Medium-Format-Camera Reviews

First of all, this camera is intended to be fun, but can also be interesting. The camera is plastic. It is often full of light leaks that create odd irregularities in the photos. The lens is a cheap plastic that can cause distortions, generally fairly mild, in the photographs.

BUT, it uses medium format (120) film, and the fact that the negative is four times the size means that if you are careful you may find you get a photograph out of this camera better than the one that comes out of your 10 times the price 35 mm camera. To do so, you need to tape up the sides to minimize light leaks. Use black electrical tape.

Also realize that letting the light shine through can create some interesting pictures, and so try some without the tape, or with less tape. Also remove the square bracket inside that focuses the light on a neat rectangle, and instead you'll get vignetted photos that fade off on the sides.

Consider the cheaper model as well, the one that doesn't have the flash. The flash is difficult to use, and the batteries regularly fall out or come loose (go into a dark room to fix them!). I tape batteries in when I need to, and just don't use them when I'm outdoors.

Whatever you do, have fun, and do a search of "Holga" on the web -- you'll find a variety of websites devoted to this little babies.

Ok, this is not your basic point-and shoot, in fact the camera as it is shipped barely works at all- you'll have light leaks, the back will fly off, it shoots in a rectangular rather than square format, blah, blah. But, if you want to really break out of conventional photography and have some fun, this is the way to go.

Do some searching around on the Internet about how to modify one of these babies, though. Mine has no light leaks, can be used in a "bulb" mode, and shoots square format, as a holga should if you want to see the kind of edge distortion and vignetting holgas are famous for. I can also run cheap 35mm through it, for an interesting effect. Email me for more info on how I made my modifications, I'm happy to help.

Also, for relatively inexpensive mail-away 120 processing (both color and BW), Vermont Color is the way to go- look them up.

I love my Holga (been shooting about 3-6 rolls a year). It is the lowest priced medium format camera short of building your own out of plywood. Be cautious removing the film, do it in low light (it tends to unspool slightly, and it's easy to burn the edge of the undeveloped film). I tape all the seems on mine after I load it, helps avoid light leaks, and it is easy. Both black and white as well as color photos can come out well, and medium format gives you the option to blow up pictures to very large sizes (the negative is quite large compared to 35 mm, or APS formats. So, if you want to experiment a little, and you want to shoot some 120 film without spending 350 on a SeaGull, or 1,000+ for a Pentax645 Then a Holga for under 20 or 30 bucks is perfect. I've had mine now for about 4 years.

The manual that Amazon linked on this page is for the Mamiya 645 Pro, which is a lot more camera than the 645E. Having the 645 Pro manual is misleading here. The 645E is not modular like the 645 Pro, though to be fair the 645AF isn't either.

Anyway, Mamiya makes amazing lenses (including the one that comes with this kit). The 645E lets you mount them for relatively little money. That's what it's worth.

I have recently purchased the Seagull GC-109 as an upgrade from my Nikon F60. Although the F60 is an outstanding camera i was not able to print the sizes i needed with the basic 35mm film.However now i am able to print large pictures without any distortion.Its amazing and really nice to use. I advice any one whos looking for an ugrade to buy one.

I've taught photography for a while, and although the Holga is fun, there are better and CHEAPER cameras out there. First off, if you want to buy this as your main camera, look for something else. Holgas are NOT for photographers who demand consistency. Many students buy these to get "cool" effects that look artsy. Although I think it's noble to look for a low tech camera in this age of digital perfection, you can do better and be more creative with other cameras. For the cult photographer seeking good old fashioned Dark Room Magic you should try the following before plunking down real money for something as sketchy as a Holga:
Get Eric Renner's excellent book on pinhole photography.
Build a simple pinhole camera out of something you have around the house. Chances are it will make images better and cooler that the Holga.
Seek out a local Photo Swap meet and buy an old roll film camera in working condition. Get one with a German lens, if possible.
Not only will you learn about "Retro" photography from the old timers, you'll get a real camera. I've gotten roll film folders with german lenses for 5 bucks!
Hit a local resale shop and see what kind of cheap cameras they have.
Ask a family member if they have any old cameras lying around.

For what you pay for a Holga, which will probably break in 6 months, you can buy 3 real cameras that give equally atisitc effects. Oh, and shoot in black & white!

I got this camera for my wife for her birthday and she couldn't wait to use it. She took it out of the box and stared in dismay at the yards of black tape, the cheap plastic casing, the pages of directions (including one that said to cram a piece of cardboard into the body of the camera to keep the film from slipping). While I really like the idea of Lomo offering a bunch of odd, hip, unique cameras to the photo-taking public, the Holga just kind of seems like a piece of junk. Granted, the packaging is cool and all and we haven't yet gotten the photos back from development. Time will tell if this is a 4-star camera that needs a little patience or a 2-star camera that is overpriced and over-praised.

yes, the single holga cameras can be found cheaper.
but with this starter kit you get the best photo book of holga photography, a roll of medium format film, the flash version of the holga camera, batteries, black tape to play with the lightleaks and most of all the best tips on how to use and work with the camera. if you are on a tight budget, yes you can find the bare camera cheaper, if you want to get content, explanation and a hell of a lot of inspiring pictures, this package is a really good price value. it is also the perfect gift for your best friend to finally get started on that medium film photography....