Digital Holga

credit: Saikat Biswas, via trendland.net

(Thanks to Martyn Kyle of Pernmoot Photography for passing this along)

Indian photo genius Saikat Biswas has mocked up a design for a truly digital Holga camera. As a Holga lover, I can say this design is truly inspired. I love the zone focus and lack of an LCD screen. In my humble opinion, it only falls short in the sensor department. It should use an inexpensive cameraphone sensor, not a full-frame DSLR sensor! No need for such a camera to be expensive. Anyway, it's just his idea for now. But if such a camera ever came to market and was priced properly, you can count on one sale from this photographer.

Sprocket holes

Every now and then I like to load up the Holga with some 35mm film and shoot - since the image circle cast by the lens is meant for 120 film, it exposes all of the smaller film. The sprocket holes show. You either like it or hate it, I guess, and it's probably an effect best enjoyed in moderation.

You can buy a 35mm Holga, but if you buy the 120 version you get 35mm for free! Just follow the instructions at Squarefrog.

Self portrait

Another 35mm roll from the Holga

Again following the excellent instructions at Squarefrog, I shot a roll of 35mm film through the Holga. This time, I loaded Arista Premium 100, since the day I did it was sunny and I figured the Holga's 1/125 (or so) shutter at f/11ish might overexpose every shot at ASA 400. One key difference between this time and last: I taped the hell out of the camera with electrical tape to block light leaks.



Squarefrog also gives you a handy chart showing how many clicks to wind the wheel between shots. Turns out some enterprising nerd figured out exactly how many clicks you need to wind the film as the spool takes on film (and therefore changes size). It works perfectly to give you 24 frames per roll. Sweet!






Yep, that's the General Lee, parked outside Monticello.

35mm film in a medium format camera

If you shoot 35mm film in a medium format camera, you're using film that's smaller than the image circle cast by the lens. Therefore, every bit of film is exposed, and the sprocket holes show up after processing. The problem is, using the film holder for my Canoscan 8400F scanner is no good, because it blocks the sprocket holes. Where's the fun in that?



I just placed the negative directly on the scanner's glass under the transparency backlight to get these scans. I didn't care if it wasn't perfectly flat on there because I shot it through a Holga to begin with. I've heard of folks flattening it on the platen using a piece of glass, too, to varying degrees of success.

As for modifying a camera to perform this experiment, nothing beats the flexibility of a Holga. Many others have done this before me, and I more or less followed the instructions at Squarefrog. An unused kitchen sponge worked great to keep the 35mm canister in place, and I did opt for the rubber bands on the 120 takeup reel to keep the 35mm film from straying to the edges.

So I have to wonder why anyone would buy a 35mm Holga...just buy the normal one and you get the 35mm version free.

Wind a few less clicks on the film reel, and the frames overlap, giving you a panorama, Holga-style.



I imagine this could work in many medium-format cameras, and I like the effect, so if I get my hands on one I'll be sure to try it.

Holga shot