Holga & 'toy' 120 camera photogs fall in

rubric · 2nd April 2005

Want to know how many of you frequently shoot with your Holga/Woca/Lubitel camera, and whether you have any tips to share. I've got two lubitels and they work great, mainly because I use a lightmeter and get to control the shutter speed and aperture.

But I don't seem to have much luck with the Holgas/Wocas. I get many more misses than hits. I've done various modifications like flocking of camera body, taped over holes and 'seams', thrown out the lens caps

, wedged paper under the film spool, etc. I've been reading quite a bit on the net and seen lots of nice photos from folks all over the world especially the US, but not seen that many good photos and tips from local toy 120 photogs. Hope to hear from some toy camera gurus out there! Thanks.

pipefish · 6th April 2005

I'm not a guru but I really like my Holga. Its my only camera, apart from my little canon digital which I use to take pics of my son. I've owned most of the Jap and German brands but I find that the Holga gives me the results I want.

I find that the Holga I bought from Perly is a lot better than the one I got from the shops. Perly's has the 6x6 mask and little sponge bits to tension the film. It still vignettes, and from time to time will leak light.

I think the main reason why pp get lousy results from the Holga is because they don't give it enough respect and just anyhow take photos. You still have to focus properly using the scale, compose and judge the light. If you search enough on the web, you'll see that pp have gotten very good results with the Holga.

For color, I use 100 speed slide film and shoot only in bright light (the Holga is f11 and 1/100) and push 1/2 stops. I can't get the color I want using negative film. For BW, I use HP5 (or TriX if you can get hold of it) as it has sufficient exposure latitude.

cjsk · 6th April 2005

i've owned the holga for just over 2 weeks now.. i reaally love it.. you can check my deviantart for some photos from the holga..

rubric · 7th April 2005

Hi pipefish. Thank you for the information. I do like the Holga and respect it a lot, maybe I just need to burn more rolls of film to get used to it

. I often forget about focusing, so that's a big problem for me. I'm surprised that it's important as the lens seems primitive to me, but I've read other people talk about focusing too. Do you have any photos to share? TIA.

tkp77 · 8th April 2005

Hi people....

I Just got my Holga from perly on Monday, and I bought my first roll of 120mm fuji NPC color negative yesterday.

This is my first time using a medium format camera, and using the 120mm film.
I have a question, (might sound stupid...)

When I load the film, I wind until I saw the word "START". Is this frame no. 1?
Or I have to continue wind until I see the Number "1"??

And if I am using 35mm mod for holga, how do I know where the first frame starts? and how many times I need to wind after each exposure?

Thanks people... I need to learn alot from you all...

Cheers,
Francis Tan.

defector · 8th April 2005

nope you should see the number '1' in the window. then it is on frame 1 and before the number you should see arrows on the red window then the number. on a 35mm its a bit more complicated. the trick is to listen to the click sound.

here is a few link for you. alternatively you do search on google.

modifications holgamods
Toycamera.com
lomography tips

happy taking

tkp77 · 8th April 2005

Thanks,

Appreciate the reply...
It helps a newbie here to start taking photos on a holga.

Thanks.

pipefish · 8th April 2005

Originally Posted by rubric

Hi pipefish. Thank you for the information. I do like the Holga and respect it a lot, maybe I just need to burn more rolls of film to get used to it . I often forget about focusing, so that's a big problem for me. I'm surprised that it's important as the lens seems primitive to me, but I've read other people talk about focusing too. Do you have any photos to share? TIA.

If you focus, the negs should be sharp. I only bother with both ends of the scale (3ft and infinity) as the lens is around f8-11 which should give you plenty of depth of field.

I don't know how to post photos though. Can you PM me your email address? I'll send them to you when I scan the prints.

PS: when I was in Beijing, I saw Holga photos taken by David Burnett, an American photojournalist enlarged and printed digitally to 1mx1m. Very nice. He used the camera to cover the US olympic athletics trials.

cyanwater · 8th April 2005

Originally Posted by pipefish

PS: when I was in Beijing, I saw Holga photos taken by David Burnett, an American photojournalist enlarged and printed digitally to 1mx1m. Very nice. He used the camera to cover the US olympic atheletics trials.

I'm impressed. Time to dust my Holga and put it to good use!

rubric · 9th April 2005

Hi cyanwater. Didn't know you're here too. Lubitel.

rubric · 9th April 2005

Francis, if you use Fuji film, the markings are clear, though sometimes if I get distracted or over eager, I may miss the frame number.

Ilford films are a lot harder as the numbers are really faint. I just found this today:
http://www.lomo.us/forums/showthread.php?t=1282

rubric · 9th April 2005

Just wanted to share some of my toy 120 camera photos:
http://lubitelee.blogspot.com/2005/0...s-day-out.html
They are the result of many many rolls of trying, especially for the holgas.

Hope to see photos from other people too, so that we can learn from one another.

cyanwater · 9th April 2005

Originally Posted by rubric

Hi cyanwater. Didn't know you're here too. Lubitel.

Haha Hi! I know that you!

tkp77 · 9th April 2005

Hi people....

Another questions... keke... pai seh...

I am shooting using the 6x6 adaptor in my holga.
So when I develope the film, must I tell the store its 6x6??

and how much will it cost for such developing?

Thanks...

ady · 9th April 2005

Yes. You need to let them know.

defector · 9th April 2005

Originally Posted by tkp77

Hi people....

Another questions... keke... pai seh...

I am shooting using the 6x6 adaptor in my holga.
So when I develope the film, must I tell the store its 6x6??

and how much will it cost for such developing?

Thanks...

for ruby, i developed a roll of 6x6 b&w on 3R film and i was charged 13.80 in all. Affordable for me.

At my place in the west the photo shop charges me 4 bucks for a roll of 6 x 6 C process only. Digital film scan is 7 bucks. Developing of photos about 50 cents a piece. So on the average i think one roll of 6x6 should be about 4 to 6 bucks.. and the prints is also quite standard on a 4 R costing about 40 -50 cents each..

tkp77 · 10th April 2005

Originally Posted by defector

for ruby, i developed a roll of 6x6 b&w on 3R film and i was charged 13.80 in all. Affordable for me.

At my place in the west the photo shop charges me 4 bucks for a roll of 6 x 6 C process only. Digital film scan is 7 bucks. Developing of photos about 50 cents a piece. So on the average i think one roll of 6x6 should be about 4 to 6 bucks.. and the prints is also quite standard on a 4 R costing about 40 -50 cents each..

Thanks for the reply....
Wah... its consider quite ex for newbie like me.... cos maybe 99.99% of the photos might be crap...

Anyway, I will try to learn more from you guys, so that I can ensure that at least 50% of the shots are good hit.

I have finish my first roll of 12 exposure, and will sent it for process on monday, and I will post it in CS for the comments, & guidance....

Cheers, & thanks for the info...
Francis Tan.

zhuozehai · 10th April 2005

eh cyan and lubi all here sia. hi all!
tkp77, just keep shooting and 50% will come out perfect! practice practice practice~

rubric · 10th April 2005

Hey Zehai. Show me some photos and give me more detailed advice lah

zhuozehai · 10th April 2005

lubi, im still at the practice practice practice phase. haha. i usually lazy to post pictures cos no time. think cyan better at giving advices. she got very nice pictures

2nd April 2005	#1
rubric Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Somewhere East Posts: 727	Holga & 'toy' 120 camera photogs fall in Want to know how many of you frequently shoot with your Holga/Woca/Lubitel camera, and whether you have any tips to share. I've got two lubitels and they work great, mainly because I use a lightmeter and get to control the shutter speed and aperture. But I don't seem to have much luck with the Holgas/Wocas. I get many more misses than hits. I've done various modifications like flocking of camera body, taped over holes and 'seams', thrown out the lens caps , wedged paper under the film spool, etc. I've been reading quite a bit on the net and seen lots of nice photos from folks all over the world especially the US, but not seen that many good photos and tips from local toy 120 photogs. Hope to hear from some toy camera gurus out there! Thanks.

8th April 2005	#6
defector New Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 35	nope you should see the number '1' in the window. then it is on frame 1 and before the number you should see arrows on the red window then the number. on a 35mm its a bit more complicated. the trick is to listen to the click sound. here is a few link for you. alternatively you do search on google. modifications holgamods Toycamera.com lomography tips happy taking Last edited by defector; 8th April 2005 at 12:37 PM.

6th April 2005	#2
pipefish Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 347	I'm not a guru but I really like my Holga. Its my only camera, apart from my little canon digital which I use to take pics of my son. I've owned most of the Jap and German brands but I find that the Holga gives me the results I want. I find that the Holga I bought from Perly is a lot better than the one I got from the shops. Perly's has the 6x6 mask and little sponge bits to tension the film. It still vignettes, and from time to time will leak light. I think the main reason why pp get lousy results from the Holga is because they don't give it enough respect and just anyhow take photos. You still have to focus properly using the scale, compose and judge the light. If you search enough on the web, you'll see that pp have gotten very good results with the Holga. For color, I use 100 speed slide film and shoot only in bright light (the Holga is f11 and 1/100) and push 1/2 stops. I can't get the color I want using negative film. For BW, I use HP5 (or TriX if you can get hold of it) as it has sufficient exposure latitude.

6th April 2005	#3
cjsk New Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5	i've owned the holga for just over 2 weeks now.. i reaally love it.. you can check my deviantart for some photos from the holga..

7th April 2005	#4
rubric Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Somewhere East Posts: 727	Hi pipefish. Thank you for the information. I do like the Holga and respect it a lot, maybe I just need to burn more rolls of film to get used to it . I often forget about focusing, so that's a big problem for me. I'm surprised that it's important as the lens seems primitive to me, but I've read other people talk about focusing too. Do you have any photos to share? TIA.

8th April 2005	#5
tkp77 Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Sengkang Posts: 999	Hi people.... I Just got my Holga from perly on Monday, and I bought my first roll of 120mm fuji NPC color negative yesterday. This is my first time using a medium format camera, and using the 120mm film. I have a question, (might sound stupid...) When I load the film, I wind until I saw the word "START". Is this frame no. 1? Or I have to continue wind until I see the Number "1"?? And if I am using 35mm mod for holga, how do I know where the first frame starts? and how many times I need to wind after each exposure? Thanks people... I need to learn alot from you all... Cheers, Francis Tan.

9th April 2005	#10
rubric Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Somewhere East Posts: 727	Hi cyanwater. Didn't know you're here too. Lubitel.

9th April 2005	#15
ady Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 80	Yes. You need to let them know.

10th April 2005	#18
zhuozehai Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 56	eh cyan and lubi all here sia. hi all! tkp77, just keep shooting and 50% will come out perfect! practice practice practice~