Holga 120N Medium Format Fixed Focus Camera with Lens

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.

Photog snobs love these, and I understand why. Just don't trust your memories to it because every shot comes out looking different.

I love this camera, the nostalgia in the photos it produces, the vignetting and most of all, the square format - rebelling against all those digital wide-screen cameras.

I still like using my digital camera but the Holga has reignited my passion for photography.

And this camera costs less than 30 bucks! You can't beat that.

So it's got a plastic body, plastic lens, fixed focal length, fixed slow aperature, one defined shutter speed, fixed focus, fixed exposure. Hmmm... that sounds like a disposable camera except you can reload it.

They market the poor quality as an advantage: "Beloved Holga effects: soft focus, double-exposures, streaming colors, intense vignetting and unpredictable light leaks." These are bad things!!!!!
---"Soft focus" is a cute phrase meaning pictures are a little blurry.
---"Intense vignetting" is because of the low quality plastic lens and it ruins all but artistic style photos.
---"Unpredicitable light leaks" are because the camera is soo poorly construction. It can ruin a picture you hoped to get.

Once in a long while, they can create an artistic looking photo. I saw some photos of a carnival taken with a Holga, and it looked weird and spooky.... definitely a good effect.

If this your 2nd or 3rd film camera, and you are looking for a camera that takes lo-fidelity photos, then perhaps. However, if you are looking for a film camera for general purpose photos, you will likely be serious disappointed with a Holga.

The Holga is a medium format camera taking size 120 film. I has a single plastic lens and a plastic body with a shutter that is controlled by a single spring. It sounds like a piece of crap and it is. But you will be astonished that it will make such interesting photos and how creative you can be with it. Forget all you know about the technical side of photography when it come to the Holga. Just shoot and wind and be surprised by the results.