I have been out of the analogue photography scene for many years. My last foray was publishing a few limited edition books and prints with Trevor Crone focusing on The Impossible Project and Polaroid instant film using original 1970's Polaroid cameras. Part 1 discusses the 35mm Holga camera, part 2 stand development and part 3 the 120 roll film version of the Holga.
I have used an Iphone to build a library of images for inspiration in abstract paintings for awhile now. To add an element of chance and to enable me to capture multiple images on one picture and to blend colours and textures together, I decided to go old school with a Holga plastic camera and film. There are plenty of reviews around this is just my slant on the 35mm version. Multiple exposures and slow shutter speeds can be utilised in apss like D Exposure and ReeHeld but are not as much fun.
The Holga camera’s lo fi aesthetic makes it a natural companion to the idea of Wabi Sabi the Japanese sensibility that finds beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and simplicity. With its plastic lens, soft focus, vignetting, light leaks, and unpredictable exposures, the Holga produces images that resist polish and control. What might be considered technical flaws in conventional photography instead become expressive qualities, giving photographs a sense of fragility, intimacy, and transience. In this way, the Holga does more than document a scene, it reveals the poetic value of the accidental and the incomplete.
Holga 135FC review
The 135FC is a later 35mm Holga variant with flash that is sold as part of the 135 series released around 2005 I believe. The Holga 135FC is essentially the 120 roll film version Holga idea translated into a conventional 35mm camera. A simple plastic construction, zone focusing, very limited exposure control and a lens whose imperfections are a large part of its charm. For someone interested in experimental black and white or colour photography rather than technical perfection, it’s a interesting little camera.
What you get
The current 135FC has a 47mm f/8 plastic lens, with f/8 and f/11 aperture choices. Normal shutter speed is approximately 1/100 sec, supplemented by Bulb, and focusing is manual/zone focus. There’s a built-in flash with 3 colours, hot shoe, tripod socket and cable-release socket. The flash takes one AAA battery; the camera itself is otherwise mechanical. At around 178g, it’s also extremely light.
The photographs
This is where the 135FC either makes complete sense or none at all. Expect soft corners, variable sharpness, vignetting, occasional light leaks and considerable variation between individual cameras. Many Holga 135 reviews describe this unpredictability, including softness towards the frame edges and variation in how individual cameras respond to exposure settings.
The 47mm focal length is particularly nice. It’s close to a traditional “standard” lens, so you don’t get the exaggerated wide-angle appearance of many inexpensive reusable 35mm cameras. The FC version emphasises darkened corners/vignetting, giving the 35mm negative more of the visual character associated with the original 120 Holga.
Exposure is the interesting part
With essentially 1/100 sec and f/8 or f/11, exposure becomes wonderfully crude. With ISO 400 film, bright daylight is straightforward. Overcast British conditions become less predictable which isn’t necessarily a disadvantage with a Holga. The Photographers’ Gallery actually describes 400 ASA as optimal for the camera. Personally I’d start with Kodak Tri-X 400 with stand development. This combination suits the camera extremely well, the Holga supplies optical irregularity while Tri-X gives you enough latitude to tolerate the primitive exposure system. In fact, I’d be inclined to expose Tri-X around EI 200–400 rather than trying to obtain technically perfect negatives. RO9/Rodinal-type stand or semi stand development can then help restrain highlights while bringing usable density out of marginally exposed shadows. The above images were taken on a relatively sunny day with some cloud, where there was a lot of shadow I used the overcast setting. Using Stand development they are all scanable images.
Bulb mode is more useful than it sounds
The B setting keeps the shutter open while it is held, and the camera provides both a tripod socket and threaded cable release connection. That opens up a completely different aesthetic. Interiors, night streets, intentional camera movement, multiple second exposures and light painting.
One significant reservation: film transport
Recent owner reviews of the current-production 135FC report stiff or troublesome film advance mechanisms. One owner reported torn film leaders and eventual failure of the advance clutch; another reported losing rolls because of loading/advance problems. A more recent August 2026 review likewise mentions film winding problems. These are individual reports rather than proof that every camera is defective, but they’re sufficiently consistent to be worth knowing about. So I would test the camera with an inexpensive roll before putting anything important through it, and watch the rewind knob while advancing the knob rotating is a useful indication that the film is actually travelling. In the past I have suffered from problems associated with this model, its unfortunate so I would suggest becareful with advancing film and dont force anything.
What I like
The attraction isn’t really nostalgia. It’s the fact that the camera removes most photographic decisions.You decide where to stand, approximately where to to point the camera and when to press the shutter. The camera then introduces its own interpretation through softness, fall-off, exposure variation and optical distortion. The imperfections become part of making the photograph rather than post production decoration.
Verdict
Image quality: ★★☆☆☆
Image character: ★★★★★
Build quality: ★★☆☆☆
Creative potential: ★★★★★
Control: ★★☆☆☆
Reliability: ★★☆☆☆
Fun: ★★★★★
I’d give it 4/5 as an experimental camera, but perhaps 2/5 as a conventional 35mm camera. I’d regard the limitations as potentially useful rather than something to overcome. Holga 135FC + Tri-X + RO9 semi-stand/stand development makes a particularly effective combination: gritty grain, compressed highlights, imperfect edges and enough unpredictability to introduce chance into the process.
One practical point: the Photographers’ Gallery in London currently lists the 135FC at £54.99.