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Holga Pan 120 and conversion to Super Angulon 90mm F8 lens

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Simon Benton

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I will be getting a Holga Pan 120 soon and am wondering if it is possible to convert it to accept a Super Angulon 90mm F8 lens in Copal shutter? I see references to plenty of conversions to the 90mm Angulon f6.8 but cannot find any reference to the Super Angulon. I have a machinist friend who can handle any machining required. Any comments or insights gratefully received.
 
Dont see why not, have seen a photo of one on the net. The biggest issue is fitting the rear element in behind the helix. Maybe its fixed to infinity.
Sure your machinist friend could sort something out.

How much throw can you get from the Helix?
I put the back of a 120 pan pinhole onto a 300 series polaroid land camera and fitted a super angulon to the front. The rear element just fitted. I use the land camera bellows to zone focus. Needs about 15mm for anything closeish.
 
Um, er, ah, the 90/8 SA's flange-to-film distance at infinity (if the lens is in a #0 Compur or Copal) is 99.4 mm. The camera body is 107 mm deep unless it is 117 (see the last page of the manual at https://www.butkus.org/chinon/holga/holga_pan_120/holga_pan_120.htm). I'm not sure how much of the front of the camera your machinist friend will have to cut off, but it looks like at least the focusing helical, such as it is, will have to go. I suppose the job can be done (keep the rear of the box with the film transport, completely replace the cone with a new one and a proper helical that fits the lens) but I doubt the it will be as easy as you'd like.
 
Here I go, latching onto an old thread again. I like the "panoramic" formats. I have a 612 graflok back and I dabbled in 6x17 a bit too. I don't have an enlarger that can accommodate 6x17 negatives, and I'm thinking of editing down some of my arsenal of gear. This all lead me to the HolgaGon and its variations.
I too question the various versions I have seen when you really concentrate on the math. The 90mm f6.8 Angulon flange focal distance in relation to the camera itself doesn't leave much room for "parts." This modification does require the removal of the Holga lens/shutter assembly so one does gain some space there.

The version in the link above has a completely new 3d printed "lens cone."

I will try and take some pictures this weekend in order to highlight some of the distances and tolerances involved. My end goal is a 6x12 camera with a large format lens for under $400.

The Holga 120 pan is $99 from B&H right now.
I allowed myself $200 for a lens.
In theory, this leaves a full $100 for any additional parts and pieces. I should come in well below that.

More to follow...
 
I have tried this exact route, and here is my findings. The lens have to be quite small while still covering 6x12, and here are the two successful attempts. In this case, all you need to do is to remove the original lens/shutter module and slightly enlarge the mounting hole. Both are mounted on a M42 focusing helicoid. I would probably skip those modern 90mm f8 lenses: they are way too big to fit without major surgery to the Holga 120 Pan.

My initial setup: Wollensak Extreme Wide Angle 90mm f/12.5. Decent coverage, reasonably sharp when stopped down. And the Alphax shutter is self cocking, so you can shoot like the original Holga 120 Pan.



The final setup: Schneider Angulon 90mm f/6.8. Good coverage, and a bit sharper. I was lucky to find it in a modern shutter, but it costs a bit more than the Wollensak. I like this setup for its size, weight, quality and overall balance for a P&S 6x12 camera.



If you want something cheap and cheerful, PM me if you are interested in the Wollensak EWA 90/12.5 with the focusing helicoid. It has been tested on the Holga Pan 120, and I'm not using it any more. You can find photos from both cameras here:

flickr.com

Holga 120 Pan hacks

Explore this photo album by Zheng on Flickr!
flickr.com flickr.com
 
Thanks. I remembered someone on here had been successful. I'm most of the way through mine, I just have to rethink the actual mounting of the lens. The Seiko 0 shutter (which I thought was the same size as copal 0 32.5mm threads), mount ring doesn't nest inside the inner flange of a metal m42 body cap. I found a solution from a company in the UK which will delay the project with shipping times.

I have the film plane being really close to 5mm inside the top edge of the body when looking down at it.
the shutter assembly is 16mm.
I need to double check my picture, but once the light trap lip is sawn/sanded/removed from the front of the camera, I have the film plane to front face being something like 76mm.

I did not pry off the winding knob and undertake the "extra" bits of work noted in the pdf instructions that are floating around. I got the front mods and the m42 flange mounted yesterday. Adhesives are still curing.

Blee, it looks like you had a light leak or 2 in the beginning of each iteration and then found/fixed them. Did you also do anything to help with film flatness or has then not been an issue?
 
MTGseattle said:
Blee, it looks like you had a light leak or 2 in the beginning of each iteration and then found/fixed them. Did you also do anything to help with film flatness or has then not been an issue?
Click to expand...

For light leak, I used black flocking paper (self adhesive that is used for lining jewelry boxes) and fixed it.

Film flatness is surprisingly good, especially compared to the more expensive Lomo Belair 6x12. I did not need to do anything extra I believe.
 
Just wondering if mtgseattle would share the uk company and product to mount the 0 seiko shutter, this could come in handy...
 
This wouldn't work with a Super-Angulon because of the rear lens element, just the regular old school Angulon, but when I made my Holgagon everything was 'off the shelf'. Take off the Holga lens and shutter and screw on an M42 mount, onto that goes an M42 helicoid, onto that went an M42 to Copal adapter for the 90mm Angulon. There were also a lot of small detail improvements internally and externally on the camera that you can pick up from many 'improving your Holga' websites. With everything in place test the focus using a ground glass on the focal plane and mark the helicoid with different coloured paint for set distances 10m, 25m 50m etc., then out in the field use a rangefinder for the exact distance or guesstimate.

It does make a very good camera, easy to use, very light, and it delivers very un-Holga like high quality images.
 
Last edited:
With the crazy range of "macro focus helicoids" out there from China, I think the other easy option for all-in-one trip sourcing of parts would be an m42 to 58mm helicoid adapter. I think I saw them. Then a 58mm body cap would accommodate the Seiko retention ring. I also still don't have an appropriate solution for drilling a clean hole in aluminum at my house. Both options I tried did not stay centered and/or clearly were not meant for Aluminum.

Sorry, here's a link to the UK site:

Macro Adapters for Copal Shutters | Custom Photo Tools

Adapters for lenses on Copal shutters for macro photography
customphototools.com customphototools.com


Flyingcamera That sounds interesting.
 
I have been using both Belair and the Holgagon, and I prefer the Holgagon because:

1) Film flatness: out of box, the Holgagon is mostly flat across the frame, due to the additional "fins" inside the back.
2) Frame size: Belair is more like 6x10, while Holgagon is wider than 6x11

The Belair does boast interchangeable lens, and auto exposure. Folded, the Belair is more compact. The Russian glass lenses for Belair are quite good, but the film flatness negated part of it.
 
blee1996 said:


If you want something cheap and cheerful, PM me if you are interested in the Wollensak EWA 90/12.5 with the focusing helicoid. It has been tested on the Holga Pan 120, and I'm not using it any more. You can find photos from both cameras here:

flickr.com

Holga 120 Pan hacks

Explore this photo album by Zheng on Flickr!
flickr.com flickr.com
Click to expand...


Your photos are fantastic!! I have been sitting on my Holga Wide for ages not knowing quite how to start — I'm not very mechanical and don't have a 3D printer — and this is so inspiring!

If your old Wollensak is still available, I am interested, would you PM me please? I've had a Photrio account for two years but never posted and can't figure out how to send a PM 😅 No post history here but I can show you my buy/sell ratings on FredMiranda and ebay!
 
MTGseattle said:
With the crazy range of "macro focus helicoids" out there from China, I think the other easy option for all-in-one trip sourcing of parts would be an m42 to 58mm helicoid adapter. I think I saw them. Then a 58mm body cap would accommodate the Seiko retention ring. I also still don't have an appropriate solution for drilling a clean hole in aluminum at my house. Both options I tried did not stay centered and/or clearly were not meant for Aluminum.

Sorry, here's a link to the UK site:

Macro Adapters for Copal Shutters | Custom Photo Tools

Adapters for lenses on Copal shutters for macro photography
customphototools.com customphototools.com


Flyingcamera That sounds interesting.
Click to expand...

The best luck I've hade is to scribe a smaller hole then cut it with a coping saw(use liquid soap to lube it) it won't be round, clean it to round with a file, then open it up to the proper size with a round file ( just spin in around inside the hole) it's slow just keep checking it, then switch over to sandpaper eventually it will just slip in
 
A few photos comparing the Belair 6x12 vs Holgagon

PXL_20230627_230655935.PORTRAIT Large.jpeg

PXL_20230627_230805070.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL Large.jpeg

PXL_20230627_230905976.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL Large.jpeg
 
The Belair with 90mm belairgon felt really weird to use due to the weight of the lens. I passed mine off after only 1 roll of film.

For anyone searching, keep your eyes on KEH. They get the belairgon lenses from time to time.
 
MTGseattle said:
The Belair with 90mm belairgon felt really weird to use due to the weight of the lens. I passed mine off after only 1 roll of film.

For anyone searching, keep your eyes on KEH. They get the belairgon lenses from time to time.
Click to expand...

I got both the 90 and the 114 for the Belair back when they were still in production. Fantastic lenses. That's why I'm thinking of trying to graft the front standard of the Belair onto my Holga 120 Pan. Then I'd have the best of both worlds - larger negative of the Holga and the better glass/auto exposure of the Belair.
 
The Belair is strictly auto exposure?
And the only option for aperture are 8 and 16?
The belairgon are the glass lenses, the other smaller ones are plastic elements?
 
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