Holga Cameras

Holga Cameras

Holga Cameras were originated in Hong Kong in 1982. These were meant to be a mass marketing camera for working class Chinese for them to have a way to take pictures of family and friends without spending a lot of money. However, with lost cost, usually low quality follows and that was the case with the Holga Camera. With the cheap construction of this camera, the pictures ended up having light leaks and blurring. The camera is made with a single meniscus lens, but the types of pictures that it produced actually turned out to be an art form in and of itself. Many photographers because avid users of Holga Cameras specifically because of the blurring and vignetting of the photographs. However, another one of the problems with the Holga Cameras was that the negatives were hard to develop because unless the photographer knew how to do them correctly, they were likely to be foggy and scratchy.

Holga Camera Models

There ended up being more versions after the original. There were also several models of the Holga Camera. The original Holga Camera was named the Holga 120S. The Holga 120S had the standard meniscus lens and the upgraded version, Holga 120N was updated with a better lens. There were six other models after the Holga 120N. They were the Holga 120SF, Holga 120GN, Holga 120FN, Holga 120GFN, Holga 120CFN, and the Holga 120GCFN. All of these are variations of the orginal Holga 120S and the updated 120N. These added features such as glass lenses, flashes and color flashes.

Holga Camera Starter Kit

If you choose to try the Holga Camera for yourself, there are starter kits that you can purchase that will include just about everything you need to get started. Most of the starter kits include the flash version of the Holga Camera, a photography book, 1 roll of film, I roll of tape, a poster, an instruction book and batteries so your camera can operate. With the Holga Camera’s popularity increase of the past couple of decades, these are still readily available in the market. Most Holga Cameras you might find on the Internet, but certainly stop into photography stores and see if they have any available. If they don’t they may be able to order you one or tell you a place or help you find someone that has one they would like to sell. They are still inexpensive and just as much fun to use as they were when they were first invented.