Topic: Aperture and Shutter Speed of HOLGA?

[seekingfocus]

Anyone have any ideas about what the approximate aperture and shutter speed of Holga cameras might be? I have read mixed reports around the web, so I'm trying to come to a consensus of some sorts... I do work with long exposures and filters on mine, and I have yet to work out a completely reliable system of calculating exposures. Every time I think I've got it close to right I get a roll of mush...

So far I've figured  somewhere around f/10 or f/13 for the sunny setting, and maybe around f/8 for cloudy (though it is rather useless considering the wider aperture is outside of the smaller one). Shutter speed is listed as being 1/100 seconds, though both of mine seem to be closer to maybe 1/200 or 1/250.

Any thoughts, experiences, etc?

-Jason

[gary m]

Forget your cloudy/sunny switch, it does nothing   http://www.photondetector.com/articles/holga-apertures/

[otto k]

I guess it depends on whether you have a stock Holga or not.  Two of my Holgas are from Holgamods, which have been modded to have two usable apertures, around f8 and f11.  I do a lot of low light photography with mine and have found that those apertures work in my calculations along with around 1/100th or 1/125th of a second.  My exposures usually turn out pretty close.

- Otto

[seekingfocus]

Yeah- mine are stock. So, I'll assume I'm working with somewhere around an f/13 aperture then. May have to try the mod on one of them to get aperture working properly.

-Jason

[LT]

jason - you might want to ask this over at www.toycamera.com - lots of very knowledgable holga users over there.

My feelings are you're never going to get an answer from someone else that will suit your holga - the spring shutter system is so unpredictable that I doubt anyof them are the same when they leave the factory not forgetting how easily they go slack with use.  If you're looking for something with predictability you'd be better off sticking a crappy lens on the front of a focal plane 6x6 slr.  Part of the joy of tocamera use is not knowing these things, IMO.

When I've stacked up filters to slow down holga exposures, I've used multi exposures instead of one long one.  I know that in most daylight conditions, my holga works well with HP5+  so If I've reduced the amount of light by 1 stop witht he filters  then I do two exposures, etc - the more exposures I make, I add a few on for reciprocity .... this one had way in excess of 30 if I remember correctly

 

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[david b]

I so love the fact that they've churned out thousands and thousands of these things, and no-one has noticed the aperture system doesn't work.  Or, maybe they do know but continue to manufacture a completely pointless component as some sort of absurdist statement on the futility of life?

[gothamtomato]

jason - you might want to ask this over at www.toycamera.com - lots of very knowledgable holga users over there.

My feelings are you're never going to get an answer from someone else that will suit your holga - the spring shutter system is so unpredictable that I doubt anyof them are the same when they leave the factory not forgetting how easily they go slack with use.  If you're looking for something with predictability you'd be better off sticking a crappy lens on the front of a focal plane 6x6 slr.  Part of the joy of tocamera use is not knowing these things, IMO.

When I've stacked up filters to slow down holga exposures, I've used multi exposures instead of one long one.  I know that in most daylight conditions, my holga works well with HP5+  so If I've reduced the amount of light by 1 stop witht he filters  then I do two exposures, etc - the more exposures I make, I add a few on for reciprocity .... this one had way in excess of 30 if I remember correctly

 

That's a stunning image! Did you use a filter? What are the details? It's gorgeous!!

[LT]

Thanks!  very kind of you to say

i cant really remember - I think it was at least a - 2 stop orange and a-3 stop ND ... probably.

[Francois]

I so love the fact that they've churned out thousands and thousands of these things, and no-one has noticed the aperture system doesn't work.  Or, maybe they do know but continue to manufacture a completely pointless component as some sort of absurdist statement on the futility of life?

Nope, it's just a cash cow...
What always amazes me is that they are produced by the same company who makes the Tokina line of optics... From very good to very bad, all in the same shop

[david b]

I so love the fact that they've churned out thousands and thousands of these things, and no-one has noticed the aperture system doesn't work.  Or, maybe they do know but continue to manufacture a completely pointless component as some sort of absurdist statement on the futility of life?

Nope, it's just a cash cow...

Even more so if they didn't include a functionless component though, surely.

I like Leon's pic because it looks so totally South Eastern England to me - you just don't get that sort of architecture up here in red brick land.

[eddie]

I would agree at f8 and 1/100 second.  For long exposures i would recommend Fuji Acros 100 as you dont need to adjust for reciprocity failure on long exposures. 

[seekingfocus]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Did up a roll last night that I got some fairly nice results from. I'm doing mine with a shutter cable and bulb mode for some long night exposures. Also, during the day, taping the 10-stop ND to the front has yielded some very nice results.

-Jason

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[Wally]

those are nice shots I do long exposures with my Holgas all the time. I meter using a handheld meter for f/13

I like to use slow films and filters. My favorite combos are Efke R50 (AKA Adox CHS50) with an 8x ND filter stacked with a Polarizer (first 2) and I also like to use Efke IR820 Infrared film with a Hoya R72 I meter that combo for ISO 1 (last one)

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[seekingfocus]

Hi Wally,

Thanks for the input. Those are some wonderful shots indeed! That last one is especially nice with the swirls of water. Oooh.

-Jason

[Wally]

thanks, I have always enjoyed long exposures. Over the last year or so I am pretty much hooked on doing them with Holgas and my Zero Image Pinholes. I do a lot of hiking and it is much easier to lug around a holga and a light weight tripod than a 4x5 view camera or even a DSLR.

After you figure out how freeing one aperture setting is for long exposures you will never go back. I am at the point now where I can pretty much guess the right exposure using the Efke R50 andIR films

[astrobeck]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Did up a roll last night that I got some fairly nice results from. I'm doing mine with a shutter cable and bulb mode for some long night exposures. Also, during the day, taping the 10-stop ND to the front has yielded some very nice results.

-Jason

Nice indeed.
Welcome to the dark side!
 

[Skorj]

> cash cow... Tokina...

This might surprise Mr. Lee!

[gothamtomato]

I've never actually used a ND filter. What does it do to improve the image?

[seekingfocus]

Well, as far as improving the image... that's quite subjective. A ND filter will allow a significant decrease in the light which is allowed to enter the lens and thus reach the film plane. They are sold in a few different 'powers', from the normal one, two and, three stop filters, to the darker ones like eight or ten stops. So, a ten stop filter would decrease the amount of light by ten stops, thus allowing for some fairly long exposures even in bright sun.

The typical use for ND filters is to keep very bright parts of the image (sand or snow) from blowing out. They are also sold in graduated filters which would allow for a scene such as a sunset or sunrise, where the sky is brighter than the foreground to be more evenly exposed.

That's a pretty basic definition... Hope that helps.

-Jason