Is the Holga the best camera ever made?
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- Опубліковано 7 тра 2023
- One of the most challenging cameras to use is the humble Holga. Stripped of all the controls of modern cameras, this piece of poorly constructed plastic pushes the limits of what we, as photographers, can do with just a lens and some film.
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A very Lovecraftian way of describing the Holga experience. I like it.
I love my Holgas! I have 3 a 120N, 120 Pan, and 120 WPC. I use the 120N and 120 Pan walking around the city all the time. Embrace the chaos and let it go just be it is Zen like.
I've found the Holga frustrating at times, but also rewarding. I do agree with his assessment that it lays bare your photographic aptitude, requires skill transcending the controls available on "real" cameras, etc. However, i liken it to the cold bath you're supposed to take after a sauna: you get in a creative slump with the normal cameras, as you get wrapped up in optimizing things with all the controls available to you. But then you take out the Holga and it's like a stream of consciousness: like he says all your creative ability is laid bare. Lack of precise optical focus emphasizes the importance of overall composition, something i think gets often left out
I broke my Holga pulling it too forcefully out if my coat pocket and now I miss it so much 😭
This is the best and most honest Holga review I've ever seen on youtube. The Holga is my camera of choice and too many times people dismiss it because THEY can't get good shots with it... and then blame the camera... 😆
I was going to name drop you in the comments but you're already here lmao
The thing with Holga is it will continuously lull you into thinking you can do better next time. I've got *two* of them -- one is the old 120S, with both apertures the same, no B, and no tripod mount; the other is the newer N with two actual apertures, B, and tripod socket -- but not the superfancy one with built-in flash and rotating color gels...
Honestly, I get better results with my Brownie Hawkeye Flash (instant and B, but fixed focus) -- but I still keep the Holgas around to remind me what *not being in control* feels like.
So much truth 😂 love it. I found my Holga to be challenging but so much fun🎉
You pretty much summed up all my experiences with my Holga. The only other item I would add is when you realize you exposed 6 of the 12 shots with the lens cap on. I love my Holga.
This is what I do: On my Holga 120N I put a step up ring in it for a 49mm filter (literally just shoved it into it... theres no threads but the step up ring cuts into the soft plastic decent enough) and then use the red Tiffen 49mm filter with Kodak TX400 or Ilford HP5 ... then also around my neck is a Nikon FA with a 80-200mm Zoom Nikkor lens and Kodak Portra 800 film.. one 120 camera and one 35mm.. the Holga for B&W and the Nikon FA for color shots.. Best approximation on the Holga for focusing is the single person is roughly 3ft, three people = 6 feet, group shot = 18 feet, mountains = 30+ feet... seems to work decent for me and I try to always shoot with the sun behind me if possible.. I tape up the back personally for light leaks but honestly I think leaving it untaped sometimes adds character to the photos but thats just me.. I still tape mine up just cause when Im doing B&W I dont want light leaks..
Great review! The best camera in the world is the one you use the most. The Holga cameras are a whole experience on themselves. You can find them so cheap, that I cannot say no.
Ah the Dark Souls of photography
You can get a Holga lens for Nikon and Canon DSLRs. I put one on my Canon EOS T1 (yeah.. I know that camera is ancient) and take those same crappy pictures with a lot less headache and film cost. It makes digital pics look kinda cool, especially when you tweak color and black and white filter settings.
6x12 Holga is a cheap base for DIY panoramic camera with Super Angulon lens
I've seen these cameras pop up at goodwills before but never knew much about them. Glad you made a video!
At 1:30 of a 6:30 minute video I know the Holga is not the best camera ever made. But I knew it going in.
When I want to shoot an area that I have shot before, I take my Holga‘s to get completely different views, and leave the Leicas behind. I have had so much fun since I discovered Holgas and I generally have one loaded with black and white, one with color, and one with Lomo turquoise. I’m set for anything.
Brilliant summary !!
LOL. But how do you really feel?
I just got a kodak brownie six-20 C.
I am going to be respooling some rolls of 120 and trying it out, I have a feeling it will be a similar experience, no focus, just try to get the subject 3+ meters away. No shutter control, roughly 1/50th and bulb. Fixed aperture at F11.
It is however, unlike the Holga, well made, being all metal for the most part, and quick testing with strips of 35mm doesn't seem to leak light.
I will also have some fun attempting to develop the probably 1950s or 60s Agfa isopan film that was in it when I got it. It was wound to the last frame so I am pretty sure it has been exposed by someone else, decades and decades ago.
Also, quick question how would you develop this, I was thinking that since I have no idea how exposed or degraded it is, stand development in rodinal may be my best option but I've only done analog photography for two years so it would be nice to hear the opinions of someone more experienced.
At least I’m in the 1% on something.
😂😂😂😂
This is a great review. I thought it would be fun to use a Holga last year for the Frugal Film Project. Twelve months of shooting with it. Well before the end of the year, I hated it.
I had one in college, they are fun to with. You have to give up control. I think there’s value in that when art making.
I did a series where I shot in the studio with lights a fake background that looked like misty rocks with the holga. Scanned them in composited different things and people falling towards those rocks. Then made a digital negative and printed them in the darkroom. It was a fun project. Looking back it really wasn’t a clever ad I thought. There really wasn’t an underlying reason or conceptual framework for doing such a convoluted process. But it was fun. And it really push my technical and problem solving skills on many fronts.
But a camera like that gives you permission to experiment. It allows one to take a left turn when a right one sees to be a more obvious choice.
Enjoyed the video. Think I'll get one!
My Holga laughs at me every time I'm trying to shoot a great image. Meanwhile, I have changed my quality targets. When I want flair, unsharpness, or dark edges I use the HOLGA. It's always a matter you are looking for.
I would prefer a homemade pinhole camera. double the fun: building and photographing
i use Holga lenses for 1080p and 4K vids (i know, it sounds illogical) with my Lumix cameras. With the small sensor i dont have vignetting and i always have a Holga lens wherever i go!
This is the best review I ever seen on UA-cam. I agree with every word. I have shot too many rolls with this piece of crap. Though a crap camera, I love your subjects in these images, there are some really beautiful images otherwise. Obviously I am a big fan of William Eggleston, having a soft spot for banal photography. Especially when it is relating to American design from the past, so simple and beautiful design. Thanks for sharing this energetic point of view, can't wait for the next video.
Very enjoyable. Love your sense of humour!
I use Kentmere 100 and stand development. Any bromide drag only helps. For a darker day, you might try a 200 or 400 film, but I haven't dared to try a color film yet. A roll of Porntra 400 would cost more than my Holga did. ($12 from UPP - paying more than that would have been dumb.) Mine doesn't even have bulb mode.
I think anyone shooting large format and thinking "this is too easy, I need more of a challenge" probably needs a stay in Bellevue more than they need a Holga
Get a box Brownie.
I have two
@@TheNakedPhotographer I have two Kodak Brownies as well. One I modified to use 120 instead of 116 and some other modifications. It takes pretty decent pictures at the smallest aperture when using a tripod.
I can tell you love this camera.
thanks for the uplifting video, buddy.
The great thing about it is that it makes everything look 100 years old. What’s not to love about that? I don’t know what pain you’re talking about. Maybe loosen up and stop trying to control something that is entirely uncontrollable?
It's hard to use for anybody that get used to believe in perfection as a synonym of good photography.
When I pick up this camera I know I'm looking for specific look, and match my artistic vision for the project, whatever it is. Proper tool for proper job.
This plastic lomo camera meets my expectation, often used with cheap film with a lot of experiment involved.
What's more I adore the pinhole look, distortions, and every imperfection it brings to the table. Personally I find only light leaks a little bit annoying but I believe some modification can remove it (not talking about black taping it around) but rather additional sealing.
Thanks for video, happy photographing :)
That is the purpose of Holga is make you insane. Holga is surprise. Photography
Anyway to Frankenstein a better lens onto it?
The hotshoe works surprisingly, had a lot of fun with my canon speedlite worth about 20x the holga.
I had an amazing shot of my gf on a row boat in a lake. I thought it was on a different camera and couldn’t believe it was on the Holga, which are usually blurred to hell
I live in Prague so Fomapan is the name of the game with the holga. I’m thinking about getting one of the collapsible 6xX cameras like a Perkeo or a Bessa as I can’t stand the value of the film compared to the value of the camera. Seems wasteful.
Sounds like a quote..... "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning"!! 😂🤣😂 Brilliant review 🙂
Holgalicious! ❤ Dance with the multiclicks. The perfect groove.
I've rarely seen bad pictures from the Kodak Instamatic and yet there were no controls on it.
Correct in every way.
good one
Nah, that title goes to brownie. That meniscus lens and early 20th century feel
I could fight a bear
It is pure Zen. You choose the film speed and then just shoot whatever will yield the right exposure.
1. I took a poetry class and the first exercise was to write a poem using words that would fit the rhythm and rhyme but not make any sense as a sentence. 2. Light can inside around the Holga's shutter. 3. Life is full of happy accidents which is the Holga's greatest strength. 4. Use stand development. 5. If the Holga does not meet your standards, lower your standards. 6. Learn photography with a Smena which requires you to estimate exposure and focus but has a surprisingly reasonable three-element lens.
Interesting. I picked up a Holga years ago more like well over a decade ago, and if I recall I've only shot 1 roll of film through it. I can only remember liking 2 of the 12 shots, but hey, I'll take those odds. I should get it out again and play. Reminds me, I have two zero image pinhole cameras (4x5 and 6x12) that I forgot I have. Man, I really have too many cameras.
I was about to start also analog aesthetics but when i saw that i have to pay 12 euro only for black and white 16x shoots i was shooked im not used to that
Definitely my favorite Holga review :) Hilarious and accurate.
Not die cast...it’s called injection molded
Yes
Holga, the Zen coan of photography
There is a 120GCFN version with a flash available :-) for open box for $36. And Holga 120N Medium Format Film Camera (Black) with 120 Film Bundle for merely 44.95+tax and free shipping&handling
The main problem I have with Holgas are the unavoidable light leaks. Having to wrap tons of tape around a camera just to get usable negatives has nothing to do with photography. It's just bad product design. Apart from that they can be fun.
The FIND Lab has a video on how to just tape two spots on the inside 😮. I’ve never taped the outside. That does seem like a pain in the butt.
Isn't a Holga about the same thing as those Chinese plastic "cameras" that Time-Life used to give away as new subscription inducements? They were shaped to look like a 35mm SLR, but were just view-peep box cameras, one or two apertures and one-speed shutter.
Yes, but this is one of the few medium format versions. Most of those giveaway cameras were 35mm
Just to be clear then, do you like it or not?
😆😆😆😆
Thank you sir. You have saved my wallet many tears ;-)
One of the best 'cameras' ever made, especially for beginners, who will need to learn and apply sunny 16, understand film speed and most importantly, practice good composition.
Also check out Michael Kenna Holga.
Is there a difference with using one of these old box camera's like the Agfa box of an KModak Brownie?
Yes, take the old Agfa or Kodak camera, throw it on the ground and kick it as hard as you can into a wall. Then do it again. It should now be about as bad as a brand new Holga.
I think they were less susceptible to light leaks than the Holga, also, they were decent quality, they worked.
And they were usually fixed focus at infinity. So rather than guessing focus, you knew that as long as the subject was more than a certain distance away, it would be in focus.
But other than that, a basic box camera is similar I guess, if much better quality.
But there's more, many old box cameras actually had more features, some had two aperture settings, so you could pull out a diaphragm for faster film or brighter scenes, as well as bringing the minimum focus distance a foot or so closer.
Additinally some box cameras even had a lever you could pull to put a yellow filter over the camera, helping to darken the blues and make the at the time very common ortho film look more natural, or bring out clouds in landscapes.
So some box cameras were in fact a *lot* more advanced than the Holga, and pretty much all of them were of much better quality.
It is basically modern day box camera.
What are your opinions on Holga 120 WPC
Great Video :)
Accurate.
Super funny thank you
I love my Holga(s) and I loooooove your review cause you are so right 🤣#
Yes I wasted a lot of rolls with it, but hey, those shots that made it are fantastic. And I mean it 🙃
Jokes aside, I have used the Holga for ten years in school projects. The kids loved it, they loved they can shoot cool stuff without having to put a filter on it on their smartphones. And the simplicity of the Holga allowed me to teach them creativity and thinking out of the box.
Yes it is not for everybody, if you are sharpness and perfection and control freak then this lovely camera will get you in the grave.
Fun Holga fact: the aperture does nothing!
I used to shoot a lot of Holga back in the day, and since I couldn't get a hang on the damn aperture. So I took the damn thing apart and realised the large aperture was actually behind the small one! Much good does that that do! :D
You can check your own by opening the back, setting to bulb mode and change the aperture slowly as you look through it.
Piece of rubbish. But used to love the damn thing!
It depends on the Model. Some do have aperture, and it works 😅
hehe great points.
It is funny because it’s true! You should be glad that you got one of the newer versions with an actual difference between the two f-stop settings (and even film tensioning thingies). The rest of flaws are still there nevertheless…
And why do you think I have four of them?
I accidentally have two 😆
Blasphemy ! All Hail the Holga ! thanks for the honest review though.
Can I take it that you no longer use the holga ? I don't think colour film is as well suited as B&W
Look at Martin Henson's work.
Only pain and misery
I actually have a lot of fun with Holgas!!! They are a special niche and not for every occasion, but can give coo results!!!
It is a poor man's camera for use by a rich man who can afford to throw another roll of film in the trash.
😂
it’s a bit late for April 1 isn’t it
🤣😂
Trying the same thing over and over expecting different results isn't madness. It is is empirical research.
Holga is not a challenging camera like say a view camera or a pinhole camera, it’s challenging because it’s a piece of junk. If it didn’t provide eminently printable or scannable 6x6 negatives, nobody would care about it at all.