The popular Holga lo-fi camera is about to get a digital makeover. The Hong Kong-based company Holga Digital has unveiled a new digital camera system based on the design of the vintage toy camera.
“We designed the Holga Digital for everyone from the first-time Holga user to the photography enthusiast,” the company writes. “You’ll be snapping beautiful images in a matter of seconds.”
The camera is designed to be a simple point-and-snap device — you won’t have to think about shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and white balance when using it.
What the camera does come with is fun customization potential. There are 4 different camera colors (black, white, pink, and mixed) and a set of accessories you can use with it, including lenses (wide, fisheye, and tele) and external flashes (via the built-in hot shoe).
Here are some actual sample photos captured with the Holga Digital:
Specs-wise, the Holga Digital features a 1/3.2-inch CMOS sensor, 8 megapixel photos, 1:1 or 4:3 aspect ratios, a built-in viewfinder, apertures of f/2.8 and f/8.0, a minimum focusing distance of 1.5m (~5 feet), Bulb or 1/60s shutter speeds, SD card storage, and micro USB connectivity for data transfers.
“We were inspired by classic Holga camera and wanted to recreate the magical experience of using a Holga with our loved ones,” the company says. “We were also convinced we could enhance this experience by digitizing the original Holga.”
One of the main people behind this new camera is T.M. Lee, the 85-year-old entrepreneur who created the original Holga cameras decades ago.
Lee and his camera co-creators have launched a new Kickstarter campaign in order to bring the Holga Digital to market.
Since launching last week, the fundraising effort has already blown past the $37K goal, meaning that we’ll most likely see this camera start shipping in early 2016 (if all goes well). If you’re interested in buying a Holga Digital for yourself, pledges of $75 and up will help you secure one of the first units.