Holga . D
I had been looking for a camera with simple and unobtrusive user experience of analog photography with the convenience and economy of digital. Most digital camera available in the market has so many controls and settings that often we end up spending more time setting the camera up than enjoying actual photography.
I was looking for something really simple. I tried many cameras from all the brands but nothing was what I wanted. So I started developing one myself, which eventually became Holga D.
Last week I compiled a page about Holga D and put it up on my work-in-progress website to try it out online. As the site was not complete and I had shown it to only a handful of friends.
On July 1st I got a mail from Maarten of Minimalissimo that they have published the Holga D concept and it’s spreading fast on Twitter. Then I found one more article on Iainclaridge.net. I thought it would be contained within these niche design related blogs only.
But within next few hours mails started pouring in about Holga D. Within one day it was all over the net! It was on En-gadget, Wired and and many more web sites! Most surprisingly BBC contacted me to feature it on a program!!!
My mailbox got flooded with hundreds of mails. The daily traffic to my website shot up to from around 50 to more than 12000 in just 2 days!!
Although I was not planning make this concept public so early as I was still drafting out a plausible production plan I am really happy and overwhelmed to see it’s resonating with so many people out there! Although I knew a camera like Holga D has potential but I must admit that the response is way beyond what I expected.
I would like to thank Minimalissimo for discovering it, Engadget, Iainclaridge.net, Wired and many more sites for featuring it and all the people on Twitter for spreading the word! 
Now, most of the question I am getting is if and when Holga D is going to be produced as a real product. Well, I am also as interested as much as you guys to see it as a real product so that I can have one for myself!
It was developed with a desire to make it a real product. Now what’s there on the Holga D page on my site is a small part of what I have detailed out about it. But all that detail could only be useful if it goes to production. All your overwhelming response re-assures that there is a real demand for such camera.
I have some plausible plans for taking it to production that I would publish here on this blog in a few days. I would need your constructive feedback, comments, ideas and support to make it into a real camera.
** To all the people who sent me mails:
Thank you for all your mails and I will respond to all, my apology for the delayed response.
If you have any question Holga D please post it below,
I will response to it as soon as I could.
July 04 2010 05:46 pm | My work and News
Why is missing viewfinder?
what for? What about Lomo philosophy. I simly LOVE IT!
I didn’t realise it was new when I read about it but I can assure you that this would be my dream digitalcamera. reading this I’ll be sure to come back to see how it works out.
this reminds me of the redesign of the casio vl-tone synth. http://www.teenageengineering.com/products/op-1/ you know of this?
Is it possible to buy it?
Hi there,
Congrats for this perfect design, really consistent with the “holga spirit”.
Please, keep us posted on this. Depending on the specs, I would very likely buy one !
Good job, and please go on !
-Adc
I saw your idea in JPG. I love it!! It’s going to be a big hit.
(HGP)
Will it also have a pinhole option? I hope so.;)
Can’t wait to get my hands on one!!
Please, If you need anyone to help with prototypes let me know. I’d be happy to be a Holga Guinea pig
Thank you for being brilliant!!
MJ Green
How much and where can I buy one!
It’s an amazing idea and grate design.., although I have my doubts about the Holga.D photos in comparison with the photos of the original Holga. We’ll see… if the photo result as fun and cool as the film Holga, I’d loved to have the digital one.
What a brilliant idea!! where and when can i buy one?
I think this would be the most amazing camera. Would definitely buy!
Incredible, please make it real! love it.
Hopefully it would also carry a price tag that is Holga worthy as that’s also a draw to the Holga. But I would definitely buy one.
Ah! no viewfinder! Love it !
I love it!
it’s simple, vintage design. it’s very cool!
will you sell it to the public?
thx.
Hi,
Where can we buy it ?
Hi Saikat,
I’d love to give this camera to all my friends as gifts!
I was clicking around and found your website. I’m really glad I did. This is a wonderful idea in so many ways- like someone above said, this design really seems to keep the *spirit* of holga. I love my toy camera, as well as for the dreamy images, for the fact that I *get it*, you know? I understand, to a much greater degree than with any other camera, how the thing actually works. So I feel much less intimidated by it, and more connected to the process. It’s a real friend
Veena
Would totally buy one of these, assuming the price is right… Given that “full featured” P&S cameras are pretty cheap, price wise, I can’t imagine there’d be a terrible amount of expense in this camera, given the design ethics. Very cool idea!
Hi,
Would buy for sure if reasonably priced. Would love a crappy onboard viewfinder, but there is probably constructional reasons for it’s absence(?).
Good luck in regards to production deal. Sentimental photo geeks are routing for you!
Have you contacted the Lomography site?! They might be able to help put this baby into production! I would definitely buy one!
http://www.lomography.com/
I would like to order two…no, wait, three. I will take three, please.
(Yes, there is a market!)
Incredibly well designed. I would certainly be interested in such a camera. Love the faux leather. The viewfinder and flash attachments are brilliant. Give it a decent sensor and put this thing out for $500 and I would likely bite.
I want one! Any idea when it will be available?!
if i had a million dollars to give to you to make this happen, i would. i was planning on spending hundreds of dollars on a dslr or olympus pen, but this is exactly what i’m looking for. as film is getting harder and harder to do as a hobby, this is what everyone needs. i’m really hoping that this can carry the price tag that the holga does, but i know that it probably wont work out that way. maybe this could blow the harinezumi out of the water.
Sign me up for one. you know if you make these you’ll be bloddy fuckin rich.
this is awesome, but it would be cool if you could use the flash and the view finder at the same time, like for night shooting.
This thing is awesome! But it would be cooler to have some video recording function!
I just happened to fall on this website and my god..I have never been filled with such a need to GET THIS CAMERA!
so happy to see that the quirky holga is being embraced by the digital age…
please let me know when i can get one of my own!
This is perfect.
I love my holga alot, and i get free processing at uni, so its relatively inexpensive for me.
But with this i wont have to scan!
I hate scanning, i’m dead lazy!
I would definitely buy one.
I’ve been hoping this would be invented for a long time.
Great design! But I would prefer a real lens rather than a plastic one.
Optical viewfinder, please! I like the absence of a screen for the “delayed gratification” thing. Ok, But I really love to frame on something!
A great idea for us transitional folks wanting to retain the Holga/Diana look but being forced into the digital world. The lack of film and paper choices are leading more and more of us Holga/Diana shooters into having to scann our negatives, with varying degrees of success, to make prints.
This is an idea whose time has come and I would urge you to find a way to manufacture this camera. Hopefully at a reasonable price.
I want this camera!! I need this camera!! I love this camera!! Thank you!
If you put some sort of “standard” lens mount on it. like the old film m42(I think…) this would be awesome. Because not only would the holga plastic lens be great to use with it, it could also use other lenses too. I know the quality of the photo is meant to be “bad” but with the ability to add different lenses would add the the demand. I want one either way, but with a lens mount that can handle some of the more available older lenses. that would be awesome!
This looks amazing. Great design, and really well thought out. Totally agree with Del’s comment above; its a neat way to keep the holga’s distinct look but transition into digital. I’d be stoked to buy this, and I hope it would be at a reasonable price as well.
Just amazing – the images are sublime, very analogue looking. Oh, and for the love of all that’s holy, don’t let Lomography anywhere near it! They’re locusts.
I want one!!
I love the idea and the minimalist DESIGN. I would be a user when the camera were available, and of course the price would be a matter of consideration.Thanks for your efforts and specially for your creative mind for us to enjoy.
Jose Ramon (from Argentina)
OMG! I sooooo want one!
I would buy one in a heart beat! It looks so cool! I’ve recently purchased my first Holga just last month (I shoot digital and b&w film) and would absolutely love to own a Holga D!
The reversible top plate is so cool!
Yes.
Just… yes. Nailed it.
Want!
I will buy it!!!
You are brilliant!! I am an avid lefty Holga user and I can’t wait for my Lefty Digi-Holga!! How cool!!!
What an awesome piece of work. Wow. Be nice if it happened, but just on the basis of the design work and presentation – wow.
Right, PLEASE let this happen somehow – never mind hulking great(!) Holgas, what about people with little Rollei 35s etc? Like me? From that to a D2X… my god this little thing looks good. Good luck.
Could you also do this for the Diana please. Amazing work!
That is a fantastic idea and your industrial design is wonderful. Well done! The only thing I’d like to see is an aperture ring on the lens.
Love it!
Want one.
Let me know when / how.
And as MJ Green said, if you need a hand with prototypes…
add me to the list of potential customers of this camera. very cool. hope it happens.
Absolutely perfect translation of what a digital Holga could be. Now if it had really poor construction and costed $0.89USD for the Chinese to produce, it might be even more authentic. As you designed it, I want one.
Great, I want one! or two.
I can’t wait to get my hands on one.
How long do I have to wait?
The idea of a digital Holga is appealing and your execution of it is very well done, but the concept is a contradiction in terms and such a camera could really set back ‘Holga culture’.
First of all, although the Holga D will work like a Holga, it won’t make pictures like one. A digital sensor, especially an older one, won’t have the feel of film. People will be inclined to apply Photoshop filters after the fact. This kind of conscious simulation runs counter to the ‘see what you got’ aesthetic. With a digital sensor, what you get is what every other point and shoots gets. While vignetting might be preserved, trust me, the full charm of the Holga lens won’t be.
Secondly, while I salute your design for attempting to preserve the delayed gratification of film photography, I really think the cost and ‘hassle’ of developing and scanning is integral to our style of shooting. In my experience, the freedom to ‘just shoot’ that digital photography affords is offset by the burden of plenty that results. By keeping a lid on the total number of exposures I make, film makes those exposures more precious. It’s counter-intuitive and may not apply to everyone. But for me, after years of shooting both digital and film, the balance between these two opposing forces finally settled on the side of film. I have more fun and get more good shots when shooting with the heightened intent that film engenders. And strangely, this applies to my freestyle photography too. I guess too many happy accidents just start to look like accidents!
Lasly, the Holga D could hasten the decline of film and thereby impact current Holga fans. This is unlikely, I know, in the face of the film renaissance, but why tempt fate? The toy camera movement is another market for film. If it persists, it can help keep this wonderful medium alive.
Sorry to rain on the parade. Just trying to keep it real.
amazing holga-d design. if i had the money, i’d be the first to buy the concept and develop such camera. Great job, hope someone will discover and work with you on this camera.
Aleks
[...] del artista link The Holga D una cámara digital que quizá no veamos nunca pero que quisiera tener. by Invazor [...]
You need to make the lens smaller on this concept.
Because it would theoretically use small digital sensor it would need to have a small lens otherwise you wouldn’t get any dramatic falloff. A crucial part of the Holga look!
M.
Truly wonderful, I’ve been lusting after the Leica digital cameras because they are beautiful black rectangles. But the high price puts me off because I’m not a big photographer.
This is pretty much exactly how my dream camera would look, it’s so beautiful.
Dropping the LCD screen is a stroke of genius too.
LOMO!, SUPERHEADS! ANYONE! PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Oh my, it’s like you’ve read my mind! I’ve wanted a non-lcd screen camera for ages, I’m so tired of always seeing the result straight away, but still like the “no cost” of digital.
A holga version with all it’s quirks would be so amazing.
i’ll take a dozen!!! please please please make this a reality!!!
Thats Perfection and a new line to explore because maybe now, when everybody has a camera on mobile phones and digital cameras we will love to return to a time when you can´t see instantaneusly the result of the pictures you take.
I love it. I hope you could develop it. And i hope to buy it soon.
If this is ever produced I will not only buy one, but also be willing to negotiate distribution in Africa.
Contact me if you’re interested, it is a beautiful design and a photographer/photography lover’s dream!
Gareth
I think it is a brilliant design and would undoubtedly be a commercial success if the price were right. I would buy one. One design point: I love the minimalism but agree with those who would like to see an onboard finder. Also, I don’t really see the need for changeable lenses: I think a fixed lens which gave a good Holga vibe would be fine. Good luck!
need viewfinder and please…less than 100usd!and long exposure
Awsome!! I want one and i would love to be able to sell these at the expert-shop(swedish electronics store) I’m working at. Perfect for the elderly who just wants a simple camera to point and click with.
Jeff’s an idiot who can’t write but pretends he can. I’m sure it’s the same with his photographs.
This is brilliant and should definitely become a reality.
The best thing is definetely the lack of view finder.
Well done.
hi!
this camera looks amazing. i’ve featured it here: http://lomophobic.blogspot.com/2010/07/holga-d-digital-counterpart.html
what i would love to see is a function where you can choose different film types (positive, expired, bw etc etc)
Good luck on the project!
I saw this on twitter from @HolgaDirect and I actually squeed
I have the most ridiculous time getting my photos printed as I don’t have my own dark room (yet =P) so it’s costing me lots of money and I’m having to travel into the next town to actually get them done, but they’re worth the wait.
I think this is the most brilliant idea, period.
Can’t wait to see it go into production, because there is definitely a niche for this sort of product.
Look forward to buying my own
xx
AAAAHHHH! I want one!! Someone please make this!!!
VERY Nice.
- Unlike some of the other’s I don’t care about a missing viewfinder. I find it ironic as the viewfinder on the /original/ Holga is false anyway and only gives you a vague idea of framing. So the fact the Holga D would have an external viewfinder makes perfect sense, as how it is really any different then having a partial window at the side of the camera – none, and it looks more aesthetically pleasing at the same time.
MY only request would be to have a point where you could attach some kind of shutter release cable; The Holga D has a ‘B’ setting, yet no apparent point to attach a shutter release cable.
A pinhole option would also be nice: Perhaps include it with the Aperture Disks that you had as extra’s.
In-short – I REALLY hope this come to pass.
did you contact people at Lomo already ? it´s a great design !
I would so buy this, for myself and for all my friends. Please do your best to make this a reality and we will do our best to support you. This camera could start a revolution.
nice project!
what will be the market price,approximately.
bye.
posted this on my tumblr. i just had to. like i need to have this camera. please make it happen. please. asap.
Excellent work! I would love a digital holga or lomo camera.
If the product gets made I would love lens attachments like the lomographic cameras.
This deserves it’s own website and a team of people truly dedicated to making it happen. The fact that nothing seems to be happening here is rather depressing.
If anyone is truly interested in this project please open up a website and run with it. We need a forum or something.
I would buy the camera in a heartbeat!
I would like to be on a mailing list to know when this is released. I would join a mailing list if one were started.
Thanks,
Luke
I recommend you post this on http://www.quirky.com/
Quirky.com is a social product development website and would support the development of this great idea into an actual product.
I definitely will buy one. I’m looking forward to it. Great design too!
I WANT ONE!!!
I am a big fan of Holga and photography in general. As much as I believe that the best camera is the one that you have on you all the time, which has led me to stop carrying around my digital SLR with me at all times; I believe this is a camera I would spring for!
Hope it sees the light of day.
wow. I totally want one of these! Is there a waiting list or something I can get on? I want one of these in the worst way.
Ann
I didn’t get how you measure exposure? Or people are supposed to have a light meter with them?
It’s a nice design, but I think it’ll turn out to be more expensive to produce than a “digital Holga” ought to be. What you’ve designed is more of a Leica than a Holga; it’s a testament to your design skills but I think the implementation would be expensive.
A few suggestions: relocate all the controls, displays, etc., to the back of the camera. This way you can have a single double-sided PCB with the sensor on one side, controls and displays on the other, SD card slot on the bottom edge. You could have the battery mount directly to the PCB in a holder. The back of the camera would be a flat plastic piece with some holes in it, to make the display components visible.
The front, bottom, top, and sides of the camera could be a single injection-molded plastic piece. Basically you could imagine it as an open-topped box with a hole (the lens mount) in the bottom. It would snap onto the back piece. Users would have to open the camera up to replace the batteries, but this eliminates having to have a battery door, hinge, etc.
Right now you are at three components total: the populated PCB, the back, and the body front. Then you would just need to add a lens (or pinhole aperture).
The major cost would be the sensor, but I suspect the rest of it could be done for a few dollars each in quantity. Somehow that seems appropriate: film Holgas generally cost you more for film+processing than for the camera itself! The camera was basically a bare-minimum box for exposing the film…this would be a bare-minimum box for exposing the sensor.
That would be true to the ‘digital Holga’ concept, I think.
Some very good ideas Kadin! Thank you!
I like Corwin’s ideas below about moving the battery and sd-card slot under the flipping top.
Just to let you know… I would DEFINITELY buy this.
When and where and how can I buy one?!? This is great!!
Brilliant Idea. I hope it gets some traction. A couple of things of note and a couple of suggestions.
A top control surface which flipped around might cost more to manufacture. But I think there’s a way to help it reduce costs. Move the battery and SD card slots to underneath the top. It’d mean less seams and clips, smoother surface and fewer parts.
Alternately, since the idea is to reduce the control systems to shutter speed and ISO along with a couple of color settings. You could eliminate the flipping top while keeping the functionality of it by making the plastic cover of the LCD trigger a micro-switch making both sides a button. Have a replaceable plastic cover change the labels if necessary.
If you’re serious about going forward, I’d gook up with some people who have experience bringing products to market and do some estimates on how much it might cost.
SET UP A http://www.kickstarter.com/ ACCOUNT SO THAT WE CAN THROW MONEY AT THIS!
Thanks Corwin! I really like both your ideas, especially the first one.
This is too early to set up any account at Kickstarter. First we need to have a team who are confident to handle this project.
I like the idea of a faux leather finish of sorts. Likewise with keeping the controls on the top or bottom. It would feel ‘cleaner’ in the hand, more familiar perhaps. It would arguably feel closer to a classic camera from a time when controls were dictated by needing the back for loading of film. I miss that feeling.
I liked the idea also in one of the sketches of the original concept of having the back open up to expose the batteries and SD card. Although at first glance I don’t think that it’s practical.
On a tangent, at one point I saw a basic digital camera which was designed to be taken apart so that one could learn the inner workings of it. Might give a good idea of what level of polish this should have and perhaps a good basis for a basic estimate of cost in qty. http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/11/bigshot_digital_camera_kit_for_kids.html
I would buy this in a heartbeat, make a twitter to keep the world updated!!!! please! I would love to see this in production. I’ll even donate money to get it out there!
Make this a reality! please!!
what about price? the last thing i want is to have to pay an insane ammount of money for this, that is after all what makes the holga so great, its cheap! next step should be a digital argus
but ya construction note: you removed the lens mount, and streamlined the design, thus eliminating a lot of the light leaks and odd visual phenominae that make every holga unique, its the looseness of this plastic, and the seam on the sides that allows for some interesting color light leaks and flares, the lens isnt the only part of a holga that makes it a holga, the low quality construction helps out a lot.
Um…YES PLEASE! A pin hold option would be amazing! I agree with some of the earlier suggestions to keep it simple. I’m left handed and think that option is kind of cool…but not a deal breaker if you lose it. I can’t wait to buy a couple of these! I hope to add this to my wishlist soon!
Absolutely brilliant!
If you can add in the feature to take multiple images onto one frame, I’m totally sold.
Please make this happen!
I’m not sure if You’ll find this post among the many others, but I hope you do.
I’m inspired. Maybe less of that, its more of a dreamers aspiration I feel. The camera is simple, it’s easy, it’s friendly, nothing is wasted, nothing is complicated. It’s perfect for some people and maybe even better for others. It’s the amateur’s spirit encased in a durable, tangible shell.
I want to know. What’s so ‘open-source’ about it? Is it the materials? The software? The accessories? I’m left to wonder what it means. It’s simple, it’s nice, there are smaller features that could be added or taken away, maybe even cool ways to use the E-ink display. It’s all great, but I’m left wondering what’s so freeing about it.
I want it. I wish people made it. this feeling, however minute, may only last until I see the price, the same to say for some other’s. Your product captures spirit, and I like that. I want it, not because that’s the same thing the other 80% of the market says just to keep up with trends, but because I want to share that spirit. I love it.
I hope to see it combatting brands such as Nikon, or Canon. Companies over commercialize products and directly concern themselves with just their target audience. I want to see a change. I want to see and personal, caring presentation of a product and it’s company to the public, in such a way, your not trying for our hearts, but wins them over anyway.
I’m rooting for you. Take my heart away.
Awesome!
Can’t wait to get a hand on one.
Optical view finder will be good as most people said.
Thank you for coming up with this!
I am just getting into the whole toy cam thing, & I would *love* to buy this, honestly! I can’t contribute towards making this camera reality, but if you do produce it, I wanna buy it!
Instant gratification is over-rated! I love the concept of a Holga D and hope you can start production soon. I’ll be waiting in line to buy one as soon as they become available. No viewfinder? No problem. No screen? Who needs one? I love it!
and is already for sale?
Hi,
I have created a facebook community page and a group for the Holga D (thanks Saikat for approving). I am hoping that this way the word will spread even more and get closer to make the Holga D happen. Anyone who wants this camera to become reality please join the group and community page. Thanks!
Thank you Ruth!
joined.
Hey. Did the search on facebook, and didnt find the community. Can you help me to the site? community-name is? If you want, please send me a link on my email mahatma32@gmail.com
want to spread the word. THIS IS A CAMERA I WANT!
Hi there, i think this is a GREAT idea!! curious to know, how much will it be selling for? and when will it be available ? Thanks
Despite my love of pinhole cameras, I wouldn’t thank you for a film Holga, but this appeals to me. The fact you could take the lens off instantly sets it apart. However, surely the name would have to be re-thought (unless the current owners of the Holga brand are happy with you using the name). Perhaps Agloh?
I really hope this succeeds, and that all the obstacles can be happily overcome. Have a medal.
GREEEEEEAAAAAAAAT!
fascinating and perfect!
I would LOVE to see this camera go into production! I would buy this in a second! please bring this to market. I can assure you there would be a demand for such a refreshingly lo-fi digital camera.
I have only one comment about the lack of a viewfinder. what if you had a viewfinder that clipped into the accessory port, like the wide angle viewfinder on the old Leica cameras.
Saikat, this is an amazing piece of work that shows your love for photography and design in its true sense. I would love to see this product coming out. Great going and all the best.
amazing job! I’ll get one too if it on sale!
Why not put a Holga lens on a cheap, used, 1st generation DSLR (like a digital Rebel) and put black tape over the LCD and viewfinder?
The results would be the same, you could have one tomorrow and it would, I’m sure, be cheaper and far, far less effort would be involved in making it.
The images would be the same. Why make life difficult?