Holga

The Holga is a medium format 120 film camera, made in Hong Kong, known for its low-fidelity aesthetic.

The Holga's low-cost construction and simple meniscus lens often yields pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks and other distortions. The camera's limitations have brought it a cult following among some photographers, and Holga photos have won awards and competitions in art and news photography.[2] As of July 2017, the camera was in production after being unavailable for two years.

History

The Holga camera was designed by Lee Ting-mo[3] in 1982.[4] It first appeared in 1982 in British Hong Kong.[5]

Models

120 film

Holga 120S – The original Holga, since discontinued. Fixed shutter speed at 1/100s, adjustable focus from 3 feet to infinity, plastic 60 mm f/8 meniscus lens, two-position f-stop switch which stops the lens to f/11, hot shoe, and 6x4.5 cm film mask.
WOCA – A Holga 120S with a Japanese-supplied glass meniscus lens, since discontinued and replaced by the Holga 120GN, which recalled the lens nomenclature for meniscus.
Holga 120N – Updated version with plastic 60 mm f/8 lens, tripod mount, bulb exposure mode, improved film counter window switch, foam inserts to provide film spool tensioning, and an additional 6x6 cm film mask
Holga 120SF – A standard Holga 120S, with built-in flash
Holga 120FN – A Holga 120N with built-in flash
Holga 120CFN – A Holga 120FN with built-in color flash
Holga 120GN – A Holga 120N with glass lens
Holga 120GFN – A Holga 120FN with glass lens and built-in flash
Holga 120GCFN – A Holga 120FN with color flash and glass lens
Holga 120TLR – A Holga 120CFN with a twin-lens reflex (TLR) viewfinder in lieu of the standard viewfinder, with a relocated color flash
Holga 120GTLR – A Holga 120TLR with glass lens
Holga 120PC – A pinhole version of the 120N using 6x4.5 cm or 6x6 cm format
Holga 120WPC – A wide pinhole version of the 120N using 6x9 or 6x12 cm format
Holga 120-3D Stereo Camera – Two lenses in a wide body
Holga 120 3D Stereo Pinhole Camera – Two pinhole lenses in a wide body
Holga 120 Pan Panoramic Camera – This is a wide angle panoramic camera. It is possible to capture scenes spanning from left to right. The lens has a 67 degree angle of view, equivalent to about 28mm on 35mm format.

110 film

Holga Micro 110 – Standard 26 mm 110 holga
Holga 110 TFS – A 110 camera with a switchable standard, and telephoto format

135 film (35mm)

Holga 135 – A Holga with 35 mm film
Holga 135BC – A Holga already made for 35 mm film, plastic lens and the same lens mount of the Holgas 120 but with 47 mm lens, f1:8 or 1:11 and shutter speed 1/100. "BC" means "Black Corners"; the 135BC model has a built in transparent mask which creates a vignetting effect
Holga 135PC – The pinhole version of the Holga 135 BC
Holga 135AFX – 38 mm f/3.8 lens with infrared autofocus, automatic film load, built-in pop-up flash and interlock shutter release
WOCA NF-4 - 38mm f/8 Glass Lens from Japan. Shares a body with the Holga 135 but has a different style lens.[12]
Holga K202 – Meow Kitty camera in the shape of a cat face with blinking lights and cat sound.
Holga K200N – A 35 mm film point-and-shoot Holga with colour flash and a dismountable fisheye.
Holga K200NM – The K200N plus a fisheye viewer and a multiple exposure button.
Holga 135TIM – A half-frame 35 mm Holga.
Holga 135TLR – A Holga 35 mm twin lens reflex.

Digital Holga lenses

Holga HL-C – A 60 mm f/8 Holga lens with Canon EF-mount.
Holga HL-N – A 60 mm f/8 Holga lens with Nikon F-mount.
Holga HL-O – A 60 mm f/8 Holga lens with Four-Thirds mount, for Olympus DSLR cameras.
Holga HL-P – A 60 mm f/8 Holga lens for Pentax DSLR cameras with K-mount.
Holga HL-S – A 60 mm f/8 Holga lens for Konica Minolta/Sony DSLR cameras with A-mount.
Holga HL(W)-OP – A 25 mm f/8 Holga lens with Micro Four-Thirds mount, with lettering for Olympus PEN cameras.
Holga HL(W)-PLG – A 25 mm f/8 Holga lens with Micro Four-Thirds mount, with lettering for Panasonic Lumix G cameras.
Holga HL(W)-SN – A 25 mm f/8 Holga lens with Sony E-mount.
Holga HL(W)-SSN – A 29 mm f/8 Holga lens with Samsung NX-mount.

Modifications and variants

Holga cameras are often modified: Some modifications permit the use of other film formats:

A Holga's interior can be "flocked"—coated with matte black paint—in order to limit the effect of light bouncing off the plastic interior from light leaks.[19]

The red window on the camera back can be blocked by an improvised cover to eliminate light leaks when using panchromatic films

The Holga's aperture switch can be modified as needed to provide a larger ('cloudy') or smaller ('sunny') aperture.[17][20]

The lens, and sometimes the entire shutter assembly, can be replaced with a pinhole (the "Pinholga").[21]

The plastic lens can be replaced with a glass version (the "Woca") or can be completely removed.

Newer models of the camera come with multiple optional frame inserts (4.5 × 6 cm and 6 × 6 cm). Shooting without an insert can lead to problems keeping the 120 size film flat against the film plane.

Inserting cardboard or foam or felt padding under or behind the film spool to provide proper film tensioning

The Holga TIM camera has two fixed focus plastic lenses which work simultaneously, allowing for the capture of 3D images.[22]

Holga cameras have been used for making wet plate collodion images, or "Holgatypes".

Holga cameras may be fitted with a Polaroid back, allowing use of Polaroid 80 series instant film, or with newer models, 100 series film (but the image is not centered). This modification, sometimes termed a "Holgaroid" or "Polga", renders the viewfinder unusable, but allows for instant Holga prints.

By sandwiching a normal 35 mm roll of film into the Holga's 120 spool, "sprocket hole" exposures may be taken that expose the entire surface of 135 film.[23][24]

Cameras such as the Hasselblad have been modified to make use of a Holga lens.[25]

Holga plastic lenses have also been adapted to the Canon EOS, the Nikon f-mount, Pentax, Sony, Olympus and Minolta. An f-mount, 'melted' plastic Holga lens has been used on a digital f-mount camera while the EOS Holga has been mounted to the latest Canon DSLRs. Adapted lenses are also commercially available.[21]

Concept Holga D

In 2010, designer Saikat Biswas proposed a concept for a digital version of the Holga camera, called Holga D. It has a modernized case, but retains the simplicity of the original camera. However, there is no evidence of current plans to produce this device, or produce any other digital version.[28]

Holga Digital

On 27 August 2015, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund the creation of a digital camera styled after a Holga 120, called the Holga Digital.[29][30] This model includes a glass optic with and aperture settings[31] and a sliding switch that alternates between black and white and color mode.[32]

camera model	Holga
manufacturer	Various
camera type	Box camera
filmformat	120
filmsize	56 mm × 56 mm (6x4.5 cm or 6x6 cm film format)
recording medium	120 film
lens system	60 mm plastic meniscus
focus type	Manual zone (four settings)‡R1R‡
shutter speeds	1/100 or 1/125,‡R1R‡ Bulb‡R1R‡
f numbers	, ‡R1R‡
date	1982

History

Models

120 film

110 film

135 film (35mm)

Digital Holga lenses

Lens and aperture settings

Film format

Modifications and variants

Concept Holga D

Holga Digital

Accessories

Observation

See also

References

Holga Lens