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Mishap of a first-time Holga (and MF) user


hyunyu

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<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>I'm very, very new to the world of MF, and mainly just for the fun of it, I started out with a Holga 120N. Yes I know it's a toy camera, and yes I know it's not a good representation of what the MF world is about, but I thought it'd be a fun, funky camera to have a go at.</p>

<p>Well, being so new to it, here's what I did. I left the 6x6 mask inside the camera that sets the 120 roll to 12 exposures, but on the counter window, I left the arrow pointing to "16". So I merrily took 16 exposures around town, with the film mask inside set for 12 exposures. I've finished the roll, and took it out according to the instructions, but I'm now wondering what the result of this mismatched shutter action would be. When I drop the roll off for developing, do I tell them that it's in 6x4.5 format, or 6x6 format? It would seem the latter, but I did take 16 pictures! The counter on the film advanced all the way to sixteen...</p>

<p>Please help me wrap my head around this. Thank you.</p>

<p>Hyun.</p>

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<p>I just had a thought: Would all the pictures be slightly overlapping with the frames next to them? If that's the case, I could say I did that on purpose for artistic fun. :)</p>

<p>Can 120 rolls be developed and not cut? Sorry, I really don't know anything about medium format.</p>

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<p>I have lots of Holga experience. What is going to happen is your photos will be overlapped. You simply tried to put 16 photos into a space designed to accept 12. There is nothing to tell the processing lab. The film is processed as an entire roll. It makes no difference if there is one photo or if the whole roll is one continuous photo. That is a moot point. What WILL matter is to be sure they do NOT cut the roll into strips, which if it is any semblance of professional lab, they would not do anyway after seeing the overlaps of the frames. North Coast Photographic Services is an excellent lab to use by the way. </p>

<p>So processing is not really a problem. The problem is getting any prints or even any scans. Any lab scan is going to be impossible to get or cost you extra, because it will require lots of extra human intervention. Even then, any scan is going to have to be arbitrarily started and stopped in the middle of a frame. You really need your own scanner to try to determine how you actually would want the image to look. </p>

<p>Some other points though. A Holga being what it is, unless you really take some serious steps with tripod mounting, using a slow speed film, a ND filter, a cable release, use the Bulb mode, and use an external light meter to determine correct exposure, you are not likely to have a full roll of good exposures anyway. So be expecting some overexposed and underexposed frames on your processed film. </p>

<p>Unless these were some shots you really want, you might want to just chalk this up to experience and trash the roll rather than even bother trying to get it processed and jumping through the hoops you are going to have to do to try to get prints and / or scans. </p>

<p>Some of my Holga shots:</p>

<p>http://www.lightanon.com/-/lightanon/gallery.asp?cat=92459</p>

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<p>Steve, Richard, and Jim, thank you very much for the replies. I actually shot 16, so the images are overlapped. I think I am going to turn it in for developing--a local lab can develop it for under $6--and then scan at home using my Canon flatbed scanner. I will end up ruining some images because I'll need to cut them to scan, but that's OK, there's really nothing on the roll that I need. Just for kicks, to see what it turns out. <br>

Thanks again, guys.</p>

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<p>Thanks Hyun. It is not a glass lens. It is the usual plastic lens. The camera will actually focus reasonably well if you can remember to do it! I even have a piece of paper taped on the back of mine with what the various focus symbols on the lens relate to in terms of feet. I also use a Nikon 9000 scanner for the negatives, so that helps matters also!</p>
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