Photoclubalpha

I know the Holga camera isnt sony or minolta related but it is a film non slr, but for my next class we have to use the Holga.... Has anyone had experience with this camera? i want to get more of a use out of this camera than the average user. If anyone even uses this one can they let me know any tips thank you! heres a link if you dont know what kind of camera im talking about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holga

In about 1967 when I was a kid I had a Diana that I played with. Similar to the Holga. Both are 120 film toy cameras, but they both have a following. The Diana has been around for decades, but back in the 1960s it was a toy for children that you bought at toy stores. Funny how it still exists and is sold mostly to photo school students now though. My grandmother bought it for me at a toy store and it probably cost $0.25 or $0.50.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_camera

When I was a kid, my first camera was a Kodak 126 cartridge camera. After I wore it out I had a Diana my Grandma had sitting on a closet shelf, but I thought it took 127, not 120, film. I later got a camera from turning in enough Bazooka Bubble Gum comics that I know was 127. It had a light leak in the shutterbox that was easily fixed with black electrical tape.

All are similar to the Holga - minimal settings, if any, and poor lenses. However, they still captured memories I'll never forget.

Later, when my family did it's first 'real' vacation to Yellowstone, my Dad got his Argus C3 cleaned and tested at Jefferson Camera Shop (now defunct) and I had a real 35mm camera with a flash bulb attachment! (Still have it all).

If you want to be creative with your Holga shoot a few rolls to find out it's problems and work them into your routine. If you want to prove what it can do, shoot in bright sunlight at medium distances, centering your image and leaving lots of crop space, and use the 6x6 negative to your advantage to grab only the sharpest sections for your prints.

Dusty

You can also buy attachments to turn your digital camera into a Holga.

http://shop.holgadirect.com/collections ... sories-9-1

Probably you could also get similar results using some sort of Photoshop filter or action.

My first camera was a Cometa Bencini using 127 film.

I found this on the net, my camera

bakubo wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_camera

I have one

[SiC] wrote:

bakubo wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_camera

I have one

Did you get yours in 1967 too?

bakubo wrote:

[SiC] wrote:

bakubo wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_camera

I have one

Did you get yours in 1967 too?

Seb wasn't born yet...

Dr. Harout wrote:

bakubo wrote:

[SiC] wrote:I have one

Did you get yours in 1967 too?

Seb wasn't born yet...

Bullseye

[SiC] wrote:Bullseye

What I mean is your camera an old one circa 1967 or a new copy?

bakubo wrote:

[SiC] wrote:Bullseye

What I mean is your camera an old one circa 1967 or a new copy?

Good question, the box felt very old to me but it was quite a while ago I inspected it.. I can dig it out some day and see if there is any reference to manufacturing date

No manufacturing date to be found and I'm no expert but it feels like the real deal.

/Zeb!

That sure looks like the one I got in 1967, but mine was before they called it Diana, I think.

Have you used it any?

A few weeks ago I was going through a box and I found some old 120 B&W negatives (no prints) that I made using this camera in about 1967 or 1968 of my sisters and neighbors in our front yard. Unfortunately, I only have a 35mm film scanner so I wasn't able to scan them. What I wished I had done, now that I think of it, is I could have put the negatives on my lightbox and then photographed the negatives with the A700. I didn't have my macro lens with me, but I had the 50mm f1.7 and 18-250mm with me so I probably could have gotten something good enough. Darn, I wish I had thought of doing that. It might be a long time before I have that chance since I am thousands of miles away.

Ah! That's the camera and the manual I remember as a kid!

Dusty