Holga 135BC 35mm Bent Corners Film Camera

Product Information

When I was writing my eBook on the Holga cameras, I made the assumption that I would be covering as many Holga models as I could get my hands on—medium format Holgas, that is. I would not even deign to take a look at 35mm Holgas, which I considered an afterthought and beside the point.

Other than the size and the mechanical differences of 35mm film vs. 120 the Holga 135 is very much the same as the original Holga 120. It still has that same toy camera feel and delivers that same "Holga look" that made the original such a hit. If you like the Holga 120 but would rather get more shots per roll: the 135 is for you. If you wanted to try a Holga but were intimidated by medium format film: the 135 is for you. My Take: 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’s a plethora of other Holga camera types out there, with twin lens reflex, pinhole, panoramic, stereo, 35mm, and 110 versions all made at one point or another. But even with all those, the 120N is probably what people mean if they don’t specify when they say they have a Holga. TLR: these 3 magic letters are immediately very seducing for every Lomographer. Lubitel, Rolleiflex, Voigtländer, Yashica… all these camera brands have produced among the best TLR cameras ever, but they can be kind of expensive sometimes. I’d recently mused about the alternatives to a Holga 135 series camera given the high cost. Just after that a newer color optical lens camera arrived and I managed to get a working 135BC. Roniflex X3000 camera a Fixed focus plastic lensed 35mm camera Set the ISO of your film by turning the ISO dial on the top of the camera to match your film’s ISO rating. Focus your camera So when I had my brief encounter with the globetrotting Littlest Holga, I thought I’d double dip. In other words, do a Holga 120N review to go along with the post I did showing the shots I got from it.

You should also understand that you’re not looking through the lens when you look through the viewfinder, which brings up three more potential issues that I can think of. I also knew it had to be a shooting format/ style that I hadn’t used before. I’d been shooting on film for over 15 years before my Lomo plunge and in that time I’d shot extensively on 35mm SLRs and the very occasional, borrowed medium format. So I knew that satisfying this criteria was probably going to be a lot more challenging than the first one.First of all, let’s say one thing: if this camera is named TLR, it is not exactly a real Twin Lens Reflex camera. The viewing lens is really just a fixed viewing lens and you can’t focus with it as it’s not related to the shooting lens (unlike the “real” TLR’s where the 2 lenses are related for focusing). But this doesn’t mean that you can’t have the fun and joy to shoot in the true spirit of TLR!

I had been playing with several cameras, trying to find the one that would fit this project the best. My #1 choice, the Holga 120, was really not the best tool for this—in general, the square format does not do true justice to the landscape format required by the storefront, and it ends up needing to be cropped, which is a real waste of film. If you want to play with a basic plastic box that will give you imperfect photographs, and you think you’ll like those photographs, go for it. Of course, if this is your first 35mm camera then there are other choices to consider as well as these two cameras....

Holga 135BC Specifications

While these films must take much of the credit, the Holga didn’t let them down when it came to contrast with the Shanghai GP3 and colours with the Lomography. The Holga may be bereft of even the most basic features most normal cameras have, but it’s still good to know what it does have, and where it all is.