Post your recent Holga 120N shots here~!

[Timmyjoe]

"The Girl in the Black Dress" Holga 120N // Kodak Tri-X 400 // 20 sec exposure

View attachment 296478

The Story:

While on our travels last Nov, the wife and I were sitting on the beach watching the sun set. Then this young girl came walking by wearing a silky black dress. I jumped up and asked her if she would pose for me. She agreed and stood very still for a 20 - 30 secs exposure. In order to judge the distance of this shot, I used broken plastic toy shovel placed beside her left foot. This is the end result

I like it, has a nice "mystic" effect.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Jonno85uk]

The 645 attachment looked like it may hold the film flatter so gave it a go. Maybe it's a little flatter. I couldn't really tell.

Can these cameras be of any use at infinity? It's all just blur with mine. So far i'm finding it best to be close to something to frame.

 

[Donald Qualls]

You just may have an example that needs the focus adjusted. I've seen a procedure for this somewhere -- YouTube, Instructables, somewhere else, don't recall, but it basically requires some disassembly to adjust the infinity stop so you get correct infinity when the lens is all the way back.

 

[Jonno85uk]

You just may have an example that needs the focus adjusted. I've seen a procedure for this somewhere -- YouTube, Instructables, somewhere else, don't recall, but it basically requires some disassembly to adjust the infinity stop so you get correct infinity when the lens is all the way back.

Cheers, I wasn't sure if the results I was getting was to be expected. On inspection I found that the close-focus and infinity stops are some plastic tabs interfering with a screw so a fix shouldn't be difficult.

I had my suspicions about infinity focus so took this photo at the sunny aperture (i'm guessing f11 isn't accurate) to see if I got anything "sharp".

Is it focusing past infinity in your opinion?

 

[Donald Qualls]

Seems very possible. One way to check is to put a piece of frosted plastic where the film would got (with the camera back off), hold the shutter open on B, and see if moving the lens off the stop a hair improves the focus. I wouldn't use a loupe (got one built in, I'm significantly myopic), but most would need one.

 

[Jonno85uk]

Seems very possible. One way to check is to put a piece of frosted plastic where the film would got (with the camera back off), hold the shutter open on B, and see if moving the lens off the stop a hair improves the focus. I wouldn't use a loupe (got one built in, I'm significantly myopic), but most would need one.

Me too. There is at least 1 benefit of -8 prescription.

I think i've got a spare Bronica ground glass knocking about. Cheers

 

[Donald Qualls]

There is at least 1 benefit of -8 prescription.

Mine isn't that strong (more like -6.75) but I still call "microscopic vision" my superpower...

 

[Jeremy Mudd]

Every Holga I currently own is good at infinity, so you may have one where the stop needs to be adjusted. I'm guessing yours is past infinity, otherwise, if it wasn't quite there there would be something sharper in that image.

Wouldn't be the first time that one was made incorrectly, that entire run of HolgaPan's had the same problem a year or so ago.

Jeremy

 

[gone]

Jonno85uk, those shots look exactly like the shots from my Holga back in the day. Infinity seems to be an issue w/ these cameras......shoot, everything is an issue w/ these cameras! That's just a Holga, and none of my shots ever came out as I expected either. It is what it is.

It's beyond irritating (and downright humbling) seeing such great shots from cheap, crappy cameras, as I can seldom equal what I see here w/ a Nikon that has a Leica lens on it! Keep up the good work guys, I may be forced to buy another Holga. The 35mm model interest me, but I doubt they would give the same weird pics as the 120 cameras. Plus, there's no 6x6 enlarger here either, but maybe my 35mm enlarger would give some seriously vignetting to a print using a cardboard 120 neg carrier.

 

[MattKing]

Cheers, I wasn't sure if the results I was getting was to be expected. On inspection I found that the close-focus and infinity stops are some plastic tabs interfering with a screw so a fix shouldn't be difficult.

I had my suspicions about infinity focus so took this photo at the sunny aperture (i'm guessing f11 isn't accurate) to see if I got anything "sharp".
View attachment 297811

Is it focusing past infinity in your opinion?

This example makes me think of photos of miniature models set up to mimic life size reality.
I'd be tempted to keep the camera as is!

 

[John Phive]

@Jonno85uk It would help if you posted what your exposure times were while tasking these images. Then lets not forget that the camera has three settings on the lens which deals with distance. I suspect that in my Girl on the beach image, I did not have the distance setting correct because my exposure time was more than 20 secs and the subject was about 30 feet away from the camera. When you start seeing image blur it's either because the lens setting was set correctly or you're holding the camera instead of mounted on a tripod. You have some good artsy shots with minimal light leaks.

 

[Jonno85uk]

@Jonno85uk It would help if you posted what your exposure times were while tasking these images. Then lets not forget that the camera has three settings on the lens which deals with distance. I suspect that in my Girl on the beach image, I did not have the distance setting correct because my exposure time was more than 20 secs and the subject was about 30 feet away from the camera. When you start seeing image blur it's either because the lens setting was set correctly or you're holding the camera instead of mounted on a tripod. You have some good artsy shots with minimal light leaks.

Hi. These were all taken with the normal setting, handheld. I've yet to use it on bulb-mode.

I was only concerned about the last image I showed because i'm fine with the way it is otherwise. I had observed that every time i've set the lens to infinity (mountains) nothing is ever holga-sharp. As you can see in the other images where i've guestimated a close distance there is at least something "sharp" in it.

I have a film i need to get through in this camera before checking where infinity actually lies.

 

[John Phive]

I suspect that the distortion is due to the rounded plastic lens. at some point I wanted to replace the plastic lens with glass and test the results. Within the camera if you've ever looked into it, there's no blades as to adjust for any sort of aperture setting. so when you turn the lens to the mtn setting it merely moved (corkscrews) the lens forward or back away from the exposure area. The plastic lens does have some rounding to it (convex) which would cause this distortion in your image. So I'm wondering if one was to remove the plastic lens and replace it with a lens from a pair of binoculars, would there be any refining to the images.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I doubt you'll find a binocular objective with anything like a 60 mm focal length. That figure is on the short side even for 6x4.5 folder.

 

[snusmumriken]

By the way; usually Finland is not that appealing place to shoot photographs

Oh man, how can you say that? Finland is my favourite place on earth. But it does need colour film.

 

[Jonno85uk]

suspect that the distortion is due to the rounded plastic lens. at some point I wanted to replace the plastic lens with glass and test the results.

I think i need to clarify, that's not my concern. It's a moulded, plastic meniscus lens so I get what I get. My concern is that nothing in the centre is in focus/sharp at infinity.

 

[John Phive]

@Jonno85uk research "depth of field" aka DoF

 

[Jonno85uk]

@Jonno85uk research "depth of field" aka DoF

thanks. i know what that is. I'm assuming you were insinuating zone focusing?

 

[Jeremy Mudd]

The plastic lenses work just fine in a Holga when its put together properly. That's the whole point of the "charm" and "look", otherwise I'd just shoot my 500cm.

Jonno85uk, I think you just got a bad example. The new Holga 120 Pan I bought last year from Freestyle was the exact same way, and I know because I checked it with ground glass on the back. I sent it back since I already had one that was working and told them to let me know when they got a working batch in. Still waiting for that email!

Good luck!

Jeremy

 

[John Phive]

@Jonno85uk remember you're dealing with a camera that is not run through stringent testing for quality. Even my images have turned out blurry but I'm pleased with the results. Just accept the camera as is even with it's flaws. you have some great shots. ideally, if you like what you see, it might be suggested to move up to a better camera which is what I might do myself at some point.

 

[Jeremy Mudd]

@Jonno85uk remember you're dealing with a camera that is not run through stringent testing for quality. Even my images have turned out blurry but I'm pleased with the results. Just accept the camera as is even with it's flaws. you have some great shots. ideally, if you like what you see, it might be suggested to move up to a better camera which is what I might do myself at some point.

Reluctantly, I am replying to this post because I think someone has the wrong idea of why most of us shoot Holgas. If this is your first medium format camera and your plan is to "move up to a better camera", it really wasn't the best camera for you to enter into the world of medium format.

My reason to shoot with one, and I venture most others' here in this thread, is that the Holga gives a look and feel different from other high end MF cameras - and that's what makes it desirable to shoot. If I wanted perfection I'd grab one of my other MF cameras like my Hasselblads, RB67's, 645 ProTL's, etc.

Please don't get upset with me and take your ball and go home again. All of us are here to help each other, and egos should be checked at the door.

Regards,

Jeremy

 

[John Phive]

it's obvious that my images and my methods are being questioned here. These closed minded persons need to keep the drama out of my conversations and take off the blinders. I see no point in returning to a community of closed minded persons who continue to jab or bring up their irrelevance within my conversations..

 

[Jeremy Mudd]

it's obvious that my images and my methods are being questioned here. These closed minded persons need to keep the drama out of my conversations and take off the blinders. I see no point in returning to a community of closed minded persons who continue to jab or bring up their irrelevance within my conversations..

Hold on just a minute there.

First - no one here said anything bad about your images or methods here. In the past you've posted some questions/thoughts that many here tried to help you with and you didn't like the answers so you deleted posts and threads, got your collar all fluffed up, and insulted long-time members.

Second - I've seen no one be close-minded to you in any regards. The only negativity has been when you have lashed out and folks have responded in kind. Of course, no one else sees that now because you've deleted your posts and said numerous times you were leaving the group.

Third, and last - My comment above about Holgas and their usage is totally relevant to this conversation. If you don't see or understand that, I can't help you. This isn't "your conversation" - this is a long-standing post about images and techniques while shooting Holgas and other cheap cameras.

Best of luck to you,

Jeremy

 

[Jeremy Mudd]

To get this thread back on track, here's one from last weekend while hiking in the snow at a nearby park.

Shot on HP5+ and semi-stand developed in Rodinal 1:100 @20C for 60 minutes.

"If I Had a River"

Jeremy

 

[epp]

These were taken at a local park the morning before a blizzard in late January, which was due overnight that night. The sky was very overcast that morning.

The pier was destroyed in a past storm and is in the process of being rebuilt.

The benches up along the water, looked very lonely.

• Camera: Holga 120N (original camera with defective aperture, which is always on Cloudy regardless of the switch setting). No light leaks detected on negatives.
  
• Film: Eastman Kodak Company - Verichrome Pan (expired November 1997)
• Photo Developing/Printing: The Darkroom (San Clemente, California)
• Scanner (at home): HP OfficeJet 3830