Customer Reviews

Holga 144120 120N Plastic Camera

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It comes with a plastic lense, it takes 120 film, there's no flash, no light metering, no focusing. If you're not familiar with 120 film (not every pharmacy develops 120 film), then you should do a little research before you buy this camera ([...]). Most folks buy this as secondary camera, or just as a fun camera. The picture quality is different from camera to camera, and is not par with digitals. It does take unique shots, it is a cheaply priced camera, it feels cheap in your hands. I give it five stars, because for the price it captures my surroundings in a way that no digital can replicate.

This affordable toy camera is renowned by artists around the globe, and for good reason too! Once you take this bad boy out of it's box and load your 120 film, the fun begins. It's small and light enough to bring it almost everywhere. The pictures that come out of this camera are something. Don't bother picking up some electricians tape because unexpected light leaks are always fun. Saturation, colour, and vignetting add to my love of this camera. Save yourself some money and pair this up with the Lomo Colour Flash. You can use it with your other cameras for extra fun! Double exposures are no problem, just click away without advancing the film.

The logical progression from the original Holga 120S is this camera, the Holga 120N. It stays true to the original, but with some minor improvements: a brass tripod socket, bulb exposure setting, and foam cushion film tensioner. It's got the same plastic lens, which captures the heart and soul of just about any photographic moment...try that with a digital! I suggest that you purchase two...one for color work, and one for black & white film. Also, get the optional 6x6cm frame mask to take advantage of the awesome vignetting.

Great camera for all levels of photographers. Unique style and results. You never know what your individual camera will provide. Overexposure and underexposure quality is expected and wanted with this fun camera. A little hard to find places that will develop film with ISO 120 but worth the prints when you can find a place.

A must for all photographers to play with. A wonderful buy and worth the money.

**Use caution when buying from Calumet! Banned from e-bay they are not the best of places to buy anything! Poor product quality and overpriced shipping are only two of the major problems. Please use caution.

The world of photography has changed so dramatically over the last 6-7 years that its honestly hard to put it into words. For the average person digital photography is a welcome advance in technology. No longer having to buy film, being able to see the end picture immediately, being able to make prints on your home computer, being able to shoot with your cell phone, etc.. There are really a hundred and one reasons why most people love digital photography.

There is another side to this coin however as there are those out there that do not like digital or what it has done to the entire field of photography over the last 5-10 years. I am one of those people. I absolutely love photography. Its not only my single favorite hobby, its also how I make my living. Its the entire process that I fell in love with, not just the end result. The loading of the film, the limited number of pictures per roll of film, the printing in a darkroom and most importantly the seemingly limitless creative aspects of film itself. There are so many things that you can do to alter the look of the film or print and I am sorry but running your picture through a filter in photoshop doesn't even begin to compare. The end result may appear similar but the process that got you there couldn't possibly be more different. I love the processes just as much as I do the end result and digital just doesn't even begin to compare.

Anyways this is where camera's like the Holga and Diana come in. These are camera's for people who are in love with film and the different looks that film can give you. These are sometimes referred to as toy cameras however that does not take anything away from these cameras or their ability to take pictures. I have been using a Holga for over 10 years and I can tell you first hand that if you take the time to master these cameras, you can take absolutely stunning pictures. You don't need 20 MegaPixels and a Carl Zeiss lens to shoot amazing pictures. In fact you dont even need a lens if your shooting with a pinhole camera.

Its nice to see that there are still people out there shooting with these kinds of cameras. There are even some that have given up shooting digital and come back to film. My hats off to those people because film is still where its at with photography. As for myself, I still shoot film 99% of the time and My Holga and Diana go pretty much everywhere I go. At around 40.00, you don't have much to lose in regards to trying them out.

5 stars!

In an era when cameras are getting more and more complicated, when the upgrade cycle means built-in obsolescence for digital cameras within a year or two, when the emphasis is on increasingly incomprehensible "menus" of digital options, and mind-numbing hours playing with Photoshop, along comes the antidote in the most unlikely form: a cheap plastic camera that has virtually no controls, no settings, no predictability whatever. Welcome to the world of Holga. These delightful cameras bring the fun back to photography. All the features that one cannot get in even the most expensive cameras such as light leaks, severe vignetting, lack of sharp focus, accidental double exposures, and light weight are here! What other camera company makes flashes designed to severely tint the image in yellow or red glows? And of course, the sensor is film! No need to worry about ultrasonic cleaning of CCDs, CMOS, or any other electronic material. Each shot gets its very own sensor. Not satisfied that the light leaks are intense enough? No problem. Just make a tiny hole somewhere in the body! The images are unique and immediately recognizable as being from a Holga (even if the subject is totally unrecognizable). This is post-modern photography at its finest.

This camera produces stunningly artistic photos when used outdoors in adequate light. Indoors it is virtually worthless, unless you use a flash. (It took me a little while to find an old flash that would sync right with this, incidentally; my $300 Nikon flash wouldn't work with it) Anyway this is actually made very well and I think made better than the Lomo LC-A, and I like the pictures from this better than the pictures from the $150-$200 Lomo LC-A.

In an age where digital is only getting sharper, bigger, better, and more expensive it's nice to get a HOLGA and not worry about anything but the picture. I have a few of these and each one takes pictures differently and that's the beauty of it. Just get one and see what you come up with. I know you'll be pleasently surprised.

I've been a Holga user for the past decade, and the 120N is definitely an upgrade (if you could call it that) from the older Holga 120S. Light leaks are part of the Holga's charm, but sometimes you want a nice, clean image. Unlike the previous generations of Holgas, I've never had to wrap the 120N in black tape.

One caveat: always check your settings. Many times I've inadvertently slid it over to "bulb," producing a very blurry picture. Unless you're in a very low light situation and you have a tripod handy, don't touch the bulb setting.

This little gem is an adventure to operate! The only camera in the world where it's flaws are it's greatest attributes. Breakout from the boring rectangullar world of digital photography! this little beauty shows you a whole new world of photography!