The Holga 135 TLR camera
is a simple plastic camera, often called toy camera, which
appeared late on the market around 2010, when real film cameras were
already disappearing. It's another fun version of the 135 series.
Like for the Holga 120 more than 20 years
earlier, it is said that the Chinese had an overstock of film, but no
cheap 135 cameras anymore.
It had some success on the Chinese market, but much more succes
internationally with the Lomography movement. Lomography sold Holgas
via their company.
The Holga 135 and the 135 BC (Black Corner) are the same cameras except a frame in the BC to create more vinetting.
The lens is simple 47mm plastic meniscus lens with some vignetting,
more pronouced on the BC. Light leaks are frequent, you may have to put
black tape over the seams. It has only one shutter speed of ~1/100s and
2 F-stops, sunny and cloudy, supposed to be ~F11 and ~F20.. There are
plenty of variants, a pinhole version, panoramic one, a TLR-version and
even a twin-lens-on-one frame version, TIM. Plenty of accessories are
available and a Holga community of DIY enthusiasts.
This camera is a Holga 135 TLR. It isn't a real Twin Lens Reflex,
the viewing lens doesn't focus. So it's more a brilliant finder camera
like the Voigtländer Brillant. The finder is more a gadget. I bought it
because I wanted to compare the pictures of my 135 BC to non-BC
pictures. The basis of this one is an ordinary Holga 135. There was a
135 BCTLR of course.
This camera is bright yellow. Note that all Holgas are black. The
colours are only sprayed on a black body, even for the white ones. And
yes, the colours wear off. Its main features are:
47mm
simple plastic menikus lens, ~F11 and F20, zone focus 1- ∞
Shutter
~1/100, B
Size 117x122x68, Weight 235 gr.
cable release, hot shoe
Camera
front with cap.
Cap off, viewer unfolded.
Camera
back. Back opening and film advance.
Camera top. Hot shoe, Shutter release with cable socket and
film counter.
The viewer. The off-center little ring indicates the parallax error.
It's the center of the photo the camera lens will take at a near
setting.
The counter is tiny and sits in a deep hole.
Camera bottom. Rewind, rewind release, tripod socket, speed selector near the lens.
Film compartment.
Between the 2 lenses: F-switch, only sunny and cloudy.
On the lens barrel: distance setting via symbols.
the camera has a "sports finder".
The Holga 135TLR is a basic plastic camera
with only one speed, no automatic exposure, no automatic film advance,
no autofocus, not even a rangefinder, cheaply made plastic lenses that
produce heavy vignetting and random results.
Probably
because it's more solid than others, it has attracted more DIY
people, Holga-mods are famous. There are plenty of discussions across
the forums worldwide about the Holga. You shoud read some of them, they
are interesting. As
for the Diana, I don't
think about measuring, I guess and I try. So for me a Holga is a nice find.
