My GOLDEN HALF – a Camera Review

Golden Half: what's in the box

The GOLDEN HALF is a 35mm half-format plastic camera. I discovered it recently while browsing through some alternative camera sites, and since it takes odd 18×24mm pictures (that’s two in the space of a “normal” 24×36mm negative), I decided I had to have it.

After 4 weeks and several rolls of film, here’s my two cents.

I discovered this camera at the London Photographer’s Gallery, experts and stockists for plenty of Holga & Co schnick-schnack. At £35 not bad for Central London prices (hey, it even comes with a film in the box).

History

Rumour has it that the Golden Half was produced for a project by/for Ina Babylon and a book called “Life as a Golden Half”. I’m quoting from memory here, as I’ve not seen a copy of this book or found anything about this project. The name Ina Babylon may or may not refer to an actual person, it certainly is associated with the Superheadz Website, aka the makers of this rubberized pocket gadget. The entire site is in Japanese, a language fascinating yet very much a mystery to me.

Luckily though, the manual is in English and even funny at times.

In a nutshell it explains the features of the camera and it all comes in a shiny plastic box, stating that you can take twice the amount of ordinary 35mm pictures (48 on a 24 roll, 72 on a 36 roll – you get the picture). It achieves this by taking a fairly small picture on a piece of film, comparable to that of 35mm motion picture cameras.

This idea isn’t new, and in fact goes way back. Had it not been for the ultimate source of all knowledge Paul Weston, I’d never have known. Apparently, Olympus made an entire SLR system around half format called the Pen F series. Very small cameras for the time (we’re talking the late 60ies here), and a whole arsenal of lenses was available. Paul even owned such a camera and says it took cracking pictures – until someone stole it from him in a changing room in Australia.

The main oddity of half-frame or half-format is that while holding the camera landscape, you’re actually taking a portrait picture, and vice versa. It’s like using the 645 gate with a Holga. It’s odd, but you get used to it quickly.

The other side effect of half-format of course is the image quality.

Paul remembers that for 6×4″ prints you don’t see a difference, but of course if you go bigger than that, grain starts becoming very visible. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; I for one am immediately thinking of funky black and white effects and overdeveloped HP5 film for an extra scoop of spookiness (see examples).

What’s in the Box

The camera comes in a choice of black or blue. Mine is black with a rubberised finish – like some versions of the Lomography Sumpersampler.

• 1x Golden Half camera
• 1x hand strap
• 1x 400 ASA Kodak film (in a matching Golden Half box)
• 1x Lens Cap
• 1x tiny Manual, about the size of a 35mm film box. Cute!

There’s an inscription on the back, explaining the basic concept. It finishes with “So throw away your book and why don’t you go out”. I love it already!

Features

The Golden Half features a very wide lens, 22mm as the manual states. That’s probably the actual focal length of the lens, which means at a smaller frame size, this would appear even wider. A quick glance through the viewfinder confirms this – without fisheye distortion, you can capture A LOT at a time, making this an ideal tool of candid street photography. Cartier-Bresson would have loved it. Be careful though that you don’t go up too close, minimum focusing distance is 1.5 meters (60 inches) according to the manual. In reality, I’ve not had anything out of focus though.

The Golden Half - front view

At the same time, it’s tiny compared to other film cameras. Imagine a stack of 5 Mini Discs maybe… or to say it with numbers, 9.5 x 7 x 3.5cm (that’s 3.5 x 2.5 x 1 inch) at only 84 grams not including a film (which would weigh about 20 grams). It fits neatly in the palm of my hand.

Apart from the obvious shutter button next to the viewfinder (top middle), the camera features an accurate film counter which counts all the way over 72. That’s a magical sight on a film camera, especially when you’re used to changing a roll every 12 pictures. It’s got a loupe to magnify the tiny numbers on what must be a white plastic wheel on the inside.

The film is wound to the next exposure with a plastic cog wheel, like we know and love from disposable cameras. You open the camera with a switch on the left, and there’s a little plastic crank on the bottom to rewind the film. All in all, it’s got a pretty sturdy feel to it.

Size Comparison: Holga 120, Holga 135 and Golden Half

On the front we find a switch for two real apertures: f8 for cloudy and f11 for sunny days (give or take 5% says the manual). I say “real apertures” here because you can actually see the hole changing, unlike on Holga cameras, where the aperture switch doesn’t work out of the box. There’s a third setting here with a flash symbol, which switches to f11 again – bringing us to yet another exciting feature: the Flash Hotshoe.

Even though it’s positioned a bit odd at the top left hand side of the camera, the Golden Half features a proud hotshoe for an external flashgun! I’ve tested this with a Canon 580 EX-II speedlite, and it works a treat. The flash fires in any of the three aperture positions, no matter if you choose flash, cloudy or sunny. Sweet!

To round it all off, there’s a tripod mount on the bottom of the camera. This might come in handy not so much for actual tripod shots, but more for accessory attachments. Sadly, there’s no bulb feature – but hey, when have I used that last?

Under the Hood

Let’s take a look at the insides of this little plastic gem.

... and that's what it looks like on the inside

What strikes me at first glance is that the film winds from right to left, not from left to right as is usually the case. It certainly doesn’t matter, but it’s a fact I’ve never thought about. All cameras I’ve worked with wound the other way round. Interesting.

You don’t have to lift the crank on the bottom, the film canister just fits in without mechanical shenanigans. The take-up spook is fairly thick, which is nice for the film. There’s a slit in the spool into which you can insert the film, which makes loading the camera very easy.

The bottom sprocket is used to crank up the leaf shutter, which must be a very thin plastic plate. The manual states that it fires at 1/100th of a second. There’s a thin clear plastic sheet in front of the shutter, possibly for protection. No pressure plate, just simple grooves to hold the film in place.

As for the lens, it certainly looks like it’s made from pure plastic. I’ve just seen some scanned results, and it looks like at f8 there’s a good sweet spot of about 50% in the middle, with fairly blurred edges (depending on the shot). Reminds me of the Holga look through and through. I’m sure at f11 we’d see more of the sweet spot, and a less blurred edge.

Let’s see some pictures

I’ve had the privilege of shooting about four rolls with the Golden Half already, and I’m impressed! Just what I was hoping for, especially when it comes to black and white.

The following pictures are mostly from my first roll – actually colour film developed in black and white chemicals. Hence the eerie feel. I’ve got some others coming up on Flickr shortly.

[View as Slideshow]

 

If you like the look of harsh grain and super 8 movies, this one’s for you. Add to that the small and lightweight size, paired with a huge arsenal of pictures you can take, add in some unpredictability (as is awlays a good ingredient with plastic cameras), and have fun.

I think the Golden Half, like the Holga 135 BC, is going to be a key part of my 35mm work from now on, especially in black and white. I’ve shot some stuff on colour too, and will post it in my newly created Flickr Golden Half Collection if and when it’s scanned. Keep an eye out.

Conclusion

If you’re into alternative photogrpahy and find odd formats fascinating, this is for you. If you’re looking for a cheap plastic camera and want to cut down on processing costs – understandable in the current financial climate – go and invest.

Films can be processed on the high street, although you’ll see two pictures side by side rather than singles (as shown in these examples). If you’re not into that, order larger prints and cut them in half. If you’re scanning your results like I do, be prepared for some long sessions – after all, you’re creating dozens of images per roll.

Where to get it from

• eBay (of course)
• Photographer’s Gallery in London
• Holga Magic (very slow server)