Just to note some tips for next time I use my Holga 135bc...* The best film to use (in terms of ISO) for slide films are: 100 for sunny days, 200 for sunny/overcast days etc etc. 400 is said to be good all round.
For normal film, it doesn't really matter.
* It works best outdoors in daylight. This is because it has a fixed shutter speed of about 1/125 and a fixed aperture of f11.
* The Sun = f11 and the cloud = f8. So I was using them correctly. The sun for sunny days and the cloud for cloudy days/night. Although Holga users say that these dont actually work so f is 13.3 for all.
* The final picture will cut off the top 25 or 30% of what you see through the viewfinder. (Known as parallax)
* The closest focus distance is one meter when the single person icon is selected.
* "Many people are a bit disappointed with their Holga 135 when they first use it because their pictures don't look "holgaish" enough. One reason is the perspective is wrong. It's too "normal" as opposed to wide-angle. The Holga wide-angle converter really gives the Holga 135BC the perspective it should have had in the first place."
* "You really need to think about the conditions you'll be shooting in as slide film has lower tolerance for error. With negative film you can be upto three stops out and still get a useable image. Slide film won't be so kind. It's better to over expose than underexpose so go for a faster film."
* "Based on Holga focusing tests done in another thread in this group, these are the metric distance equivalents for the Holga focusing icons:
• One Person = 1m
• Three People = 1.5m (Instructions say 2m)
• Group = 3m (Instructions say 6m)
• Mountains = Infinity (Instructions say 10+m)
That puts the hyperfocal distance just to the left of the big group either way.
So, how can you use this piece of information? If you set your focus just to the left of "Bi Group" you should be able to get everything from about 2.85m (half the hyperfocal distance) to infinity in focus. You really only need to switch your focus for things closer than 2.85m (9.35 ft.). For things at the closest focusing range, you definitely want to use the "one person" setting. For things at infinity, you might still want to use the three people setting if you also want the stuff close to you in focus. If you set your camera to infinity, things closer than about 10m may be out of focus." (Info from Flickr Holga group)
Very interesting. I'll add more tips later.
