We received a Holga GTLR through the post today, and figured you might want a brief hands-on mini review in the time being until we get a chance to take some photos (and take some photos of us taking some photos!).
We are also getting a standard plastic-lensed TLR shortly for rigorous testing, so will be running a side-by-side comparison of the two new cameras, to finally answer the question…is the glass lens worth it?
I’ll hopefully have some photos from the GTLR in the next few days, although it’s a completely standard Holga inside, so expect the expected picture-wise!
Excuse the crappy photos, I never got round to getting a DSLR!
The Box
Instead of the usual blue holga ‘monkey box’, the TLR comes in a fetching pink and black.
The Contents
Inside the box is the TLR, an instruction sheet, a 6×4 mask (the 6×6 is already inside the camera), and the usual strap.
The Viewfinder
Right. here’s the main difference…the new TLR viewfinder. It pops up nicely, is circular, and is suprisingly clear. You get the greatest clarity from the viewfinder when positioning your eye about 6 inches and upwards from the viewfinder hood. As everyone thought, the viewfinder lens is fixed, and is not linked to focussing at all. It is solely used for framing your photo, which it actually does pretty well. It completely solves the old parrallax problem, horizontally anyway, but you do still need to adjust the camera vertically, as the viewfinder lens is a few inches above the ‘proper’ lens. The camera should work pretty well if you are taking photos of seascapes, enabling you to get a completely level horizon.
(That’s Beth tidying the lounge..oops!)
The Inside
The inside is pretty much the same as the 120CN. You’ll be happy (?) to know that the aperture switch still doesn’t work either! The colour wheel flash is the same as on other flash-equipped models, although obviously placed in a different place.
Handling
Surprisingly, given it’s bulky nature, the holga fits quite nicely in your hands. The most comfortable position was ‘cupping’ the camera from below (ooo-er), and using my right thumb on the shutter release. The aperture switch is quite hard to get to due to it’s position between the two lenses, but that’s not a big deal due it’s lack of function!
Most people will use the waist level finder, although there is the option of pushing down the front flap of the viewfinder ‘box’ to create a basic eye level finder.
And that’s about that! Just a quick run-through of the GTLR, with some photos to follow in a few days when I can get some time to use the darkroom.
Any questions or photo requests, just leave a comment below!
18 Comments
great review on Holga 120 TLR…!!
It might be interesting, since you’ve taken some successful pictures through the Holga TLR’s viewfinder, to try taking a picture through the viewfinder a few times either before or after you’ve snapped a shot with the Holga. That way, maybe we could get an idea of how the parrallax is.
Then again . . . it may be more trouble than it’s worth . . . it is a Holga, after all!
Hey Moochie, WIll take some photos of what you see through the viewfinder, and then will put up some comparison shots to what the lens actually sees. I reckon it’s going to be a few inches out, but it will be interesting anyway!
Hi,
I’m looking forward to see the pictures. But hey, is the strap longer than the “normal” one? To wear it at my waste…;)
N!CE
want one!
Can we look normally into the viewfinder like the normal versions instead of vertically?
Hi idzani,
It doesn’t have a ‘normal’ viewfinder like the Holga 120, but it does have a ‘sports’ finder, which you can use by popping the lid of the viewfinder down to create a square hole to look through!
Wow! Where are those pics? So with this new version, will a whole new set of accessories have to be made?
ive been really interested in getting a holga camera,but since i dont know of anyone who has one im not really sure which would be the best.
…any suggestions?(:
Hi Laura,
I would recommend the Holga 120N as your first holga. It is the ‘standard’ no frills version of the holga, and still the best!
You can get it from freestyle here:
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/holga.php?pg=cameras&cat_id=&pid=1000000526
thank you so much!I really appreciate it!
i got the holga twin lens reflex as a christmas present and im curious as to what the dial on the left that has the lettere r,y,b,and w on it, ive also never owned anything but a digital camera so i am quite perplexed
Hi Trinity,
The dial you are seeing changes the colour of the flash, so:
r=red
y=yellow
b=blue
w=white
Hope that helps, enjoy your camera!
I just received this same camera (but mines is Pink) last week. I absolutely love this camera!
I set it up, snapped and deleveloped my first roll of film yesterday.. still waiting on getting them back.. Can’t Wait!
I just got this camera today, in red! And I’m so excited to use it because it takes both normal film and 120 film. However, the flash doesnt seem to have batteries right? So I have to put them on myself? How do I do that?
I can’t find a manual for it anywhere!
i just got this exact same holga today too! in purple!
you can insert the batteries by removing the frame size mask first. (:
hopes this helps!
Hello,
I’m a newbie when it comes to this but recently bought this holga camera and have a few questions about how to use it (the instructions i had were in chinese… not very helpful for me) first off once I have taken a picture do I need to wind it on to take another photo? if so how much do i need to wind it on? are the batteries just for the flash? and how long do you have to hold down the button to take the photo? thanks for all your help.
Hi Craig,
After you have loaded the film into your camera(and wound on until it says ’1′ through the red window), ensure the switch on the bottom is set to ‘N’ rather than ‘B’ and press the shutter button. You then wind on the film until you see a ’2′ in the red window, and keep doing that until you have taken your 12th shot, you can then continue to wind the film all the way along to the end. The batteries are solely for the flash so you don’t need them in(sometimes they can fall out mid-film too, so ensure you tape them up in there). If you have loaded some suitable speed film for your daylight(i.e 100ISO=bright daylight, 400ISO=overcast), you can just click the shutter switch and it will open the shutter for a set time anyway, so it doesn’t matter how long you hold it down for (this is presuming you have the bottom switch set to N). If you set the switch to B, then you can hold the shutter button down for as long as you want to expose the film correctly(i.e at nighttime), but bear in mind, the longer you hold the shutter down for, the steadier you need to hold the camera, otherwise you will get blurry shots.
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