Using Filters with a Holga

So you want to try using filters with black and white film, but you're not jazzed by the idea of holding them in place. Well, my friend you are in luck. You see the Holga's lens is 46mm in diameter which means you can screw a filter straight into the plastic. If you don't like the idea of screwing something into your plastic lens barrel though, you can order a Universal Holga Mount from Lomography.

To get started, find a 46mm step up ring. You can buy these from all good photography stores, or eBay. If you already own filters, get a step up ring that matches any filters you currently have;  46-49mm, 46-52mm, 46-58mm, etc. It is vital you get a step up ring, as opposed to a step down ring.

Now take your step up ring and gently screw the smaller thread into the plastic Holga lens barrel. Make sure to screw it in as straight as possible - the ring threads should dig right into your Holga's soft plastic.

Now what?

Now you can buy a range of common 49mm (or whatever your step up value is) filters for your Holga. These range in price from about £2 up to £70. Although it's kind of pointless buying an expensive faultless filter to use with a £20 plastic camera. There are many different types of filter available, but which are of interest to Holga users?

• Colour filters: most commonly used with black and white films to increase contrast. Try these with colour film to get a solid colour cast over your image.
• Neutral Density (or ND) filters: are used for reducing brightness. Great if you've loaded 400 ISO film and it's a bright sunny day outside. Alternatively, ND filters are good if you want to do long exposures during the day.
• Close up lens. Not strictly a filter, allows you to focus closer to your subject. See the close focus article for more advice.
• Polarisers: are useful for shooting water (lakes, ponds), window glass, tree leaves, and landscapes. They work by cutting out reflected glare, to improve clarity or colour response. You can read more about them on Luminous Landscape.

One important detail to remember is that filters usually soak up at least 1 stop of light. This means you may have to increase your film speed (100 to 200, or 400 to 800 for example) to compensate. There is a helpful chart at Camera Craft which tells you how much light each filter soaks up. For further reading, you can look through this guide to Cokin filters. If you want to use the Cokin filter system, check out the Cokin article.

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