So we’ve seen the pictures of the prototypes, heard the rumors and wondered how it would work. But last week it actually arrived on my doorstep in all of it’s odd-faced glory. The Holga Half Frame. I still have no idea what TIM stands for, but I can at least share with you the in’s and out’s of what will be atop the list for Holga fans this spring.

First, when I opened the box I noticed one thing straightaway: there are no English instructions. Luckily, everything on the camera is pretty intuitive. The chassis is the same as a Holga 135, so loading is just as easy. The surprise is when you open the back up and find not one, but two lenses and shutters side by side. Hold the back open and change the familiar ‘cloudy, sunny’ setting and you will get another surprise. This camera actually has a rotating aperture wheel. There are 3 different sized holes that rotate for both of the lenses. And it gets crazier from there…

How does it work? Each lens has it’s own cover, the ‘eyes’ of the face on the camera. Open one up, fire the shutter, use the MX button to re-cock the shutter, close the first eye and open the second eye, fire again and then wind. Sounds a bit clumsy at first, but you’ll pick it up quickly. You can also open both eyes at one time and shoot both sides of the frame, or keep re-cocking the shutter to double expose as much as you’d like. What did they lose to get the clever shutter system? Focal distance settings. And thankfully so. Remember the clumsy focus on the Diana Mini? You won’t find it here. Just aim it at the subject and have at it.

How does it look? Our first test day was sub freezing conditions, as we are still getting over the last of the snow- s0 it was not a particularly pleasant day out. But I really wanted to get a roll thru the TIM to see what’s what. First thing you notice is that there is a pretty strong vignette on some of the images, which is what you would expect from any Holga. The apertures actually do work well- but be careful that they line up in the center of the lens. The rotating wheel is not as precise as I would like, but the slight offset will produce even more of a vignette on some images.

Keeping track of where you are in the fire-cock-open-eye-fire-wind sequence will take a little bit to get used to, but if you mess up the sequence you’ll get some cool double (or triple…) exposed images so you may even want to loose track for a bit.. that’s the whole fun of it, right? This cam is made for just that- goofy fun. It looks like a clown, opens and closes it’s eyes to shoot and even has a multi-color flash.

So yes, without a doubt this camera is cute. And I have to hand it to Holga for the aperture wheel- it actually does work well, and is quite a little piece of kit. The eye’s opening and shutting are clever as well- they hide the fact that both lenses fire all of the time, instead of having to work out two unique shutters. But.. and you knew there was going to be a ‘but’… What is the real purpose of a half frame camera? To me it is size. This camera is identical to the 135, meaning it;s a bit big for a half-frame. Cute can’t hide big. I would rather have one lens and be able to put it in my pocket, but Holga has taken a completely different approach to their half-frame concept. You have to admire the design- because that is what is going to sell this camera. It’s cute, fun to shoot with and produces some nice results. And every time you take it out, it’s like walking a puppy- everyone wants to have a closer look.

Want it? Of course you do, just look at it!

Need it? If you are looking for the traditional half frame, this isn’t it. Think of it more like a two lens stereo camera which gives you a myriad of choices when it comes to the way you want to expose your frame.

[Same shot, two different exposure settings...]