Holga

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Holga
Manufacturer	various
Camera type	box camera
Image sensor type	Film
Image sensor size	56mm × 56mm
Recording medium	120 film
Lens system	60mm plastic meniscus
Focus type	manual zone (four settings)[1]
Shutter speed(s)	1/100[2] or 1/125[1], Bulb[1]
Aperture value(s)	8.0, 11.0[1][2]

The Holga is an inexpensive, medium format 120 film box camera, originating in Hong Kong in 1982^[3], that later came to be appreciated for its low-fidelity aesthetic.

The Holga's cheap construction and simple meniscus lens often yields pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks, and other distortions. Ironically, the camera's quality problems became a virtue among some photographers, with Holga photos winning awards and competitions in art and news photography.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 History 2 Models 3 Lens 4 Modifications and variants 5 Other problems 6 See also 7 References

[edit] History

The camera was originally intended to provide an inexpensive mass-market camera for working-class Chinese in order to record family portraits and events.^{[citation needed]} Its name comes from the phrase "ho gwong," meaning very bright. ^[4]

[edit] Models

• Holga 120S - The original Holga. Fixed shutter speed, adjustable focus, plastic lens, ineffective adjustable f/stop switch, hot shoe, and 6x4.5 film mask. Out of production now.
• Holga 120N - Updated version with the same "Japanese" plastic lens, tripod mount, bulb exposure mode, an easier-to-move film counter window switch, and an additional 6x6 film mask.

• Holga 120SF - A standard Holga 120S, with a flash.
• Holga 120GN - A Holga 120N with a glass lens.
• Holga 120FN - A Holga 120N with a flash.
• Holga 120GFN - A Holga 120FN with a glass lens.
• Holga 120CFN - A Holga 120FN with a color flash.
• Holga 120GCFN - A Holga 120CFN with a glass lens.

[edit] Lens

Most Holga cameras use a single-piece plastic meniscus lens with a focal length of 60 millimeters and can focus from about 1 meter/yard to infinity. There is an aperture switch on the camera with two settings: sunny and cloudy. Due to a manufacturing defect^{[citation needed]}, this switch has no effect and there is only one ('cloudy') aperture of around f/13 - although this switch may be easily modified to provide two usable apertures.

As all single-piece meniscus lenses, the Holga lens exhibits soft focus and chromatic aberration. Other Holga variants, denoted either by the letter 'G' in their model name, or the name WOCA, feature a simple glass lens, but are otherwise identical in construction. Almost the entire circle of light that the Holga lens projects is captured on film, which gives Holga pictures their characteristic vignetting.

[edit] Modifications and variants

Holga cameras are often modified:

• 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.^[5]
• The Holga's aperture switch can be modified to set a large ('cloudy') and small ('sunny') aperture.
• The lens, and sometimes the entire shutter assembly, can be replaced with a pinhole (the "Pinholga").^[6]
• The plastic lens can be replaced with a glass version ("the "Woca").
• Newer models of the camera come with multiple optional frame inserts (6x4.5cm and 6x6cm). Shooting without an insert can lead to problems keeping the 120 size film flat against the film plane.

Some modifications permit the use of other film formats:

• Holga cameras may be fitted with a Polaroid back, allowing use of Polaroid 80 series instant film. This modification, sometimes termed a "Holgaroid", renders the viewfinder unusable.
• By sandwiching a normal 35mm roll of film into the Holga's 120 spool, "sprocket hole" exposures may be taken that expose the entire surface of 135 film.^[7][8]

Cameras such as the Hasselblad have been modified to make use of a Holga lens.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Other problems

• The plastic camera body is prone to fault, often allowing light to leak into the camera.
• Problems with fogging and scratched negatives are also plentiful.

[edit] See also

• The Diana camera (and clones), the Holga equivalents of the 1960s and 70s
• Lomo, another low-quality brand of very cheap equivalents

[edit] References