Holga (and Diana)-vintage vs.new?

[nina_aha]

<p>Hi,<br>

I plan to buy Holga (or Diana) but there are new ones for sale as well as the vintage ones.<br>

Does anyone know if there's any difference between vintage and newly produced ones?<br>

Or do they have same effects and outcomes?</p>

<p>Thank you</p>

[randall ellis]

<p>No two are quite the same, even of the same vintage, but at least in my experience the newer Holgas tend to be sharper than the older, although you can easily remedy this by slightly damaging the lens...</p>

<p>- Randy</p>

[rob_piontek]

<p>I only have a new holga. I think the new ones have some improvements which many people were doing themselves. Mine does not have any light leaks that I've noticed, at least with the mask installed. Mine came with a 6 X 6 mask. Also it already has a tripod mount. It also has foam already installed to tension the film properly, and film tension is totally fine. </p>

<p>Who knows though if you buy a new one if it will be the same as mine. I would get a new one.</p>

[mfophotos]

<p>Well, I have both vintage and new Dianas, and have had Holgas for about 9 years. The "new" Diana is better in that it comes with a tripod socket, B and I, and an overall better build quality than the original. You might get lucky and find an old Diana somewhere for a few bucks, but they have certainly held their prices on ebay. So, rather than spend $60 on a used old Diana, you might as well buy the newer Lomography version, which has the added benefit of a pinhole setting. In addition, you can now buy a lens adapter to put the Diana F+ on a Canon or Nikon SLR, along with the fisheye lenses, etc that are sold for the Dianas. I have one on my Nikon right now, and it's a lot of fun.</p>

<p>With the Holga, I recommend the version without the flash. Again, the newer models (120N) now have a tripod socket, which is very helpful. With the flash models, if the battery dies while you have film inside... you can't change the batteries.</p>

<p> </p>

[patrick j dempsey]

<p>I don't think there are any "vintage" Holgas but some people claim that the older models are *crappier* than the newer models. One thing about buying a used Holga is that it may have unexpected modifications done by the former owner, as Holga is the official camera for people wanting to do mods.</p>

[charles_trentelman1]

<p>the old and new holgas are prety much equally crappy.<br>

The new Diana, however, is vastly different -- it has interchangable frames for "classic" 16-frames per roll shooting, or 12 frames per roll, or "panorama" where the borders merge. Its lens was carefully designed (yes, designed!) to mimic the old look and, to my mind, is a bit too intentionally bad, but in a good way, with lots of astigmatism on the edges, sometimes a bit too much, but it's not bad. <br>

Biggest change, an interchangable lens and a pinhole option -- take the lens off (bayonette) and the pinhole setting is that, a pinhole camera. Leave the lens on, the pinhole (waterhouse stops along with three lens openings, by the way) is just a very very tiny lens opening, f-64 or something. <br>

build is equally bad to the old one, but it holds up and does a good job, as long as "bad" is what you consider good.<br>

regarding holga light leaks -- i think most of these are really reflected light -- I cured my holga stereo pinhole of "leaks" by coating the inside shiny surfaces with flat black-painted paper.</p>

[bring1]

<p>Mark,<br>

I have been trying to figure out which Nikons the Diana lens adapter will work on. Is it only F series film cameras, or will it work on any of the DSLRs.<br>

Thanks,<br>

Bruce</p>

[bring1]

<p>Mark,<br>

I have been trying to figure out which Nikons the Diana lens adapter will work on. Is it only F series film cameras, or will it work on any of the DSLRs.<br>

Thanks,<br>

Bruce</p>

[jodi_eliz]

<p>Bruce,<br>

The adapter works on any of the DSLR (as long as you have the right one for the nikon or canon of course!). They are a ton of fun and I definitly recommend them! Hope this helps!<br>

- Jodi Elizabeth</p>

[bring1]

Jodi,

 

Thanks for the answer! I can't wait to buy and try the adapter.

 

Best Regards,

Bruce

[neil_purling]

<p>Has anyone here got examples of a Holga, original Diana & re-issued Diana?<br>

I have shot with the re-issued Diana & a Holga GN. The Diana shots seemed to have better edges than those done woth the Holga. I was using the 12 on a roll frame in the Diana.<br>

The original Dianas had a unusually small 4x4 cm format which might be a innaccurate comparison becasue you aren't getting the actual edges of the lens coverage.<br>

I am curious about Randy at Holgamods making a marriage of a original Diana lens & a Holga body.</p>