Can you shoot 220 through a Holga?

[J Rollinger]

Today for the first time i shot a Holga! I found myself out in the sun with a 400 speed roll of film (not a good thing)! Well.. I pulled the film 2 stops and was impressed by this little piece of s#@t camera. I have some Kodak E100VS in 220 that i want to run though the Holga and cross process it, can it take 220 or will it break my new little plastic friend in half?

 

[Toffle]

The answer is... well... yes. It will take a bit of figuring, though. Because 220 film does not have backing paper throughout the roll, you will have to cover the red film counter window on the back, and you will have to calculate how far to advance the film between exposures. You can do that by counting clicks on the film advance knob. Because the film roll gets thicker as you wind on to the takeup reel, each exposure requires slightly less advance for each successive frame. (otherwise, each frame will become progressively farther apart, and you will have space for something less than 24 shots on your 220 film.) Without taking into account the paper leader at the beginning of the roll, this might be similar to the counts for 35mm film. There is a table on Photon Detector that lists the clicks for 35mm film. Use that as a starting point, and when you're done, let us know how it works out for you.

 

[Jon Shiu]

Well, there aren't any frame numbers or paper backing to 220!

Jon

 

[Vaughn]

And the probability of being fogged increases greatly

 

[J Rollinger]

I guess i will have to tape it up good!

 

[heespharm]

Yeah I've done this a couple of times.... Tape up the back really good with multiple layers... Even doubled up gaffer tape wasn't sufficient to rid the film completely of leaks

 

[Wishy]

I wouldn't bother - Buy 100VS in 120, sell 100VS in 220. Don't forget 220 costs twice as much to process

 

[mfohl]

Regarding the red window for the frame advancing, if you're an equipment junky, you will already have bought the Holga 35 mm kit. One of the components is a back with no red window. I use it for 35 mm Holga shooting. But you still have to count the clicks. Thanks for the tip about Photon Detector.

 

[elekm]

Counting clicks through 24 exposures sounds like a lot of fun. And you'll need to count clicks just to align your first shot. Why bother?

 

[2F/2F]

Toffle gave you all the info you need to know.

Personally, it sounds like more trouble than it is worth, unless you really got a ton of the stuff for really cheap.

 

[Brandon J]

I have done it! It worked out great! Gaffers tape or foil with a black back will be your best friend. If you have spent much time shooting a holga you already have a few rolls of gaffers tape laying around so just tape up the hole and insert your film and tape up the body and you are good to go. 3 full turns to start the film and 1 full turn to advance the smallest mask sized frame. Want more fun? Shoot it with 35mm! Enjoy!!!

 

[2F/2F]

I suggest 3M photo tape as opposed to gaffer tape. Gaffer tape passes lots of light, requiring many layers. Photo tape is designed specifically not to do so. The stickum on the 3M tape is also much more mild, like masking tape. Electrical tape also seems to block light pretty well, but its stickum is a mess!

 

[J Rollinger]

For some reason i dont have those light leaks like everyone else. I used the mask that came with it for 6.45 and starting counting the clicks. 217 clicks until frame one! 23 clicks to frame 2. Using 220 for 32 exposures seems like a big waste of time.