Test Rolls: Holga 400 Film Review
You’ve heard of plastic Holga cameras, but did you know there’s a Holga film as well? I recently put a couple of rolls of Foma’s Holga 400 film to the test in a 35mm SLR, the Minolta X700. Here are my takeaways.
Holga film is ISO 400, which makes it great in a variety of lighting situations. In low light, you might be able to get away with not using a tripod, and on bright days it works well with a fast shutter speed. It’s really flexible! It seems to have a decent exposure latitude, holding on to highlight and shadow details.
Holga film holds on to details, even in low light.
It’s got a fine grain structure, so if you like in-your-face levels of graininess, this is not the film for you. It’s more of a subtle look, well balanced and easy to work with.
A closeup look at the grain structure of Holga film.
That being said, for my personal tastes, the photos straight out of the camera definitely need some work. The contrast is on the low side, and I find that I tend to bring down the blacks and bring up the whites when working on a photo in Lightroom. Without making edits, either digitally or in the darkroom, the photos you get from this film seem to feel a bit flat. However, it does produce consistent results, which is always appreciated.
(L) unedited photograph, straight from the scan | (R) after editing in Lightroom
I purchased a roll of Holga film from B&H for only $6.99, with 24 exposures. In today’s film world, that is downright cheap. For the price, the film is well worth it. Even if you have to make some edits to the final image, I would argue that the aesthetic of the film allows for greater creativity in post-processing. That is certainly not a bad thing.
In addition to the brand spankin’ new roll I got off the internet, I happened to be gifted a few rolls of expired Holga film from a friend. This film did not have an expiration date anywhere on the package, but it was old–the price tag on the box read $4.99 for a two pack. For this review, I also shot one of the expired rolls to see how that would look. Speaking of consistency: the only difference I could clearly see between the fresh roll and expired roll was what looked like light leaks. Throughout the roll, there are thin bands of white going through the photographs. Some of them are more subtle than others, and I don’t think they ruin the pictures. Perhaps they even add to the unpredictable character of using film.
One of the more extreme examples of streaking on the expired roll.
Conclusion.
Overall, I enjoy using the Holga 400 film. You really can’t beat the price, it gives good results, you’re free to be creative with your post-processing, and it works well in almost any situation. While not my all-time favorite film, it’s one that I will definitely keep using.
