The Holga camera is a medium format toy camera. First produced in Hong Kong in 1982, its name may be a corruption of the Cantonese phrase "ho gwong"—"very bright."

Characteristics

The camera has a following among toy camera enthusiasts and LOMO photographers. The low-fidelity plastic lens exhibits many serious faults including soft focus, vignetting, and chromatic aberrations. The plastic camera body is no less prone to fault, often allowing light leaks and failing to hold the 120 size film flat against the film plane when used in its 6x6cm aspect ratio mode, without its 6x4.5 frame insert. Also, multiple exposures are possible as there is no shutter interlock. In other words, the film advance and shutter are independent, whereas in most contemporary cameras the shutter of a camera is cocked simultaneously with the advance of the film as the film advance lever is wound or flicked. Problems with fogging and scratched negatives are also aplenty. The low-tech aspects of Holga photography often associate it with the pinhole camera.

While these elements are typically seen as undesirable consequences of poor design and engineering, many users find the unpredictable and abstract results fascinating and desirable. Some photographers modify and adapt the camera with Polaroid backs, Hasselblad lens mounts, or remove the shutter for long exposure night photography.

See also

• Medium format photography and lomography

External Links

• http://www.toycamera.com
• http://www.lomography.com/holga
• http://www.bildmaterial.ch Holga-Shots
• http://www.livejournal.com/users/holgas LJ Community for people who own/are interested in Holga