7 ms·

A digital camera inspired by Holga

62 points by icey 16y ago

jmhobbs 16y ago
Very cool, I love my analog Holga (some snaps here: http://www.velvetcache.org/2010/07/14/more-lomo-photos http://www.velvetcache.org/2010/07/14/more-lomo-photos ). Though I'm sure many in the community would rebel against digital.
- rdtsc 16y ago
  You can "cheat" if you want to appear to rebel against digital by applying an approriate filter to the output of a digital image. iPhone even has an app called "Hipstermatic" to will make your iPhone pictures look like they are taken with a Holga. There is a lot to be said though for experimenting and a hands-on approach to photography : making your own lesnes, alternive developing processes and so on. Then it is more about the process, the learning experience, rather than just the final result.
  - stevelosh 16y ago
    The app is HiptsAmatic, for those interested: http://hipstamaticapp.com/ http://hipstamaticapp.com/
MartinCron 16y ago
Sigh, this thing doesn't actually exist as a product at this time. At the right price point, I would buy one. If you want to experiment with plastic-lens digital photography, you can buy a lens for Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Pentax cameras here: http://holgamods.com/ http://holgamods.com/ Here's an example of a picture shot with my DSLR + Holga Lens: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martincron/862955606/in/set-72157601784588704/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/martincron/862955606/in/set-721...
aaronbrethorst 16y ago
Where's the Kickstarter page?
hristov 16y ago
Sounds good except for the full frame sensor. It is just silly on a camera of this type. It would make the camera way too expensive it would require too much auxiliary electronics and memory to operate, which would also increase cost and power requirements. Also full frame makes the DOF relatively narrow which is a problem for a camera with such a rough and uncertain method of focusing. (I am sure a lot of the original Holga photos were out of focus). He should redo it with a crop sensor. Even one of the small sensors of snapshot cameras would probably work for this.
- MartinCron 16y ago
  If you use a full frame sensor, you get the full effect of vignetting from the plastic lens. Otherwise, you lose a lot of the Holga charm. Essentially, the lens is right-sized for 35MM or a crop sensor while it's generally used with 6cm medium format negatives. That said, you could get the same vignetting effect from a smaller sensor by changing the depth from the lens to the sensor, I wonder how well that would work.
  - hristov 16y ago
    Woukd this use an actual holga lens? I thought the project would require the design of a new lens as they dont make holgas anymore. If you get a new lens you can easily get all the distortion and vignetting you want on any size photosensor. Those are very easy to achieve getting rid of them is the hard part. Also it should be noted that vignetting is a much bigger issue for digital cameras than it was for film. Most modern professional and semi pro cameras use on board electronics to get rid of vignetting. So vignetting is pretty much guaranteed in this simple design.
    - MartinCron 16y ago
      I'm pretty sure Holgas are still being manufactured. I know that they're still being sold. My favorite local camera shop has a whole case of them.
    - peteforde 16y ago
      I assure you that Holgas are still made. In fact, they are growing in popularity: http://shop.lomography.com/cameras/holga-cameras http://shop.lomography.com/cameras/holga-cameras
Groxx 16y ago
That looks really good. Minimalism in cameras appeals to me, especially as they keep getting bigger and screen-y-er and button-y-er. And the batteries keep dying sooner. I do think it could use an aperture control, however. And having to remove the lens each time is not an alternative (as it looks like they would go there). F-stop is critical to cameras. Add another ring to the lens, maybe.
- mtw 16y ago
  Well you can play with the aperture rings. I think there are too options for shutter speed and ISO. could do with less. What I didn't get though how it measures exposure? or you are supposed to have a light meter with you?
  - brettnak 16y ago
    > What I didn't get though how it measures exposure? or you are supposed to have a light meter with you? Since it's a digital semi-replica of a holga, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to eyeball it.
- jnovek 16y ago
  Before the days of the iris diaphragm, interchangeable stops were all you could get! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhouse_stop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhouse_stop
  - Groxx 16y ago
    I don't see any way to drop in the aperture disks, though... if there is, that'd work.
spython 16y ago
If you are looking for a lo-fi digital camera, try Digital Harinezumi - http://www.superheadz.com/digi2 http://www.superheadz.com/digi2 May be fun to use, kind of a review here - http://philipbloom.net/2009/11/08/lo-fi-heaven-digital-harinezumi-digital-super-8mm-camera/ http://philipbloom.net/2009/11/08/lo-fi-heaven-digital-harin...
joshwa 16y ago
LMFTFY: A concept for a digital camera inspired by Holga
angusgr 16y ago
I feel that this concept misses most of the true charm of a Holga. The linked article says "there are some change in functionalities in order to make it useful." Which seems practical, but also kind of misses the point. I still think it's a beautiful homage to 70s & 80s camera design. Holgas have random imperfections and a total lack of quality control. Every Holga has slightly different level of light leaks, chromatic distortion, vignetting, etc. Holgas are hackable. People flock them, make light seals, replace the lens with a pinhole, make Holgaroids, etc, etc. It's essentially a plastic box with two moving parts. Holgas give you no technological photographic control inside the box. You have one (varying) shutter speed or Bulb, two (largely unknown) apertures, and whatever speed film you dumped in it. If you need to adjust exposure then you need to do it when you develop your film, or not at all. This is, in my opinion, both limiting and freeing. All that said, I would love to see this camera made with a glass lens. A traditionally styled, intentionally restricted, digital camera with a retro look. Provided it didn't cost $2000. :D. The sad truth is that, I bet, if it was ever commercially produced then it would be forced to have an LCD screen on the back. I can picture the hipsters crowding around in a bar to chimp the screen, right now...
- sprout 16y ago
  Can't you do that with an otherwise complete digital camera? I don't see why one can't introduce kitschy design flaws in the LCD... and furthermore putting an LCD with standard inputs creates even more opportunities for hacking.
jberryman 16y ago
I'm really into this idea of lo-fi digital that I'm seeing for the first time in this thread! I wonder how difficult it would be to create a cheap digital back for a holga? I guess the easiest thing would be to cannabalize the cheapest digital camera you could find, but i wonder if there are any home-brew approaches to the sensor...
- angusgr 16y ago
  Unfortunately the terms "cheap" and "digital back" don't seem to go together. :( You could mod a 10 year old old Hasselblad/Mamiya/? 6x6 back onto a Holga but even those backs are still worth plenty of $ I think. Enough that you'd want a Hasselblad or a Mamiya to go with them. Lot of trouble when 'Hipstamatic' is $5 or so. ;). That said, I'd love to build a digital rangefinder camera from a 70s era rangefinder. If anyone has links to any successful frankencameras of this kind, I'd love to see them.
  - jberryman 16y ago
    Ah, I forgot that the holga was a medium format camera... and I just realized I have no idea how physically large the sensor in my cheap digital cam is... hmmm.
sbierwagen 16y ago
So it's a crappy keychain digital camera, except bigger, and far more expensive, thanks to the big sensor, small production run? Sign me up!
chwahoo 16y ago
The idea of channeling the mojo of the Holga isn't so exciting to me. However, I've wondered for a while about the feasibility of an "open-source" camera that was designed publicly and could be produced by any manufacturer. My guess is that high-quality sensors aren't an off-the-shelf part and so would be difficult to source and stabilization technology may also present challenges. CHDK has shown that letting developers at the internals of camera operation can have cool results. I think a platform designed from the ground up for tinkerers could be amazing for photography.
- sbierwagen 16y ago
  Elphel makes open hardware cameras. One of their clients is Google, for the panoramic cameras for Google Street View. http://www3.elphel.com/index.php http://www3.elphel.com/index.php (eugh, look at that ugly URL)
peteforde 16y ago
I try to be generally positive, especially when discussing a concept or prototype... however, I am passionate about film photography and this really rubs me the wrong way. Making a digital camera that is a) ugly and b) designed to be hard to use misses the whole point of why Holga/Lomo/film is growing in popularity. There is a strong correlation to the impressive sales of vinyl LP records over the past few years (which has been through the roof compared to other physical formats). My speculation is that people are fatigued on things that don't feel "real". They are tired of copies and want something that their kids might be excited to discover in the closet. Anyhow, the whole point of film is that it has a character all its own, depending on which of the hundreds available you try to use. And embracing the constraint of making each shot count and delayed gratification has made me a more thoughtful photo taker. I find that I can remember every shot I've taken; how I felt at the time, what was happening. A Holga weighs 200g and if you run it over with your car, you can just buy another one. No batteries required and it can do pinhole stuff, as well as many other modifications: http://microsites.lomography.com/holga/modifications/fignature-by-mandi http://microsites.lomography.com/holga/modifications/fignatu... I'm all for open source camera platforms, but don't put out something with a bunch of arbitrary features removed and various attempts to make the output look shitty "because then it's like film!" Believe it or not, there's a reason most film cameras work the way that they do which has a direct relationship to the available technology and manufacturing processes at the time it was made. I want to end my rant on a positive note, so here is a great commercial by Charles and Ray Eames advertising the Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EdwmaQltHc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EdwmaQltHc
- ugh 16y ago
  Digital photography has its own interesting things. No need to steal from film. Some people make amazing photos with crappy cellphone cameras. Small sensor compacts (stupid derogatory term: Point & Shoots) have their own, distinctive look (mostly: huge DOF).
- jacobolus 16y ago
  Can you explain how the camera under discussion is “designed to be hard to use”? For what it’s worth, I think it’s fantastic that some companies are experimenting with different digital camera designs. In the digital world, we don’t see the kind of design variety we saw in film cameras. Where are the digital TLRs? For that matter, where are the digital cameras (at all) where manual focus is a pleasant activity? Where are the digital rangefinders with quality lenses? Etc. Why do digital cameras all need to include screens on the back?
Yaggo 16y ago
I like the Holga concept, although I doubt it can be manufactured cheaply enough, being not a mass-market product. What I really would like to see, is a micro four-third format camera with slim, simple, retro-style body equipped with built-in hi-res EVF and only essential controls through physical knobs (aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc). No LCD, no menus, no face detection. In other words, take Panasonic GF1 or Olympus PEN E-P2 and strip them down to absolutely minimum.
elblanco 16y ago
I'd pay ~$20 for one of these. Make it waterproof so I can dive with it and I'd pay ~$30-$35.

62 points by icey 16y ago

Very cool, I love my analog Holga (some snaps here: http://www.velvetcache.org/2010/07/14/more-lomo-photos http://www.velvetcache.org/2010/07/14/more-lomo-photos ). Though I'm sure many in the community would rebel against digital.

rdtsc 16y ago
You can "cheat" if you want to appear to rebel against digital by applying an approriate filter to the output of a digital image. iPhone even has an app called "Hipstermatic" to will make your iPhone pictures look like they are taken with a Holga. There is a lot to be said though for experimenting and a hands-on approach to photography : making your own lesnes, alternive developing processes and so on. Then it is more about the process, the learning experience, rather than just the final result.
- stevelosh 16y ago
  The app is HiptsAmatic, for those interested: http://hipstamaticapp.com/ http://hipstamaticapp.com/

MartinCron 16y ago

Sigh, this thing doesn't actually exist as a product at this time. At the right price point, I would buy one. If you want to experiment with plastic-lens digital photography, you can buy a lens for Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Pentax cameras here: http://holgamods.com/ http://holgamods.com/ Here's an example of a picture shot with my DSLR + Holga Lens: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martincron/862955606/in/set-72157601784588704/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/martincron/862955606/in/set-721...

aaronbrethorst 16y ago

Where's the Kickstarter page?

hristov 16y ago

Sounds good except for the full frame sensor. It is just silly on a camera of this type. It would make the camera way too expensive it would require too much auxiliary electronics and memory to operate, which would also increase cost and power requirements. Also full frame makes the DOF relatively narrow which is a problem for a camera with such a rough and uncertain method of focusing. (I am sure a lot of the original Holga photos were out of focus). He should redo it with a crop sensor. Even one of the small sensors of snapshot cameras would probably work for this.

MartinCron 16y ago
If you use a full frame sensor, you get the full effect of vignetting from the plastic lens. Otherwise, you lose a lot of the Holga charm. Essentially, the lens is right-sized for 35MM or a crop sensor while it's generally used with 6cm medium format negatives. That said, you could get the same vignetting effect from a smaller sensor by changing the depth from the lens to the sensor, I wonder how well that would work.
- hristov 16y ago
  Woukd this use an actual holga lens? I thought the project would require the design of a new lens as they dont make holgas anymore. If you get a new lens you can easily get all the distortion and vignetting you want on any size photosensor. Those are very easy to achieve getting rid of them is the hard part. Also it should be noted that vignetting is a much bigger issue for digital cameras than it was for film. Most modern professional and semi pro cameras use on board electronics to get rid of vignetting. So vignetting is pretty much guaranteed in this simple design.
  - MartinCron 16y ago
    I'm pretty sure Holgas are still being manufactured. I know that they're still being sold. My favorite local camera shop has a whole case of them.
  - peteforde 16y ago
    I assure you that Holgas are still made. In fact, they are growing in popularity: http://shop.lomography.com/cameras/holga-cameras http://shop.lomography.com/cameras/holga-cameras

Groxx 16y ago

That looks really good. Minimalism in cameras appeals to me, especially as they keep getting bigger and screen-y-er and button-y-er. And the batteries keep dying sooner. I do think it could use an aperture control, however. And having to remove the lens each time is not an alternative (as it looks like they would go there). F-stop is critical to cameras. Add another ring to the lens, maybe.

mtw 16y ago
Well you can play with the aperture rings. I think there are too options for shutter speed and ISO. could do with less. What I didn't get though how it measures exposure? or you are supposed to have a light meter with you?
- brettnak 16y ago
  > What I didn't get though how it measures exposure? or you are supposed to have a light meter with you? Since it's a digital semi-replica of a holga, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to eyeball it.
jnovek 16y ago
Before the days of the iris diaphragm, interchangeable stops were all you could get! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhouse_stop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhouse_stop
- Groxx 16y ago
  I don't see any way to drop in the aperture disks, though... if there is, that'd work.

spython 16y ago

If you are looking for a lo-fi digital camera, try Digital Harinezumi - http://www.superheadz.com/digi2 http://www.superheadz.com/digi2 May be fun to use, kind of a review here - http://philipbloom.net/2009/11/08/lo-fi-heaven-digital-harinezumi-digital-super-8mm-camera/ http://philipbloom.net/2009/11/08/lo-fi-heaven-digital-harin...

joshwa 16y ago

LMFTFY: A concept for a digital camera inspired by Holga

angusgr 16y ago

I feel that this concept misses most of the true charm of a Holga. The linked article says "there are some change in functionalities in order to make it useful." Which seems practical, but also kind of misses the point. I still think it's a beautiful homage to 70s & 80s camera design. Holgas have random imperfections and a total lack of quality control. Every Holga has slightly different level of light leaks, chromatic distortion, vignetting, etc. Holgas are hackable. People flock them, make light seals, replace the lens with a pinhole, make Holgaroids, etc, etc. It's essentially a plastic box with two moving parts. Holgas give you no technological photographic control inside the box. You have one (varying) shutter speed or Bulb, two (largely unknown) apertures, and whatever speed film you dumped in it. If you need to adjust exposure then you need to do it when you develop your film, or not at all. This is, in my opinion, both limiting and freeing. All that said, I would love to see this camera made with a glass lens. A traditionally styled, intentionally restricted, digital camera with a retro look. Provided it didn't cost $2000. :D. The sad truth is that, I bet, if it was ever commercially produced then it would be forced to have an LCD screen on the back. I can picture the hipsters crowding around in a bar to chimp the screen, right now...

sprout 16y ago
Can't you do that with an otherwise complete digital camera? I don't see why one can't introduce kitschy design flaws in the LCD... and furthermore putting an LCD with standard inputs creates even more opportunities for hacking.

jberryman 16y ago

I'm really into this idea of lo-fi digital that I'm seeing for the first time in this thread! I wonder how difficult it would be to create a cheap digital back for a holga? I guess the easiest thing would be to cannabalize the cheapest digital camera you could find, but i wonder if there are any home-brew approaches to the sensor...

angusgr 16y ago
Unfortunately the terms "cheap" and "digital back" don't seem to go together. :( You could mod a 10 year old old Hasselblad/Mamiya/? 6x6 back onto a Holga but even those backs are still worth plenty of $ I think. Enough that you'd want a Hasselblad or a Mamiya to go with them. Lot of trouble when 'Hipstamatic' is $5 or so. ;). That said, I'd love to build a digital rangefinder camera from a 70s era rangefinder. If anyone has links to any successful frankencameras of this kind, I'd love to see them.
- jberryman 16y ago
  Ah, I forgot that the holga was a medium format camera... and I just realized I have no idea how physically large the sensor in my cheap digital cam is... hmmm.

sbierwagen 16y ago

So it's a crappy keychain digital camera, except bigger, and far more expensive, thanks to the big sensor, small production run? Sign me up!

chwahoo 16y ago

The idea of channeling the mojo of the Holga isn't so exciting to me. However, I've wondered for a while about the feasibility of an "open-source" camera that was designed publicly and could be produced by any manufacturer. My guess is that high-quality sensors aren't an off-the-shelf part and so would be difficult to source and stabilization technology may also present challenges. CHDK has shown that letting developers at the internals of camera operation can have cool results. I think a platform designed from the ground up for tinkerers could be amazing for photography.

sbierwagen 16y ago
Elphel makes open hardware cameras. One of their clients is Google, for the panoramic cameras for Google Street View. http://www3.elphel.com/index.php http://www3.elphel.com/index.php (eugh, look at that ugly URL)

peteforde 16y ago

I try to be generally positive, especially when discussing a concept or prototype... however, I am passionate about film photography and this really rubs me the wrong way. Making a digital camera that is a) ugly and b) designed to be hard to use misses the whole point of why Holga/Lomo/film is growing in popularity. There is a strong correlation to the impressive sales of vinyl LP records over the past few years (which has been through the roof compared to other physical formats). My speculation is that people are fatigued on things that don't feel "real". They are tired of copies and want something that their kids might be excited to discover in the closet. Anyhow, the whole point of film is that it has a character all its own, depending on which of the hundreds available you try to use. And embracing the constraint of making each shot count and delayed gratification has made me a more thoughtful photo taker. I find that I can remember every shot I've taken; how I felt at the time, what was happening. A Holga weighs 200g and if you run it over with your car, you can just buy another one. No batteries required and it can do pinhole stuff, as well as many other modifications: http://microsites.lomography.com/holga/modifications/fignature-by-mandi http://microsites.lomography.com/holga/modifications/fignatu... I'm all for open source camera platforms, but don't put out something with a bunch of arbitrary features removed and various attempts to make the output look shitty "because then it's like film!" Believe it or not, there's a reason most film cameras work the way that they do which has a direct relationship to the available technology and manufacturing processes at the time it was made. I want to end my rant on a positive note, so here is a great commercial by Charles and Ray Eames advertising the Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EdwmaQltHc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EdwmaQltHc

ugh 16y ago
Digital photography has its own interesting things. No need to steal from film. Some people make amazing photos with crappy cellphone cameras. Small sensor compacts (stupid derogatory term: Point & Shoots) have their own, distinctive look (mostly: huge DOF).
jacobolus 16y ago
Can you explain how the camera under discussion is “designed to be hard to use”? For what it’s worth, I think it’s fantastic that some companies are experimenting with different digital camera designs. In the digital world, we don’t see the kind of design variety we saw in film cameras. Where are the digital TLRs? For that matter, where are the digital cameras (at all) where manual focus is a pleasant activity? Where are the digital rangefinders with quality lenses? Etc. Why do digital cameras all need to include screens on the back?

Yaggo 16y ago

I like the Holga concept, although I doubt it can be manufactured cheaply enough, being not a mass-market product. What I really would like to see, is a micro four-third format camera with slim, simple, retro-style body equipped with built-in hi-res EVF and only essential controls through physical knobs (aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc). No LCD, no menus, no face detection. In other words, take Panasonic GF1 or Olympus PEN E-P2 and strip them down to absolutely minimum.

elblanco 16y ago

I'd pay ~$20 for one of these. Make it waterproof so I can dive with it and I'd pay ~$30-$35.