Olympus XA Review

A photograph of an Olympus XA 35mm Camera

One of my favorite 35mm cameras is my Olympus XA. Introduced in 1979, this camera is part of a series of cameras (along with the XA1, XA2, XA3 and XA4) but it is the only one of the series to use a rangefinder focus.

The Lens is a Zuiko 35mm f:2.8 lens and is completely covered by the clamshell when closed which makes this camera easy to slip into a pocket. Also, when the clamshell is closed, the camera is powered off which means the batteries last for a very long time.

A photograph of an Olympus XA 35mm Camera with clamshell open

With the clamshell open, you gain access to the focus lever which sits below the lens. Focusing is easy and fast since the lever has a very short throw and the rangefinder patch is still quite bright in my camera. Above the focus lever is the film speed setting with a range from 25ASA to 800ASA.

The camera uses aperture priority with the apertures being set by a lever beside the lens. Shutter speeds are rated from 1 second to 1/500 and the current shutter speed is shown using a needle that is visible in the viewfinder. (Note: I have seen other websites that quote 10 seconds as the max shutter speed but I have not tested this on my camera – the viewfinder scale only goes to 1 second).

A close up photograph of an Olympus XA 35mm Camera aperture lever

The shutter is extremely sensitive requiring barely a touch to trigger. This means hand held slow shutter speeds are quite possible. Also, the shutter is practically silent lending itself well to being discrete in situations that warrant it.

These days you can pick up an XA for around $40 to $60 on eBay. If that is too expensive the zone focus XA2 is worth checking out.  A lot of times the XA2 cameras go for less than $30.

To find out more about the XA and other cameras in the XA family, visit the best XA resource on the web, http://www.diaxa.com/

olympus xa Review Olympus XA Review

Example photograph taken with an Olympus XA 35mm Camera

olympus xa Review 3 Olympus XA Review

An example shot from an Olympus XA 35mm camera.

To see more of my XA shots, check out my Flickr stream with the tag Olympus XA.


Posted on July 27th, 2010 2 comments

Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

PX100Box001 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

A lot has been written about PX100 since March 22nd, 2010, when The Impossible Project finally announced the release of the first new Polaroid SX-70 compatible instant film since Polaroid exited the film business a few years ago. Reactions were mixed with some lauding the efforts of TIP and others disappointed with the results they were seeing.

Initially I didn’t feel like jumping on the Internet to be the first to buy some packs but after a few days I decided to take the plunge and try the film for myself.  Even as I made my order, I was still not overly impressed with what I was seeing on the the web but I was curious to see what I could achieve myself. Also, I kind of felt like I was investing in the future of instant film. If the PX100 didn’t sell, would TIP continue their R&D to develop more films?

Anyway, on to my review…

First some facts:-

  • PX100 Silver Shade / First Flush is rated at ISO 100.
  • There are 8 photos per pack.
  • The Dark Slides (the piece of card that covers the pack and gets ejected when you first insert the film) have quotes on them and are intended to be collectible (maybe). Artists will be invited to create art for the Dark Slides in the future.
  • The film is designed for integral cameras like the Polaroid SX-70.
  • TIP admit the film is very sensitive to outside factors.
  • TIP recommend that the film be used in a narrow temperature range of 17-24°C / 63-75°F. Outside this range, you run the risk of a photograph that is too light when cold or too dark when warm.
  • The opacifaction layer is not 100% light proof which means the film can continue to be (over) exposed if not covered immediately while it is developing.
  • Developing takes about 60 to 90 seconds.
  • The images are monochrome and have a sepia tone to them.
  • Cost is $21 per pack. When I ordered, there were no packs available in New York so I had to pay for shipping from Europe ($25 – ouch!!).
PX100DarkSlide001 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

Dark Slide

My first few shots were test shots taken in my kitchen under florescent lights. Being aware of the temperature limitations I took note that it was 20°C/68°F.

PX100 001 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

PX100 Frame 1

First of all, it is very noticeable that the photo is very light. This could be due to continuing exposure after the film ejected, a known problem. Also, there were spots on the photo and a kind of mottling in the light areas.

I took two more shots, this time with the candle lit and I also played around with the exposure wheel.

px100 003 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

PX100 Frame 2

PX100 002 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

PX100 Frame 3

For the 3rd shot I moved the exposure wheel all the way to dark. The spots seen on the first shot are more pronounced in the dark area of frame 3.

The next day I tried the film outside. It was around 13°C/56°F outside so for these tests, I planned to immediately put the photo into my back pocket after it was ejected to keep it warm. Also, to prevent over exposure after the film was ejected, I taped the dark slide to the front of the camera so the film would be covered after it came out.

The first shot was completely blank. Well, there is a very, very faint image of my dog Sassy (if you play with the exposure in Lightroom).

px100 004 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

PX100 Frame 4

Frames 4 and 5 are very light. At least there is some image in frame 4 but frame 5 is completely washed out.

px100 005 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

PX100 Frame 5

px100 006 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

PX100 Frame 6

Later in the week, I tried again. This time it was 22°C/73°F and sunny outside so I didn’t expect any lightening due to cold temperature. Because of the sun, I did expect a potential for over exposure so I once again used the dark slide taped to the front. But, the shots were still quite faint with very low contrast.

px100 007 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

PX100 Frame 7

Frame 8 had a dark spot on it. I read that this can occur if there is a warm spot but both frame 7 and 8 developed in my back pocket so I am not sure what went on here.

px100 008 Impossible Project PX100 Review (My First Pack)

PX100 Frame 8

So, my opinions based on this first pack are:-

  • Correct exposure is quite difficult even when the ambient temperature is inside the  range 17-24°C / 63-75°F.
  • The opacifaction layer not being 100% light proof means that to avoid continuing exposure you need to get the photograph out of the light as soon as possible after it is ejected. You should also shield the photo as it comes out of the camera.
  • The photos are very low in contrast even when you think you are doing everything right.
  • Don’t forget there are only 8 frames per pack. The SX-70 expects 10 shots so after you shoot the last frame, the camera will still tell you that there are two shots left.
  • The rollers of the camera will probably need to be cleaned between packs. At least on my cameras, there was a lot of dried chemical residue on the rollers after the first pack.
  • There are spots in the dark areas (not sure if this is due to the film or the camera rollers).

Finally, I believe that if SX-70 Time-Zero film was still readily available today, this film would never have been released. It is clearly far from being a polished product. But as a first effort created from scratch, it is not a bad attempt. I think a lot more research is required to make the film more stable. The film needs to be more temperature tolerant and opacifiaction layer needs to be more light proof. Part of the magic of Polaroid was seeing the photo develop in front of your eyes after all. Also, I’d like to see more contrast in the images. Right now the photos look a little flat to me.

Of course, I am not an artist. You can see what real photographers are doing with the film on the TIP Collection website. Also, it is worth checking out the Impossible Project and the PX100 Flickr Groups.

Postscript: Since I started writing this post, I opened a second pack and I am a lot more pleased with the results. You can see the first shot here.

Link: http://www.the-impossible-project.com/

Posted on April 11th, 2010 4 comments

Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

2010 03 20 IMG 02481 Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

Over the past few days I have been posting some Polaroid photos taken with a Polaroid Automatic 230 Land Camera. For those of you not familiar with older Polaroid cameras, I thought I’d explain exactly what this camera is.

The Polaroid Automatic 230 Land Camera is a folding pack camera in the  “200 series” available from 1967 to 1969. It has a plastic body with a 114mm f/8.8 glass lens. The camera use 100 series peel apart pack film which is 3 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ in size. The actual image size is 2 7/8″ x 3 3/4″ centered on the frame.

2010 03 20 IMG 0193 Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview
The shutter is electronic with speeds from 10 seconds – 1/1200. There is a dial on the lens for exposure compensation of -1 stop to +2 stops.

2010 03 20 IMG 0200 Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

Focusing is achieved by using a rangefinder that is separate from the viewfinder. The viewfinder assembly is on a hinge that allows for it to be folded down when storing the camera inside its case.

2010 03 20 IMG 0229 Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

To focus, a lever attached to the bellows is moved left or right and there is a pictogram indicating which way to move for closer focus (a man) or infinity (a man standing in front of a mountain).

2010 03 20 IMG 0217 Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

Film speed is chosen using a dial under the lens. The available speeds are 75, 150, 300 and 3000. So if a film such as 672 (ISO 400)  is used, some exposure compensation is required. The yellow button under the lens assembly is the “scene selector” which adjusts the aperture.

2010 03 20 IMG 0219 Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

Recommendations for which scene to use are listed on the top of the lens assembly for each of the film speeds and a yellow square shows the currently selected scene.

2010 03 20 IMG 0204 Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

Numbered buttons indicate the sequence for taking a shot. Step 1 is focus and step 2 is press the shutter.

2010 03 20 IMG 0203 Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

Step 3 is reset the shutter for the next shot. In reality, this is done before step 1 of course.

2010 03 20 IMG 0230 Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

Finally step 4 is remove the film from the camera by pulling on the paper tab.

Examples Shots

2562115075 fe9883a15c o Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

3152218758 de0459eeb4 o Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

3087564828 a236a0fca1 o Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

2566912255 5824974d7b o Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview

Links
The Land List
Option8 Polaroid FAQ

Posted on March 22nd, 2010 8 comments

Review : The Bare Bones Bag Stealth

I have collected a lot of camera bags over the past few years and have bags from Domke, Lowepro, Crumpler, Tamrac as well as a host of no name bags I have picked up on my travels or in the bargain bin of a going out of business camera shop. Each bag has something I like but none are what I would call “the ultimate bag”.

The bag I use the most is a messenger type bag I picked up for €12 in a clothing store in Finland. It has no padding and is not really designed for holding camera gear but it is very discrete and doesn’t look like it would be holding anything of value. I have used Velcro to temporarily attach a smaller camera bag inside to hold my Canon 40D but for the most part, I just use it to carry my Voigtländer rangefinder and for that purpose the bag is a little bit too big.

So when I saw the Bare Bones Bag from Indian Hill Image Works, I decided to see if yet another bag would work for me. I actually decided to go for the latest evolution in the BBB called the Bare Bones Bag Stealth. I’ll get into the “Stealth” part in a minute.

First of all some background: Indian Hill Image Works is run by Stephen Schaub in Vermont, USA and provides various services to photographers and artists. In addition to those services, they have been creating some innovative products for photographers and the Bare Bones line of bags is one of those products. I suspect that these bags came from a desire to also find “the ultimate bag”.  The bags are actually hand made by nearby Courierware who have been making courier bags for over 20 years.

Bare Bones Bag Stealth

The BBB-S is the medium sized bag in the range and is 9 inches deep, 10 1/2 ” long and 3 1/2″ wide. There is one main compartment surrounded by 4 smaller compartments on the inside. On a recent jaunt around town, I used these pockets to carry the following:-

  • Voigtländer Bessa R4A rangefinder with Nokton 35mm lens in the main compartment.
  • A Color-Skopar 21mm lens in one small pocket.
  • 8 rolls of 35mm film in another small pocket.
  • My “backup camera” (Olympus XA2) in a small pocket.
  • Two filters in their boxes in the 4th pocket.

None of the pockets were completely filled and there was plenty of room for more gear or film if I needed it.

Bare Bones Bag Stealth

The bag also has two pockets on the front under the flap that could be used for carrying a notebook or a phone and there is a large flat pocket on the back of the bag that would be perfect for maps, or even tickets if you were traveling somewhere.

The reason the bag is called “bare bones” could be to do with the padding or lack there of. There is a 1/4 inch piece of neoprene at the bottom but that’s it. If that frightens you then this is not the bag for you but the lack of padding really cuts down on the weight and bulk and is what attracted me to the bag. The neoprene is accessible from the back pocket so could add more padding if you wanted.

The adjustable shoulder strap is unpadded and 1.5 inches wide. For what I was carrying, the strap was fairly comfortable but for heavier loads the optional shoulder pad may be a good purchase. On the top is a small and discrete handle. This handle is never in the way but is right at hand when you need it. Inside is a piece of webbing with a small metal carabiner for holding keys.

The most interesting part of the bag for me is the closure mechanism. One of the complaints from users of the original BBB was that the Velcro closure was noisy when opening the front flap. So this “stealth” bag does away with the Velcro and instead has a strap that goes across the front to hold the flap in place. This is a very effective method for keeping the bag closed but is not as secure as other closure methods. But, as long as you are not turning your bag upside down and shaking it, it feels secure enough for normal use. So you don’t miss any photo opportunities, opening the bag is very quick – just slide your hand down and pull up the flap.

Other features include:-

  • Two D-Rings for clipping on other items.
  • Discrete all black color.
  • No name tag or logo on the outside.
  • Weather proofing.

But there’s more…

I have discovered that the BBB-S is also prefect for my Asus 1000HE netbook with a 10 inch screen.

Bare Bones Bag Stealth

There is room for the netbook, power cord, mouse and also my XA2 or some other compact camera.

So is this the ultimate bag I have been searching for? Since I have just got the bag it may be too early to tell but I will say that the signs are very, very promising.

For more information, check out http://www.indianhillimageworks.com/ or see a video of the bag at http://figitalrevolution.com/2009/09/04/the-bare-bones-bag-stealth-bbb-s-and-bbb-s2/

Update: At the weekend I tried out the Bare Bones Bag Stealth with my Canon 40D DSLR. Attached to the camera I had the stock 17 to 85 IS Lens and the bag performed admirably. I was also carrying my Olympus XA and a few rolls of film and there was plenty of room for a few more extras. Good to know I can use this bag when I want to go digital too.

Update: If there was one thing I’d like to change it would be to make the flap about 1 inch longer. When the bag is full, the end of the flap is very close to the strap across the front and I feel the closure mechanism would be more secure with one more inch of flap.

Posted on September 27th, 2009 no comments

Massive Development Chart iPhone App Review

Almost everyone who develops their own black and white film at home is aware of the Massive Development Chart from Digital Truth. I regularly consult this vast database for development times for the various film / developer combinations I use.

But for the past few months I have added a new tool to my developing kit and that is the Massive Dev Chart iPhone application from Martin Man based on the Digitial Truth database.

The app works on both the iPhone and iPod touch and is real easy to use. First you select your film from the huge list of available films.

Massive Dev Chart 1

Next select the ISO you shot at.

Massive Dev Chart 2

You then choose the developer and concentration you are using.

Massive Dev Chart 3

Once all of that is done you are ready to start developing.

But unlike the web version of the database, this app also provides a timer to ensure correct developing times. Just press the “Start” button and off you go.

Massive Dev Chart 4

In addition to the development time, the timer also has 1 minute of stop time, 5 minutes of fixing and 10 minutes of rinsing. These values can be edited by making the film/developer combination a favorite and then editing that favorite.

Massive Dev Chart 5

What’s real nice about the app is that there is a visual and audible cue for when agitation is required. Just before the end of the minute there is a sound which then changes for the duration of time you need to do the inversions. The font also pulsates during this time.

The amount of time you agitate for is also editable for favorites but from what I can tell there is no way to change the frequency of agitations which is set at every minute. For Rodinal I agitate every 30 seconds so I need to keep an eye on the app when using that developer but that’s not a big deal.

Other nice features include the fact that it keeps on counting even if a call comes in but to stop me being distracted I usually set my iPhone to airplane mode when I am developing. Don’t want to miss the agitation time.

One feature I haven’t used yet is the ability to change the development temperature and the app will work out the time. I also haven’t used the split time feature for developers like Diafine.

The Massive Dev App currently costs $5.99 and in my mind is well worth it. I highly recommend this iPhone app.

The iPhone can be purchased on iTunes.

Posted on August 29th, 2009 1 comment

Holga 120 WPC 6×12 Mask Test

My first post on the Holga 120 WPC (Wide Pinhole Camera) was done using the 6×9 cm mask. Now I have developed a roll I shot on a walk about in San Jose using the 6×12 cm mask.

The first thing that is noticeable about this wider mask is that there is some mechanical vignetting apparent in the photos. Also, the vignette is asymmetrical with the right side being more pronounced than the left hand side.

200901040051 Holga 120 WPC 6x12 Mask Test

200901040041 Holga 120 WPC 6x12 Mask Test

200901040031 Holga 120 WPC 6x12 Mask Test

200901040011 Holga 120 WPC 6x12 Mask Test

Compared to the 6×9 cm mask, I think I prefer the wider format of this mask so that is what I’ll be leaving in the camera for now.

You can see my original review of the Holga 120 WPC (Wide Pinhole Camera) in this post.

Posted on January 4th, 2009 4 comments

LOMO LC-A

I first heard of the LOMO LC-A camera on a rock climbing discussion website in the summer of 2005 when someone posted that the LC-A was the perfect camera to carry climbing. It was compact, they said, took great photographs and was very cheap. The camera is compact (kind of) and it definitely takes great photographs but cheap it is not. At least, not when compared to similar compact cameras.

LOMO LC-A

Originally, the 35mm Lomo LC-A (a.k.a. Kompact Automat) was produced by LOMO,  Leningradskoye Optiko Mechanichesckoye Obyedinenie (Leningrad Optical & Mechanical Enterprise) in Russia in 1984. It bears a striking resemblance to the Cosina CX2 which LOMO copied to create the camera for the masses in what was then the USSR.

The lens has a focal length of 32mm with focusing done by moving a lever on the side to focus at either 3 feet, 4.5 feet, 10 feet or infinity. The lever on the other side controls exposure with an “A” setting for auto exposure and apertures between f/2.8 and f/16 which use a shutter speed of 1/60s. The camera accepts film with speeds of 25 to 400 ISO. (Older versions of the camera do have the speed setting in the GOST standard however.)

LC-A 1s

The camera became a bit of a cult phenomenon after two Viennese students discovered the camera in 1991 while on a trip to Prague. They went on to found the Lomographic Society International (LSI), coined the phrase “Lomography” and successfully marketed the camera with a lot of hype.

But with all hype aside, this camera truly is a nice camera to use. The lens is sharp and there is a nice vignette to give that old time vintage feel. There is also something cool about the sound of the shutter going off – a nice “ping”.

LC-A 2s

LC-A 3s

LOMO stopped producing the LC-A in 2005. To fill the gap, LSI created a remake called the LC-A+ which was made by Phenix Optical Company in China. Originally, all LC-A+ cameras came with a LOMO produced lens but in July 2007, most LC-A+ cameras started to be made with Chinese lenses with only a few cameras still using LOMO lenses. Those LOMO lens cameras then became known as LC-A + RL (for Russian Lens).

LC-A 4s

While I can think of better cameras to take rock climbing, the Lomo LC-A is one of my favorite cameras and you can see more of my Lomo shots in my ’35mm Snapshot’ set on Flickr.

Posted on January 3rd, 2009 4 comments

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.

Holga 120 WPC

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.

Bubble Level

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.

Cable Release 2

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.

Pinhole

Camera Back

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. 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.

s-wpc1

s-wpc2

s-wpc3

s-wpc4

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 8 comments

Lomography Diana+ Pinhole Test

When the Lomographic Society International released the Diana toy camera remake, the Diana +, one of the improvements they made over the original was the addition of a built in pin hole feature. Even though I have had my Diana+ for a long time, I have never really tried the pin hole. Last week, I decided to give it a go.

Accessing the pin hole feature is easy. Just twist off the lens.

Lomography Diana+

The pin hole on the Diana+ is supposed to have an aperture of f/150 and you set it by moving the aperture lever to “P”

Lomography Diana+ Pinhole

Since pin hole exposure times are relatively long, the Diana+ needs to be set on bulb mode. There is a “shutter lock” (really a small plastic wedge) attached to the camera strap that can be inserted into the shutter lever slot to keep the shutter open for as long as required without holding it down. I found the shutter lock to be a bit finicky and it would sometimes take a few attempts to get it to stay in place.

Lomography Diana+ Shutter Lock

The Diana+ also has a tripod attachment on the base which helps when taking long exposures.

To determine the correct exposure, I created a table on the Mr Pinhole website. Here is an extract from that table showing the values I used most often.

f 8 f 16 f 150
1/500 Secs 1/125 Secs 1/2 Secs
1/250 Secs 1/60 Secs 1 Secs
1/125 Secs 1/30 Secs 3 Secs
1/60 Secs 1/15 Secs 6 Secs
1/30 Secs 1/8 Secs 11 Secs
1/15 Secs 1/4 Secs 22 Secs

I then used an old Sekonic light meter to determine the correct exposure for f/8 or f/16 and read the f/150 value from the table.

Because it can be difficult to keep the shutter lock in place my method for taking the photos was to first hold the lens cap in front of the pin hole. I would then open the shutter and insert the lock. Once the lock was in place, I removed the cap for the necessary time and replaced it when the exposure was complete. By doing it this way, I reduced the amout of time I had touch the camera hopefully lessening any camera shake.

And so the results…

Most of the roll was exposed pretty well. I did end up with a light leak which was caused by the roll not being wound tightly onto the take up spool. This is a common problem with the Diana+ because of the mechanism used to keep the film in place. It just doesn’t keep the roll tight enough. (See this Figital Revolution post on how to get around that.)

Another thing I don’t like about my Diana+ is that there is a square outline around every photo. This appears to be a internal reflection from the mask but it could probably be reduced by using a matte paint inside the camera. I’ve seen this on other people’s Diana+ photographs too.

Overall, I think the pinholes came out pretty good. You can judge the results yourself below.

Lomography Diana+ Small-1

Lomography Diana+ Small-2

Lomography Diana+ Small-3

Posted on December 14th, 2008 3 comments

Camera Review: Holga 120

1304478011 594affc841 Camera Review: Holga 120

History
In 1982, Mr T.M. Lee, founder of Universal Electronics Ltd in Hong Kong, wanted to release a medium format camera to supplement the companies flash products which were increasingly facing competition from cameras with built in flash made by competitors. The original target market was Mainland China so to be affordable, the camera had to be made cheaply and be fairly reliable. The result was the Holga.

In the 1990s, the Holga saw a huge increase in popularity. First of all, art schools and photography classes started to use Holgas to teach the basics of photography. Also, camera retailer, Lomographic Society International (LSI) started to market the camera as part of their Lomography movement.

In addition to that, the toy camera movement was gaining momentum and the Holga quickly became one of the mainstays in that genre of photography.

Holga

Specifications
The Holga is essentially a plastic box with a plastic lens. It uses medium format (120) film and there is minimal control over exposure and focus. The lens is a simple meniscus lens with a focal length of 60mm. Focusing is achieved by turning the lens barrel. Distances are judged using symbols which represent 4 different distances from 4 feet to infinity.

Shutter speed is listed as 1/125 and there is a switch which allows you to do bulb exposures. The “specifications” for the Holga also state that the apertures are  f/8 and f/11 but due to a design flaw, many Holgas have only 1 usable aperture which may really be f/13 depending on who you talk to. It is possible to modify the camera to get two working apertures and the camera in the photo above has been modified to have actual apertures of f/8 and f/11.

Taken with a Holga

Image size is determined by a mask inside the camera. The interchangeable masks come in the 6x6cm square or 645 (6×4.5cm) portrait style formats. When 6×6 is used, a roll of film will yield 12 photographs. When the 645 mask is used, there will be 16 images on the film. The camera can also be used without any mask which results in an approximately 6×6 square image extending beyond the intended image area. Some mechanical vignetting may also occur when the mask is not used.

Holga Models
There are many variations of the Holga 120. The 120S (now obsolete) and 120N are the most basic but do have a hot shoe to attach an external flash. The 120FN is a built in flash version and the 120CFN is the color flash version that allows the photographer to use the flash with 1 of 4 colored filters. All of the recent models come in a glass lens version and those have a “G” in the name (e.g. 120GFN). There also exists a variant called the WOCA. This is no longer made and has been replaced by the 120G series.

Holga

The Images
Because the lens is a simple plastic lens, the resulting photographs are not tack sharp and have a slight blur to the them. Many times that blur becomes more pronounced towards the edges of the images and, depending on the lighting conditions, there may be some vignetting.

Some Holgas will have light leaks. Some users like the leaks but for those who don’t they can be minimized by spray painting the inside of the camera matte black and taping up the seams of the camera.

Because the film transport is decoupled from the shutter, it is possible to easily take multiple exposures (sometimes unintentionally).

Holga

Modifications
The good thing about the Holga is that it can be modified with only a small amount of effort. It is possible to convert the camera to take 35mm film or the lens can be completely removed and replaced with a pinhole.

Where To Get A Holga
Sometimes, local independent camera stores will sell Holgas especially if there is a college or school nearby that uses them in their photography courses.  But the easiest place to get one is online either in one of the main online camera stores or on eBay (sellers in Hong Kong sell new Holgas on eBay).

Lomographic Society International also sell Holgas normally as part of Lomographic packages. The packages typically come with extras but many times the don’t warrant the increase in price that LSI sells at. LSI also distribute cameras through “trendy” clothing and accessory stores such as Urban Outfitters in the US.

holga

Holgamods.com sells modified cameras and is worth checking out.

My Opinion
The Holga is a great camera from anyone wanting to get into cheap plastic toy cameras. In today’s world, this camera is a vast and welcome contrast to mega pixel’d digital cameras with auto-everything. I like the softness of the images and the atmosphere of the photographs. The camera itself is easy to use and is fairly robust. If it does break, you can probably glue it back together or buy a brand new one for less than $30.

If you are going to shoot 120 film it is a good idea to make sure it is going to be easy for you to develop. Black & white film is easy to process at home and if you have a scanner you don’t even need a dark room. For color, you will probably have to drop it off at a lab. Some consumer labs don’t develop 120 so check before hand.

All in all, I recommend the Holga 120 so go check it out

Links
My Holga photos on Flickr.com
Squrefrog – lots of Holga information
Wikipedia
Camerapedia
Lomographic Society International

Posted on September 21st, 2008 no comments