| Holga 135 BC |
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| Written by Michael Barnes | |
| Tuesday, 24 February 2009 | |
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Tokina has created a 35mm camera for the 120mm Holga lovers. They’ve included three versions to choose from: the 135, 135BC, and 135PC. “135” refers to the traditional name coined by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film 35mm wide.
The Holga 135 is a smart, compact 35mm camera with no frills. It’s the sort of camera you might find at drug or convenience stores that a desperate person heading to a party might look for (although you’d be disappointed without the flash if the party was indo ors!). From the front (Figure A), you’ll immediately find familiarity with lens housing, complete with the classic Holga icons. From the top view, you’ll find the manual film winder on the left, a hot shoe, and the shutter release (interesting to note here is the socket on the shutter for cable release). From the bottom The interesting thing is that the 120 cameras that Holga originally made were not intended to exhibit the features we have come to love today—the gradual blurring towards the edges, vignetting, and the ability to take multiple exposures. These flaws were manipulated by us who fell in love with a sorry excuse for a camera. Now that Tokina understands that that is precisely why the Holga has endured its popularity in this digital age, they have at least attempted to recreate these features in the 35mm models. The inclusion of a cable release, a tripod socket, and no mechanism to prevent multiple exposures proves that Tokina is dialed in to their target market—us silly people who think we are creating artwork from a crappy camera.
Looking at the photos below taken by Andrea Pound, you can see she has maximized the features of the Holga 135BC. The vignetting is very evident in all three photos. You can also see she has made use of the ability to take multiple exposures. Traditional Holga users who are used to taking square photos, will now be forced to decide whether or not they want to take horizontal or vertical pictures (the horror!). To the fickle like myself, you may feel slightly cheated at the forced vignetting through the mask, and it will most likely not offer much in variation in what shows up on film when comparing camera to camera.
One thing we didn’t delve into is the ability to modify the camera. But if we know Holga owners, it won’t take long to open up the hood to enhance the photo-taking abilities of these cameras. The 135PC may be of interest to pinholers, but you can’t help but feel spoiled by the recently released Diana+ by having the ability to shoot with the lens and pinhole. Finally, the 135BC will likely be the most desired version of the Holga 135. The vignetting (although forced) is nice to see. Most importantly, now that the camera is being imported to North America (with Freestyle leading the way), the price point for this camera is at least worth picking up and giving it a go, and start thinking outside the box to modify the camera to give it a look all your own—in other words, have fun with it. It’s a TOY! From Light Leaks magazine, Issue 9 February 2009 Update -Note that the black opaque mask seen in this 135BC review is not the current mask currently in production. The masks that cause the fake vignetting have changed a few times - the current ones are more of a transparent mask with small ridges that diffuse the light in the corners. Photos By Andrea Pound:
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 February 2009 ) |
The world of film is dead. It’s done. Call the coroner. Time of death: 2008. Polaroid has jumped ship, the Mom and Pop photo shops are turning off their lights for the last time. Make way for the digital revolution. Really? A few stragglers seem to have a different idea. First a new Diana camera is introduced, and now the world famous Tokina Company, LTD (Member of Universal Electronics Group of Companies or UEI for short) has fired up a new production line of its own—the Holga 135.
, you see the film winding lock mechanism, tripod socket, as well as the B/N lever (“B” being bulb setting).
When looking at the generic 135 model, it apparently exhibits virtually no blurring or vignetting. The 135 “BC” model (we’re not entirely sure what BC stands for) has had some manual intervention to create our beloved vignetting technique via a sneaky little mask behind the shutter mechanism (thanks to Sean Rohde for tipping us off on this). The mask is what creates the vignetting shown on film. It is not in fact created naturally from poor optics. What results on film is a harsh, sharp vignetting, rather than a gradual fall off that is exhibited in the original 120mm versions. Absent is the gradual blurring you get in the original 120 Holgas, allowing us to have that distinct “sweet spot” in the center of the frame.
It’s difficult to know the target market Tokina is aiming for with the basic 135 model, without showing the traditional Holga characteristics in what shows up on film, it’s hard to know why this camera would be desired.
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Also, I'm sure someone has already pointed this out somewhere on this website, but I'm pretty sure that BC stands for Black Corners.