Topic: Holga 135 half-frame Modification: "on the subject of half frames ..."

[gregor]

Some half frame cameras (well a lot of them) can be constraining due the ISO being tied to the selenium meter.  Olympus, Agfa, and the Canon Demi are just a few that use the selenium meter.  A work around?

Easy. Ever wonder what to do with that holga 135 that was gifted to you or you bought and it sat in the closet until now?   Here's a half frame mod that even I'm capable of.

Step 1 (attached photos numbered appropriately - sorry for the crappy iphone photos - my only digital cam): cut a film box or other similar material to fit 50% of the mask. Well it's not really a mask, but whatever it's called (see photo).  Gaffer tape that material in,

Don't use too much tape or too thick of material as that will add pressure against the back pressure plate making advancing the film very hard and you'll likely just shred the sprocket holes and not advance the film.

Step 2. Gaffer tape 50% of the viewfinder (you can tape the front or back side of the camera. whichever you prefer so it approximates what will be exposed on film. Important: tape the corresponding side of the finder to the mask you taped into the back.

Step 3 (optional). Get a 55mm lens shade and with a thin strip of gaffer's tape, put it on the lens.

Step 4 (optional). Scrape off the "Holga 135" lettering on the front of the Camera. Hunt down some white letraset, 24pt, helvetica.  Press down the letraset letters & numbers, "M6" on a piece of gaffer'stape, spray varnish it (matte) for longevity & cut to fit over the the rectangle where "Holga 135" was.

Step 5 (optional). Put a really choice viewfinder in the flash shoe.

Step 6. Before loading film, experiment with what is just tad under half of a  frame so you can get a feel for how far to advance per shot (based on thumb size and how you hold your thumb on the advance wheel - for me it's advancing two times per half-frame with a tad left over on the second advance to create spacing between shots. 

Step 7. Shoot away and have fun.  My results in a day or two....

[Sorry, image deleted during forum software upgrade. Please re-upload if so inclined.]

[LT]

Nice one Gregor. Thanks for writing this up to share. 

I was going to ask about which side of the view finder to mask ... But I see from your photo that it's the opposite side to the film mask which makes sense as the image is reversed - right?

If it's ok with you, we'll leave this here for a few days then move it into our articles section?

[gregor]

Yes, right side of the viewfinder if taping the taping the front or left side taping the back.   I wasn't sure if this was a full fledged 'article' so please move as you see fit !

[astrobeck]

you mean all this time I could have been shooting with a Leica.....   

"Hunt down some white letraset, 24pt, helvetica.  Press down the letraset letters & numbers, "M6" "

Nice conversion tips!
Wondered about this before-maybe trick out a 120 Holga using the smaller mask....and just in time for the weekend!!!!

Thanks!   

[gregor]

The same principle would apply to a 120 holga - only difference would be you would need to rely on advance click counts or determine where your at by the film marks in the red counter window. The 645 mask and camera set to 12 could work. You'd probably need to run a test roll or two in order to get the advancing guesstimated.

Of course with the lettaset you'll need a different font and press down the letters "Mamiya". Lens shade of the same size !

[LT]

Yes, right side of the viewfinder if taping the taping the front or left side taping the back. 

I am a bit confused now ... tell me if I'm getting this wrong, but once light has passed through a lens, the image on the film is reversed and upside down.  so wouldn't you need to mask the opposite side of the viewfinder to the film frame mask - so film frame masked to the left = viewfinder image masked to the right?  it looks like you have masked on the same side in these pictures?

[gregor]

on the 135 is it upside down?  hmmm - since it's not an slr it should be right side up I would think and you would tape the finder as described. Looking through the back -  and through the lens -  what is seen is not upside down and since the film advances right it seems like taping as descibed makes sense: same side on back of camera. opposite side on front of camera

Please correct me if I'm wrong and before I shoot !!

[astrobeck]

that's weird.
any camera lens I have ever looked through has been upside down.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_lens


edit:
I should clarify that statement above.
If you are very close to the lens, like you were looking through a desk magnifier,the image would in fact be right side up.
But once you move the lens away,( and you can do this with a magnifying glass to watch it flip), it will turn upside down.
If you were to place a ground glass or wax paper at the film plane you could see it is upside down.

[LT]

All images that focus through a lens will be upside down. An slr only corrects the viewfinder image, it makes mo difference to the light hitting the film.  Think of LF cameras ... The image is reversed and upside down on the ground glass. It's the same inside any camera.

[gregor]

Ok I'll go with that. It's my 1st try at being a gear geek!

[LT]

Just a minor tweak needed though Gregor. It's a good modification none-the-less.