sanmich
Veteran
I wondered:
Basically, the Holga is a 120 square camera with a so-so lens.
If it is so, why would I try a Holga compared to say, an old low end ikonta with a triplet lens?
Is there anything special about Holga's lens??
Basically, the Holga is a 120 square camera with a so-so lens.
If it is so, why would I try a Holga compared to say, an old low end ikonta with a triplet lens?
Is there anything special about Holga's lens??
chris00nj
Young Luddite
Holga is just marketing. Saying its a so-so lens is being kind. Its a single element plastic lens. It has one shutter speed and a fixed aperture. Any old folder will run rings around it.
The Holga just appeals to the pseudo hipster crowd. The marketing is "here, buy this new widely available commercial product and you will instantly be hip and different." It's like hipster in a can.
The Holga just appeals to the pseudo hipster crowd. The marketing is "here, buy this new widely available commercial product and you will instantly be hip and different." It's like hipster in a can.
DominikDUK
Well-known
Holga does not equal Lomography some serious photographers have made pictures with Holgas. The lens is not so so it's by all standards a very bad lens that produces somewhat soft dreamy or moody pictures. The Holga often has light leaks offers two shutter speeds N about 1/100th and B it also has two apertures f11 and f13. And all those shortcomings are what can make it a wonderful photographic tool. I often say that the Holga requires lot of thinking it's not suited for all subjects but used right it can produce great results. A tool for non thinking photographers it is not.
The Ikonta with triplet is good camera and produces superior results to even the best Leica in terms of tonal rendition and maximum enlargment sizes.
An old Kodak brownie with reversed lens is probably a cheaper option with different results to the Holga and great low fidelity look
Here some links to famous and not so famous photographers that used Holgas
David Burnett: http://www.davidburnett.com/fmsetgallery.html?gallery=Holga Eye
Lee Frost: http://www.leefrost.co.uk/portfolios.asp
http://www.holgainspire.com/html/inspiration.html
The Ikonta with triplet is good camera and produces superior results to even the best Leica in terms of tonal rendition and maximum enlargment sizes.
An old Kodak brownie with reversed lens is probably a cheaper option with different results to the Holga and great low fidelity look
Here some links to famous and not so famous photographers that used Holgas
David Burnett: http://www.davidburnett.com/fmsetgallery.html?gallery=Holga Eye
Lee Frost: http://www.leefrost.co.uk/portfolios.asp
http://www.holgainspire.com/html/inspiration.html
DominikDUK
Well-known
Forgot to say maybe you can rent one (Holga)from a friend and try it out every Holga has its own personality. Then if you like the look you can buy one yourself and use it for one of your photo projects.
Dominik
Dominik
loranger
Member
Holga is a toy, sometimes we just want to stop being serious and have fun.
Phantomas
Well-known
Interesting if slightly unrelated fact - a couple of weeks ago I went to VII website and 4 out of 9 portfolios featured on the front page were shot on Hipstamatic. I know that a lot of top photographers are shooting in this format, but still.
On a related note - I don't use Holga or any other toy camera since I got an iPhone (and Hipstamatic). Rendered them redundant.
On a related note - I don't use Holga or any other toy camera since I got an iPhone (and Hipstamatic). Rendered them redundant.
The Holga is not some new camera... its been around a long long time and the Diana and Fuji Pet before that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holga
If you like the Holga look, then only a Holga will do. If you don't like the Holga look, your money is better spent elsewhere.
There is no doubt about it, the Holga does have a unique signature.
Then again... regarding hipsters: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/823642-REG/Holga_304120_Holga_Glo_120N_Plastic.html
pvdhaar
Peter
The whole point about the Holga is that it is so bad, that you don't have to feel embarrased when the pictures don't come out; you can always blame the camera. Liberated from pressure of making each image perfect, you can just shoot without worry and be surprised about what the Holga makes of it.
Mablo
Well-known
Holga is great fun but it's also a demanding tool. A trained monkey can shoot nice images with a DSLR but it needs a skilled photographer to take a good shot with a Holga.
250swb
Well-known
With a low end Ikonta and triplet lens you are still going to have some expectations of a decent image, one that you can get the magnifying glass too or pixel peep. Use a Holga and that sort of repression is avoided, there is nothing to pixel peep so whatever the image is, it has to be a good image, you can't think its great just because its sharp, there needs to be content. With the light leaks, the blurry focus, the accidents of composition etc the Holga's native content is often on the pyschological level of film noire and nightmare, or in the nostalgia of another time, a happy dream, or a half forgotten summers day. Of course the Holga can accidentally turn a summers day into a nightmare image so nothing is guaranteed
The idea that it is 'hip' is interesting because Lomography is saving the film industry all by itself if film use is taken into consideration. Perhaps because the use of film this time around comes from young people who don't need to go through the strict learning regime of the darkroom means they are more interested in photographic content and expression rather than technique? It can't be so bad though if the hipsters want to say something with there photographs can it? Much better than studying bokeh.
Steve
The idea that it is 'hip' is interesting because Lomography is saving the film industry all by itself if film use is taken into consideration. Perhaps because the use of film this time around comes from young people who don't need to go through the strict learning regime of the darkroom means they are more interested in photographic content and expression rather than technique? It can't be so bad though if the hipsters want to say something with there photographs can it? Much better than studying bokeh.
Steve
Mr_Toad
Fluffy Marsupial
...and you'll be delighted when u run across a box of misplaced old film...long ago expired.
Lomography --> Celebrate Crappy!!
Lomography --> Celebrate Crappy!!
jordanstarr
J.R.Starr
...to actually answer your questions:
You would try a Holga if you saw some example images shot with them and decided it was a style you are interested in pursuing and exploring. There's tons of cameras out there and each have a unique signature. Holgas are just very extreme and I like the term "moody". They are not trying to hold up to the quality of anything else. They developed a unique look with a crappy lens. It's a similar look to a pinhole, but with more convenience and less limitation.
There is nothing special about a Holga lens. It's plastic, not glass. The quality will be poor, but great photography isn't about the sharpest images with the most whirly bokeh -it's about great photographs.
It's a matter of taste and preference. Give it a shot, see if you like it. If not, sell it and get something else. They're like $40 or something, so if you have the extra cash and want to explore, go for it. Don't let negative statements about the hipster phenomena delegitimize your exploration of photography. There's plenty of hipsters around shooting Leica's, wearing Ray-ban's, riding bikes and drinking cheap beer. Doesn't mean I should sell my Leica and start drinking premium beer because a group of people turned it into a fashion trend.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Either you get it or you don't.
You apparently don't. I certainly don't. Those who do... well, best of luck to 'em.
Cheers,
R.
Kent
Finally at home...
'Cause it's fun. 
gavinlg
Veteran
Holgas are amazing. Ultimate simplicity.
gavinlg
Veteran
Sometimes it's nice to just have no options and not know what the hell you're going to get.
Complete mistakes are awesome when they turn out well.
Complete mistakes are awesome when they turn out well.
Yep, no regular camera will give you those results.... hahaha.
richardhkirkando
Well-known
The Holga factory has a bigger marketing team than the Kodak Duaflex factory.
Mablo
Well-known
99,99% of all new film cameras sold today are Holgas and likes. Lomography.com sells not only lots and lots of funny cameras but also a huge amount of film annually. When Kodak and Ilford tell us they see their sales curves slowly creeping upwards you can thank the hipster folks for that.
Welcome to the new world of film photography.
Welcome to the new world of film photography.
Harry Caul
Well-known
Sometimes it's nice to just have no options and not know what the hell you're going to get.
Complete mistakes are awesome when they turn out well.
Great shot!
I think the OPs mistake (and quite a few follow-up posters) is the assumption that the people who use Holgas actually want a _______ (fill-in-the-blank = better, sharper, richer tone, etc...) image. We could all come up with a list of 100+ cameras available on eBay that could run circles around a Holga and be cheaper to boot if that was the case. It isn't.
I don't use a Holga, but the people who I know that do use them for to capture something unique, for their spontaneity, their randomness, their imperfections, etc... A Holga is not a toy, but is not a photographic tool either. Its art, simplified and randomized.
If you find yourself fixating on the imperfections in a Holga image and figuring out how they might be improved with different equipment, you are definitely missing the point.