Holga/120mm Help.

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Suzanne

Holga Lover
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Dec 22, 2008
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Owensboro, KY
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Hi guys.

I got a Holga for Christmas last weekend. I was super excited to go out and shoot with this camera. Over the course of the weekend, I shot 2 rolls on the Holga nad about 100 shots on my Canon Rebel. This is my problem. Some of the shots with my Holga, I took the same shots with the Rebel. No flash on the Rebel. I wanted to compare the shots once I got my film developed.

I took the film to the only place in town that could develop the film. That was Monday. Beings yesterday was Christmas, she called me today and says....."Suzanne, we can't put your pictures on paper or a disc. There is no definition to them." She couldn't describe it, but would show me when I got there. Ok, what does this mean? Did I not shoot this cheap camera right? Are they retarded and just don't wan't to put them on paper? I don't really understand. I have been super excited to see these pictures, so that I could tell which direction I needed to go with this camera. Now this is 2 rolls of film she supposedly can't put on paper. Now, I have shot film all my life, and I don't think I am this retarded when it comes to cameras. I do however doubt these developers and don't think they quiet understand what I am going for. :bang:

I guess I will see Monday when I get down there, but until then, any advice would be great!
 
First, welcome to RFF.

It would be a lot easier to comment if you could post images of the negatives. At a guess I would say there was an exposure problem and the negatives are either too thin or too dense. Did you ask the lady what she meant?

I don't know much about Holgas but I understand they often have exposure and/or light leak problems. Looks like you are going to have to wait to see the negatives. We do have a couple of members who sometimes use Holgas, maybe they can help from experience.
 
OTH....Thank you.

As far as scanning the negs in, I don't have the negs yet. I took the pictures in all kinds of light, outside, inside, flash, no flash. I just have a hard time believing every shot is dead.

As far as the light leaks, I was waiting to see how the pictures came out to see if I wanted to take advantage of the electrical tape for the camera, or for my tool box.

Guess I have to wait till Monday. UGH!

Thanks guys. Any other advice would be great.
 
Jay Peg said:
I'm unclear to what they mean when they say there's no definition to your pictures because it doesn't necessarily say a lot.

This is all she said, when I asked what she meant, she said she would have to show me when I got there. I'm thinking there is something there, and they just don't want to mess with it. I am tempted to call her back and ask them to put them on paper anyway.

What kind of lighting (EV) were your pictures taken in? Do you remember the kind of film and if you used flash by any chance? We can't help you if we don't have the details...

One roll was Fuji, I don't know what the other roll was, it was the roll that came with the camera kit. One roll was ISO 100 and I believe the other roll was ISO 400.

Usually, if you've underexposed the subject by one stop, your pictures CAN be saved, the background however will require much more work because Holga pictures don't tend to be evenly lit unless you're in BRIGHT sunlight or are using high iso + flash upclose (3 feet close).

I shot indoors and outdoors, in bright lit rooms with the flash and close up to most of my objects.
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Reply in red.
 
Often the phrase "There is no definition to them" is the standard description of a Holga negative. Ask if it is possible to make a contact sheet, or full page scan of the roll.
 
Chris101 said:
Often the phrase "There is no definition to them" is the standard description of a Holga negative. Ask if it is possible to make a contact sheet, or full page scan of the roll.
Click to expand...

I am going to go down there at lunch. This just really bothers me. I have two more rolls to process and I didn't get a good vibe from these people. Especially when I asked them to cross process one roll. She looked at me like I was an idiot. The other closest developer is an hour away, unless I find one in Columbus, OH to take care of this for me when I am in town.
 
Ok. So I just got back to work from going to the developers. There were pictures on the negatives. They were clearly there. They can't make me a contact sheet, and they said they develop them like 35mm film, so no cross processing there. I told them to go ahead and put them on paper. I didn't care if there was nothing in the frame, put it on paper. So we will see how they turn out this afternoon.

Thanks for all your help.
 
Good luck with your negatives.

Yes, they can xpro. It's just that they don't know they can.

Plan A: Stick a label on the Fujichrome (or whatever) with a big 'C41' on it and hand in without saying a word.

Plan B: Eyeball exactly what machine they're using. Find the manual online. Print the page that tells them they can do E6, and show it to them.

A standard sort of minilab can do up to 5% E6 (xpro) safely. And as you're likely the only weirdo locally doing xpro you'll not exceed their limit.

I do xpro all the time with small town minilabs and the two plans outlined above work for me.
 
I wish I had somewhere around here that did c-41 process on 120. I just finished a roll of Fuji supera 100 asa. I took the shots @ night using a tripod & time exposures of several minuets. Holgas are great cameras It's always a hit or miss but the hits are well worth it. Have you read the Holga manual by Michelle Bates.
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/pdf/holga-manual.pdf
 
"No definition" is really non descriptive. My guess would be that they are simply not used to Holga negatives. Hopefully they can simply print them on photo paper, as someone else said many minilabs can develop 120 but they can't print it. That is the case with my local lab, and they charge 6 or 7 dollars per frame to scan. My solution was to buy equipment to process B&W 120 myself, plus a flatbed film scanner. If I want prints I take it to the local camera shop and they send it away.

If you're really into the Holga, I would suggest checking out another forum (hopefully it's okay for me to post this). www.toycamera.com is dedicated entirely to plastic cameras like the Holga, and there are some very helpful people over there.
 
ClaremontPhoto said:
Good luck with your negatives.

Yes, they can xpro. It's just that they don't know they can.

Plan A: Stick a label on the Fujichrome (or whatever) with a big 'C41' on it and hand in without saying a word.

Plan B: Eyeball exactly what machine they're using. Find the manual online. Print the page that tells them they can do E6, and show it to them.

A standard sort of minilab can do up to 5% E6 (xpro) safely. And as you're likely the only weirdo locally doing xpro you'll not exceed their limit.

I do xpro all the time with small town minilabs and the two plans outlined above work for me.
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Ok, I will make sure I keep this in mind next time I drop film off.

ClaremontPhoto said:
To add:

Look at pinkiestyle and lowrevolution and chat to them about Holga stuff. They are great photographers and very friendly.

Tell them I sent you.
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This Lady, pinkistyle lives in Columbus. I am in Columbus every other weekend to visit my boyfriend. So she probably has a developer there. I will try to contact her.

Thank you.!!!!!

gb hill said:
I wish I had somewhere around here that did c-41 process on 120. I just finished a roll of Fuji supera 100 asa. I took the shots @ night using a tripod & time exposures of several minuets. Holgas are great cameras It's always a hit or miss but the hits are well worth it. Have you read the Holga manual by Michelle Bates.
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/pdf/holga-manual.pdf
Click to expand...

Hadn't read it, but it is sitting on the printer for me to print out and read this weekend! Thank you.


Wow, you guys are great! Thank you so much!
 
Sounds like these people might be a thorn in your side.

You might do well to get a flatbed scanner to scan your 120 film. These days the inexpensive ones do surprising well. Of course the scans won't be Nikon 9000 quality but not bad for a couple hundred dollars.
 
I've taken lots of photos with a Holga or Diana and was always surprised at the quality of the shots in so many situations. I shot 100 and 400 BW film and processed it myself but without any special timing or push/pulling. Using a good bw film in a simple reel/tank setup is very satisfying. It's also very forgiving.
Yes, you will need a scanner but that gives you all sorts of opportunities for experimenting.
 
iamzip said:
"No definition" is really non descriptive. My guess would be that they are simply not used to Holga negatives. Hopefully they can simply print them on photo paper, as someone else said many minilabs can develop 120 but they can't print it. That is the case with my local lab, and they charge 6 or 7 dollars per frame to scan. My solution was to buy equipment to process B&W 120 myself, plus a flatbed film scanner. If I want prints I take it to the local camera shop and they send it away.

If you're really into the Holga, I would suggest checking out another forum (hopefully it's okay for me to post this). www.toycamera.com is dedicated entirely to plastic cameras like the Holga, and there are some very helpful people over there.
Click to expand...

My problem was it was 120 Colour film. Only because my boyfriend is trying to convert me over to colour and thats what he bought with the camera. I have checked out toycamera(thanks for the link) and am looking into developing my own b&w.

Thardy said:
Sounds like these people might be a thorn in your side.

You might do well to get a flatbed scanner to scan your 120 film. These days the inexpensive ones do surprising well. Of course the scans won't be Nikon 9000 quality but not bad for a couple hundred dollars.
Click to expand...

Definetly a thorn in my side, I won't be going back.

Ducky said:
I've taken lots of photos with a Holga or Diana and was always surprised at the quality of the shots in so many situations. I shot 100 and 400 BW film and processed it myself but without any special timing or push/pulling. Using a good bw film in a simple reel/tank setup is very satisfying. It's also very forgiving.
Yes, you will need a scanner but that gives you all sorts of opportunities for experimenting.
Click to expand...

I picked up some b&w rolls a few hours from my house yesterday and they guy at the camera store actually shoots with a Holga too. So I ended up talking to him for a bit. In high school I developed 35mm and he told me to look into doing my own b&w 120. They couldn't develop, but could put it on paper for me. That is the goal today, research all the stuff I need, get prices, and figure out if I want to do this. Which I think I do. As far as a scanner, that might come really late.

Thanks for all the help. guys. I more than anything know how it is with a newb coming in and asking questions. I know that my motorcycle forum will not be getting as much attention from me from now on.
 
Hi Suzanne,
you can also try shooting loading your Holga with normal 35mm film and see what happens!
Good luck with your negs,
ciao
 
nico said:
Hi Suzanne,
you can also try shooting loading your Holga with normal 35mm film and see what happens!
Good luck with your negs,
ciao
Click to expand...

When I ordered my film last night(yulp, no one in town even has the film), I ordered 6 rolls of 35mm film along with the 120mm. I figured why not give it a try. My boyfriend did some research and we found alot of places in Columbus that will process 120 film, so until I start developing my bw at home, I will drop them off when I am there, and he will pick them up on his way here.

And Jon, thanks for the link to pinkiestyle. I am going to email her today and see exactly who she recommends in Columbus for developing.
 
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