Holga 120 WPC (Wide Pinhole Camera)
The Holga 120WPC is a wide angle pinhole camera from the same people that brought the iconic toy camera, the Holga 120.
Like it’s older brother, the 120WPC takes 120 medium format film and comes with two removable masks. The first is a 6×9 cm mask which will result in 8 shots on a roll. The other mask is 6×12 cm and results in 6 wider shots on a roll.
The camera has no viewfinder but on the top of the camera, there are guide lines which can be used to roughly compose the shot . Also on the top is a bubble level which is useful for ensuring you don’t have a tilted horizon.
Because it is easy to get camera shake during long exposures, it is a good idea to make use of the threaded shutter release and use a cable release. There is also a tripod socket provided on the bottom of the camera.
The pinhole itself is stated to be 0.3mm with an aperture of f/135 (f/133 in the manual) and there is an exposure table on the back of the camera.
During my tests, I used a Sekonic L-208 light meter to meter the scenes and then used the exposure guide on Mr Pinhole‘s website to convert the metered values into pinhole exposure times.
The times I measured were vastly different from those on the exposure table on the back of the camera. In some cases, those times were 5 times the values that I metered so the use of a light meter is recommended.
When a shot is taken, the film is then wound on to the next odd number frame so for example when using the 6×12 cm mask, you would shoot at frames 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 & 11 or at frames 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 & 15 when using the 6×9 mask . Multiple exposures are possible by not winding on between shots.
Here are a few photos from the first roll. For these I used the smaller 6×9 cm mask.Click a picture for a larger version.
For this roll I used a small amount of tape to keep the camera back on but I deliberately did not do anything to reduce light leaks. There was a small amount of leakage around the edges of the film but nothing appeared in the image areas.
The user manual has an interesting section under “optional extras”. The “FA135-120WPC” is a 35mm converter kit that produces 24 frames 108 mm wide. Unfortunately the section is written in strike-through font so I have to assume this option is not available currently.
The Holga 120WPC can be purchased from Freestyle and currently costs us$50.
Update: I have taken a few photos using the 6×12 cm mask and you can see them here.
Posted on January 1st, 2009 tagged with camera review, holga, pinhole, wide angle
Damn I saw this beauty a few days ago, and I really want one!! Thanks for the test shots, they are lovely.
Posted by Jen on 2 January 2009 @ 6am
Very nice images, I am surprised how sharp they are from a pinhole camera. Looks like I need a third Holga now.
Posted by Chris VanHouten on 2 January 2009 @ 7am
I have a Nishiki 4 lens stereo-optic camera. Is it possible to convert it to a pinhole camera?
Posted by David Kilburn on 5 March 2009 @ 9pm
I’m not familiar with the Nishiki camera but if the lenses can be easily removed I guess you could convert it to a pinhole. You can make the pin hole from a piece of aluminum (like a soda can). http://tinyurl.com/cqm42w
Posted by Dave on 5 March 2009 @ 9pm
Nice images, thanks for posting them. I’d say that given the ability to load 35mm in the original Holga without anything special (I mean, yeah, you can use the factory stuff, but come on, this is a Holga!) you should be able to run some 35mm in this one too. The aspect ratio would be excellent…
- Randy
Posted by Randy on 7 June 2009 @ 11am
got one last week, i just want to ask if this beauty uses the standard shutter release cable for most cameras,,
Posted by tweakerboy on 5 August 2009 @ 5pm
tweakerboy, yes the cable release is a standard release with a threaded tip.
Posted by Dave on 5 August 2009 @ 5pm
Excellent advice – great pictures !!!!
Thanks, Ken
Posted by Ken Moline on 1 August 2010 @ 12pm
Hi, thanks for that great article! At which frames do you shoot with the 6×9 cm mask?
Thanks.
Posted by Matthia on 21 September 2010 @ 4am
When using the 6 x 9 mask, you still wind on to the next odd number. My original post was a bit confusing so I have updated it as follows:-
“the film is then wound on to the next odd number frame so for example when using the 6×12 cm mask, you would shoot at frames 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 & 11 or at frames 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 & 15 when using the 6×9 mask.”
The frame number pointer on the back of the camera determines which set of number on the film backing paper is read.
Posted by Dave on 21 September 2010 @ 6am
Hi Dave,
thanks for the explanation.
Posted by Matthia on 21 September 2010 @ 10am
Very helpful. Thanks. I’m getting my unit out the next 2 days.
Posted by Walter Briggs on 17 March 2011 @ 3pm
12 Comments