Author Topic: Holga 135 Question  (Read 4046 times)

mart

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Holga 135 Question
« on: July 03, 2010, 01:31:24 AM »
Anyone using a Holga 135 (NOT  the BC model)?

Would like to know what are the attributes of this piece.

Thanks.

moominsean

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2010, 01:41:24 AM »
i haven't used it, i had a BC. the only difference is a mask inside the BC to create a vignette. other that that, it's a pretty straightforward 35mm camera. almost as simple as a point and shoot except for tyhe holga focus. check out the flickr groups for examples, but it's not all that interesting, really.
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gregor

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2010, 01:43:42 AM »
I have one. Really no special attributes except bad optics that can pass for art in some circles. It's just a low fi (almost)  point & shoot. With ok black & white results and typical plastic lens color results as you would expect from a 120 holga.

For the price you could get something much more interesting like a pen ee or Olympus xa.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2010, 01:48:25 AM by gregor »

mart

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2010, 01:49:32 AM »
Thanks, guys. My feelings exactly. It will, therefore, become another dust collector on the shelf unless someone wants it for some reason. If so, pm me.

Minutefilm

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2010, 08:07:07 AM »
I sell Holga Cameras and the 135 is exactly the same as the 135BC except for the mask that gives the vignetting.  I have a BC camera in the set I use personally and I have had some great results out of it (check out the gallery section on my website)

I disagree with much that has been said here, as with all Holgas, what you get out is in direct proportion to the amount of effort you put in.  Used thoughtfully it is possible to get really interesting pictures out of these cameras.  I especially enjoy playing with macro photography and a magnifying glass plus a focus screen made from tracing paper makes the 135 Holga a viable camera to use.

All you need is a little imagination and time - and the determination to prove that at GBP40 camera can take worthwhile pictures.

Ben

(edited by Ed to replace the '?' with 'GBP')
« Last Edit: July 03, 2010, 11:02:39 AM by ed.wenn »
Ben Boswell - Minutefilm Ltd
Suppliers of film and instant materials, Holga and Zero Image cameras. http://www.minutefilm.co.uk
Blogger about photography - http://minutefilm.blogspot.com/

Skorj

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2010, 09:49:16 AM »
Would like to know what are the attributes of this piece.

Not quite the answer you're looking for I know, but when Mr. Lee of Universal Electronics asked me what they should make after the success of their 120-format Holga, my suggestion was they replace the LC-A ? which had at the time just ceased manufacture.

Hence the 135-format with the famous Holga lens. 'Make it have the same four-corners-dark,' we laughed at... Skj.

Ed Wenn

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2010, 11:33:11 AM »
Ben, no-one here's dissing low-fi cameras in general. All the guys who've commented on the 135 have been using 120 Holgas and other plastic-lensed 'toycams' for years (in Mart's case probably getting on for 60 or 70 years). Therefore there is a very great understanding on this forum that you get out what you put in regarding photography in general and specifically with items like toycams. However, speaking for myself (and I wouldn't presume to speak for anyone else, but I do have a decent idea of how some people on FW think about these things), it's always better to stumble across something, be delighted by its quirks and then spend some time working out how best to deploy them w/ regard to an effective final image, than have a camera marketed at you specifically because it takes a particular kind of image.

I'm never good at writing out this type of thing, so apologies for being borderline incoherent. But what I took from the back and forth at the start of this thread was, "Does this camera do anything interesting over and above all of the other similar cameras that we've all used already?"...to which the answer so far seems to be, "Not really".

However, your comments I'd say that if someone's not tried a toycam before and wants to avoid MF and stick with 35mm, then the Holga 135 is a decent enough starting point.

Anyway, this is all clearly Skorj's fault!
 :D :D

Skorj

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2010, 12:08:47 PM »
Yup. Blame me...

Minutefilm

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #8 on: July 03, 2010, 01:56:24 PM »
What I enjoy in these kinds of cameras is finding out what they do do well.  If you load a Holga 135 with fast film there is quite a particular quality you get in the results.  The combination of the grain and the poor lens really works for me.  However I acknowledge that this is possible with a whole range of toy cameras...

Ben
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Francois

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #9 on: July 03, 2010, 03:40:17 PM »
Ed, your message was quite clear, so you don't have to worry about your communication skills going astray :)

I know that when it comes to Lo-Fi cameras, everybody falls in love with a specific model for it's quirks. I for one don't like the "toy" segregation aspect. For me, the camera is just good or bad. I personally have so many lo-fi cameras I instantly fell in love with because of their different characteristics that I have a box full of them and I'm just waiting to get time to roll some film through each one.

Francois

Film is the vinyl record of photography.

mart

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #10 on: July 03, 2010, 03:55:54 PM »
Francois, can you give me some examples of the quirks and the cams that produce them?
Thanks.

Francois

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2010, 09:39:37 PM »
Well... I have a Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim. It has a 22mm lens which produces super saturated colors, lots of distortion (in a good way). It's also pocket sized and literally dies if you try and get a 36 exposure through it. No lens cover or flash hot shoe available. A good camera in almost every sense of the word. Many of us here can vouch for it.

The Diana Mini, the viewfinder needs to be perfectly aligned with the lens barrel or else you shoot "crooked". Half frame mode is pretty pointless because of how finicky the viewfinder is. Square mode is much better. Plastic is super cheap so you have to be extra careful when you use it. Produces an overall smoothness which I like and can vignette quite a bit. Tried it only in winter with mittens so the focus was extra hard to work. Tiny fingers are needed for this tiny camera (it's really small).

I would tend to file my big Instax 100 in the lo-fi category. Colors are beautiful, zone focusing is used. But when you look at the prints closely in a high res scan, they all seem a bit soft on the focus... hard to describe but probably my favorite.

The Vivitar IC-101... Fake panorama, no flash or hotshoe. Colors are surprisingly good but the viewfinder is a bit of a nightmare. Considering I paid something like 50 cents for it, I still consider it a surprisingly good buy even though composition in the panorama format is a nightmare for me.

I also have an Action Sampler I paid the same price for. For action, just forget it. I shot 2 rolls through it and came up with only one picture I really like... Colors are very pop like. Having 4 lenses, all frames have different characteristics. I have one which makes a very mean light leak on only one of the frames (lens defect)...

What else now...
Francois

Film is the vinyl record of photography.

gary m

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #12 on: July 05, 2010, 03:59:41 PM »
I love the Holga 135 bc TLR model.

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

mart

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #13 on: July 06, 2010, 05:17:50 PM »
Love the shot, Gary. Any special tips to apply when I break out mine?

Thanks.

Ed Wenn

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #14 on: July 06, 2010, 07:55:45 PM »
That is a sweet shot there, Mr Moyer.

gary m

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #15 on: July 07, 2010, 06:50:22 PM »
Thnks guys. I really dig the Holga bc 135 tlr. Here are a few more examples from my blog. http://cgmoyer.blogspot.com/search/label/holga%20135bc%20tlr

Diane Peterson

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Re: Holga 135 Question
« Reply #16 on: July 08, 2010, 12:28:19 AM »
Gary..this is extra special nice!