Types of Holga

So you want in on the Holga action? I don't blame you. Firstly you'll need to pick yourself a nice new Holga. There are several different species of Holga, which one you choose is entirely up to you. The main differences between each camera are its inclusion of a flash and its lens material

  • Holga 120S - This is the original Holga that started it all. Plastic lens, 6x4.5 mask and hot shoe for your flashes. This model has now been replaced with the 120N
  • Holga 120N - Improved design. Comes with plastic lens, tripod mount, bulb exposure mode, and 6x6 mask. Also rumoured to have less light leaks.
  • Holga 120FN - Same as 120N, but with a built in flash.
  • Holga 120CFN - Same as 120N, but featuring a built in colour flash. Comes with 4 colour options - white, blue, red, and yellow.
  • Holga 120GN, 120GFN & 120GCFN - Same as the above, but with a cheap glass lens. Slightly sharper images, but Holga purists may prefer the plastic lenses.
  • Woca 120G - Looks like a 120S but with a glass lens. Shutterbug has more information on this discontinued model. Has now been replaced by the Holga 120GN.

If you have your own flash, or wish to buy one, my advice is to go for a 120N. It's the cheapest model and you get the added bonus of a hot shoe.. hot damn. Also you don't have to worry about your flash batteries coming lose and rattling round inside your camera.

 
Holga 120GN

Holga 120GN by
Paul Williamson

Holga 120CFN

Holga 120CFN by
The Triplettenator

Holga 120FN

Holga 120FN by
sparkrobot

Woca 120GN

Woca 120G by
In the Eye of Taiwan
& Hualien City

 

Which Holga should I choose?

The Holga that I recommend to most people is the Holga 120N (or 120GN). There are a couple of reasons why I think this is a great first Holga; firstly, it is the cheapest, so if you get it and then find you don't like it, you wont lose out much. Secondly, it is the most flexible - it has a hot shoe so you can use any flash you want. Also if the batteries run out of your flash half way through a roll it's not the end of the world!

Is there a 35mm equivalent?

Not one that takes square pictures and is truly similar to the Holga. However, recently there has been a few Chinese retailers selling a camera called the Holga 135BC. Preliminary reports are that it's a quite good full-frame 35mm equivalent. There is plenty of vignetting, and soft focus. For the lowdown on this camera check out moominseans review: part one, and part two. It seems the only place to buy it right now is eBay.