OK, all you holga folks ...

Rainman · Jun 2, 2004

FWIW, I just checked eBay, and people are selling a 6x6 insert, but maybe that defeats the purpose of using a $20 camera.

Are the light leaks from gaps in what are supposed to be permanent joints or places like poor fitting and sealing of places like the film loading door, film advance, etc. In other words, do you have to re-tape every time you reload? I have a Yashica Mat 124 G available when I need it. It's my father's. I keep borrowing it and "forgetting" to return it, but somehow he always gets it back. I am intrigued by the Holga, especially after seeing some of the beautiful work some of you have done with this humble little camera.

terri · Jun 2, 2004

drlynn said:
Thanks for all the advice, Jef, Terri and Orie!

And, Terri, no offense meant with the "cheap, plastic toy camera" remark.
I wasn't trying to demean the art of holgography , I was just trying to keep Gerry from misunderstanding what a Holga is and isn't.

I didn't want him to find one on B&H for $16.99 and think he's getting a steal/deal on a startup medium format outfit.

Thanks again, everyone!

Oh, sweetie, no offense was taken, I promise! Everyone refers to the Holga like that because that's exactly what it IS - I just feel the need to rush to its defense and add: "In SPITE of that...it can take a mean photo!" :wink:

Rainman: yep, you'll want to re-tape the back and sides after you load. Use good black electrician's tape; it's not as labor-intensive as it sounds. The tape inside only needs to be done once, of course. If you're curious, go pick one up and run some good B&W 120 through it, Ilford HP and the like. Keep the focus knob (what we euphemistically refer to as the "focus knob, anyway :wink:

) on infinity and, as you compose, be aware the outer edges of your frame will be soft. If you're shooting outside and have a nice sky use a red or deep orange filter for added drama. You'll probably be laughing your head off when you get your images back, they'll be so unique. Go have fun!!!

::cheerleading pom-poms are now at rest::

drlynn · Jun 2, 2004

I'm getting excited! UPS.com says I should get it tomorrow!!

So I know I'll be all over the place snapping pics, terrorizing my children, etc.

Has anybody tried making the lens cap into a pinhole?

Rainman · Jun 2, 2004

terri said:
Oh, sweetie, no offense was taken, I promise! Everyone refers to the Holga like that because that's exactly what it IS - I just feel the need to rush to its defense and add: "In SPITE of that...it can take a mean photo!"

Rainman: yep, you'll want to re-tape the back and sides after you load. Use good black electrician's tape; it's not as labor-intensive as it sounds. The tape inside only needs to be done once, of course. If you're curious, go pick one up and run some good B&W 120 through it, Ilford HP and the like. Keep the focus knob (what we euphemistically refer to as the "focus knob, anyway ) on infinity and, as you compose, be aware the outer edges of your frame will be soft. If you're shooting outside and have a nice sky use a red or deep orange filter for added drama. You'll probably be laughing your head off when you get your images back, they'll be so unique. Go have fun!!!

::cheerleading pom-poms are now at rest::

Thanks, Terri. Hey any camera that can produce a reasonably sharp image can produce beauty, even a $20 piece of plastic or a $4 Wal-Mart disposable. By the same token $5000 worth of Hasselblad gear can produce crap. The most important single element is the eye looking through the finder.

terri · Jun 3, 2004

drlynn said:
I'm getting excited! UPS.com says I should get it tomorrow!!

So I know I'll be all over the place snapping pics, terrorizing my children, etc.

Has anybody tried making the lens cap into a pinhole?

No, but it can be done, I'm sure. I bought a modified Holga, with a tripod mount and shutter release cable so I would be at least a tad less "user restricted", and I'm really glad I did.

Why don't you be the first to try the pinhole, Drlynn, and you can report back to us! :wink:

Jeff Canes · Jun 3, 2004

There are several Holga website out there that explain how do different modifications. I do recall see a pinhole modification. Also I think TPF member P Bailey has older similar Russian camera that has been modified to a pin hole

drlynn · Jun 3, 2004

Well, I do love to tinker with stuff, so I may just try some mods on it. But I'm the kind of person whose "modifications" often lead to the death of the modified object, so I'll probably wait until something goes wrong with it before I do anything drastic.

I'd love to try adding bulb mode, but all the DIY methods I've seen make the regular shutter inoperable, so I'm not real crazy about that.

I know it can be done, cuz I've seen them for sale with a swith to flip it from regular shutter operation to bulb mode ($39 - figured for the difference, maybe I could figure out a way to do it myself!).

Jeff Canes · Jun 3, 2004

This is a nice Holga site it has the modifications and a very nice gallery. Along links to the photographs own galleries. Some of these guys are big time.
http://www.holgamods.com/index.html

drlynn · Jun 3, 2004

Just found an interesting website that show how to do several mods, namely, getting 2 true apertures, close focusing, and where to cut your 645 mask to make it 6x6.

photogoddess · Jun 3, 2004

This is interesting. A polaroid back for a Holga. Who would have thought you could get one of these. B & H even states that it's light tight.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3818224555

Tammy · Jun 3, 2004

A friend gave me a minolta X700 (I think) because the lens was locked up so I've been thinking of converting it to a pinhole, so while reading up I came across this that I thought you might find interesting.

http://www.argonauta.com/html/holga_pinholes.htm