[geeks] Lomo/Holga photography

[James Fogg]

> My wife is into photography and has recently expressed
> interest in getting a Lomo/Holga camera.  I'd like to pick
> one up for her birthday but she doesn't know much about Lomo
> and I don't know much about photography so I was hoping
> someone here could recommend a specific camera.  She wants
> something in 35mm,  possibly with a hot shoe for a flash
> (flash recommendations needed), decent quality.  I don't want
> to spend a fortune but I don't want something that doesn't
> work well or will break easily.


The Holga's that you hear about are popular for several reasons. They
use 120 film, have a cheap fixed focus lens with super long
depth-of-field and they are cheaper than cheap. The lens is also fast
(bright), so the aperture will always be small (high f-stop), producing
a pinhole camera artistic effect (google pinhole camera to see what I
mean).

Medium format film (120 and larger) is simply amazing. If she's never
worked with it she will faint when she sees the results. I've always
kept old "box" cameras from the 1920-1950's just so I can work with a
fixed focus medium format camera. It gets even more enjoyable when
working with a modern medium format camera like the Bronica's and
Mimiya's with interchangeable lenses.

One of my absolute favorite cameras is a Graflex Speed-Graphic with 2X3
& 4X5 film backs. This is a view camera with a speed finder (think
range-finder) for quick work. www.graflex.org

There is just no substitute for a large film plane. The clarity and
definition is not achievable with 35mm under any circumstances. An
inexpensive medium format camera will always out-perform the best 35mm
camera.

Be aware though, the Holga's are popular for the "artistic" print
quality produced by a cheezy lens.