holga Archives

My Holga 135BC Review

Holga 135BC - what's in the box
Holga 135BC - what's in the box

I’ve had my eye on this camera for a while – like every Holga Nut I imagine… who could resist the temptation of another Holga, especially if it’s different to the ones we know and love? Unlike its big brothers, this one takes standard 35mm film and produces 24x36mm negatives – easily processed on the High Street.

I rushed down to the Photographer’s Gallery last week to get the Holga 135BC, and I couldn’t wait to try it out. But before I show you the breathtaking results, here’s what this camera is all about.

There are two versions: the Holga 135 and the Holga 135BC. As I understand it, the only difference is a pink sticker on the BC version, and the fact that BC stands for “black corners”. This one should produce stronger vignetting, while the non-BC version shouldn’t.

Although there are no clues on the package or the manual, it’s fair to assume that this little baby is made by Tokina in Hong Kong, along with the rest of the fabulous Holga family.

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First Shots from my Holga with Aperture Mod

This is exciting: I’ve just scanned two rolls of film shot with my modded Holga 120SF! As I said yesterday, I always wanted a larger switchable aperture on Holga. Even in the slightest bit of shade, Holga pictures are too dark (that’s 299 days of the year in the UK). I’ve now got a working switch in …

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I’ve modded my first ever Holga 120SF

Big news: You remember the first ever Holga camera I’ve bought? The 120SF (plastic lens, no tripod mount, no bulb switch, no colour flash)? Well guess what: I’ve taken a screwdriver, some superglue, a drill bit and increased the aperture by two or three stops using this very detailed article by Mark Hahn. By default, …

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Panorama Shoot-Out, Part 7: Fisheye Holga

When the colour-splash Holga came out, I knew I had to have one! It had a tripod mount and a bulb setting too – nowadays the standard for Holgas – but it wasn’t pre 2006. This one also has a glass lens, and a dedicated 6×6 gate. Lomography were selling it for a lot more …

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Cross Processed in E6

The other day I tried my hand at cross-processing some colour negative film in Tetenal Colortec E6. The results are remarkable! Looks like I’ve been back to 1952 for a bit. I’ve tried it the other way round before (slide film in C-41), which also looks rather funky (or shall we say lomographic?) So here …

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