blurring, stray light or color distortion. It also provides very few settings. On the other hand, they in turn provides opportunities that are locked with conventional cameras for fault avoidance. So can be rotated arbitrarily far, which can be created in partial double exposures such as the Spulknopf.

Due to the low price, the Holga is a popular object of technical modifications. On the web to find this, numerous manuals and accessories offers.

Practice

  • The fixed mount 60 mm lens exists in all cameras the Holga series of plastic. The lenses themselves can, depending on the model, be made of plastic. The lens has more or less on almost all image errors that you are trying to correct with conventional cameras.
  • The lens distorts all the lines that are on the screen, even lines that go through the center of the image. Your distortions are asymmetric and vary from model to model.
  • The lenses are not remunerated, this results in a poor contrast. Therefore, it is also recommended that contrast rather harder -working movies to use such as slide film.
  • The lens crops the reproduced color spectrum, giving rise to its own with color images color characteristics due to the lack of compensation above 600 nm and below 400 nm with a soft running curve.
  • The lens is equally sharp not over the entire image plane. Mostly it is relatively sharp in the center and slightly out of focus towards the edges. Really sharp but it is never.
  • Next, the lens combination has towards a strong drop in brightness ( vignetting) at the edges. This vignetting makes best noticeable when the Holga is used in the 6x6 mode.
  • Other aberrations (astigmatism, coma, chromatic aberration, spherical aberration ) are also visible, but do not have such a unique place in the overall aesthetics as the others.
  • There are included depending on the model one to two adapters masks. Thus it is possible, both in format 6x6 cm (square ) and 4,5 x6 cm to photograph ( rectangular ) on the loaded roll film. It should not be forgotten that the camera delivers images in portrait mode, if the 4,5 x6 mask is inserted. Also, the number of frames per film varies depending on the format. With the 4,5 x6 mask find 16 with the 6x6 mask twelve shots on a film course. The counter on the back is to switch respectively. If you want to blur even more intensive games, so it is best to simply no mask, so the film has a de facto flatness.
  • Another mistake is light ideas that depending on the model are messy and leave a different impression of the camera in each photo in bright light. These are caused by the holes in the housing. However, there are enough copies that have no light falls.
  • The images of the Holga are indeed finer than small picture photos, but not nearly as sharp as that of a mediocre film camera. Only with sunshine from 10 bis 14 clock clock during the summer months is recommended ISO-100/21 ° film. For all other situations ISO-400/27 ° films are more appropriate.
  • At very varying lighting situations negative film is preferable to the slide film. This compensates for the differences better. Since the camera has no setting to the film has to do the job. At relatively stable light conditions but slide film is preferable. This is similar to the low contrast of the lens better.
  • Black -and-white film is used without hesitation. Especially recommended are chromogenic SW movies with ISO 400/27 ° as the KODAK BW 400CN and Ilford XP2. These same also very different lighting conditions very well.
  • One need not rebuild the Holga to insert a 35 - mm film. If the film is clamped between, for example, foam parts, it can not slip. Since you then have no control over how far the film was transported, one must continue to rotate about 34 clicks ( turns). At about 30 clicks (for 6x6) close the images directly to each other, and one has a continuous image. It should be noted that the counter is taped back carefully, otherwise incident light.

Models

  • Holga 120 S - standard Holga plastic lens
  • Holga 120 SF - same as S, but with built-in flash
  • Holga 120N - Bulb function ( long exposure), tripod mount, hot shoe, plastic lens
  • Holga 120 FN - Bulb function ( long exposure), tripod mount, built-in flash, plastic lens
  • Holga 120 GN - Bulb function ( long exposure), tripod mount, hot shoe, glass lens
  • Holga 120 GFN - Bulb function ( long exposure), tripod mount, built-in flash, glass lens
  • Holga 120 CFN - Bulb function ( long exposure), tripod mount, built-in flash - with integrated color filters colorable plastic lens
  • Holga 120 GCFN - Bulb function ( long exposure), tripod mount, built-in flash - with integrated color filters colorable, glass lens
  • WOCA 120 GF - Equivalent to Holga 120 GFN camera
  • Woca 120 G - up to a glass lens identical with Holga 120 S Camera
  • Holga 135 - for 35 - mm camera film
  • Holga 135 BC - as Holga 135, with additional mask, which is installed behind the lens. Causes a similar vignetting as the Holga 120 cameras
  • Holga 135 PC - as Holga 135, with a pinhole instead of a lens ( pinhole camera )
  • Holga 120 TLR - Bulb function ( long exposure), tripod mount, built-in flash - colorable by integrated color foils, plastic lens
Medium format (film) Rollfilm Angle of view Reversal film Bulb (photography)
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