Thursday, October 4, 2012

Cropping 120 Holga's image

The focal distance of the 120 Holga is 60mm. Using the mask 4,5x6 cm is equivalent to a 35 mm lens for a 35 mm camera. This is clearly a wide angle lens, since the normal lens for 35 mm cameras are typically 50 mm. Thus, reducing the area of the image in a 120 Holga to the size of a 35mm camera (full frame) is like using 60mm lens in a 35 mm camera. This is almost a normal lens for 35mm cameras. And I must say that it is not unconfortable to use 60 mm focal lenght as the normal lens in a 35mm camera.

Further, if we wanted to use the Holga with a normal lens, that is to say, not a wide angle lens like it is by nature, we would need a lens of about 85 mm focal length.

On the other hand, we might think that cutting image information is not wise, but there are good reasons for that. All lenses are sharper at the center and the quality becomes worst with the distance to the center. The cropped image discards then the portions of the image with the poorest quality. This makes much sense when using cheap lenses like in a Holga.

Photo made with a Holga 120 GN
The other advantadge is that instead of just 16 photos you get 27 to 28 photos. Forget the numbers window, start at the second circle before pic. number 1 and count 15 clicks for the first 4 pics, after the fourth shot  reduce to 14 clicks for the next 4 pics and so on until 11 clicks as minimum clicks between shots.

But my last modification of the Holga will allow me to shoot some 50 photos, using a slightly smaller mask, 22x33 mm instead of 24x36mm and a special 35 mm/36exp. roll without sprocket holes, as I said already in another post.

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