New upgraded Holga features built in color -flash system with a carousel around the flash - choose from red, blue, yellow and white. Also new to the Holga is a tripod thread and shutter setting upgrade that now allows a manual shutter setting so you can keep the shutter open as long as desired. Included with this kit is also a 6x6 plastic mask that yields sharper tighter pictures.

More unique photography business distributed by the fanatics at the Lomographic Society. This one is actually a completely separate camera company, but the machine, results and aesthetics are very Lomo-esque. The Holga is a medium format camera, which means that it takes 120mm as opposed to normal 35mm film. This is still a widely available format (just go to a camera store) and can be processed at any developing center. Medium and large format cameras are the choice of many professionals for their excellent enlargement capabilities, crisp detailing and fuller image saturation. They also tend to be very expensive (think 2 grand-plus), but not the Holga. It was originally meant to offer the people an inexpensive way of getting into the world of medium format photography, and it has since developed into it's own unique genre with a worldwide cult following. Because of it‚s design and cheap manufacture, the Holga photographic experience is completely unpredictable- the plastic lens distorts, the plastic body leaks light, the focus is soft, the edges are tunneled- all of which makes it an experimentalist‚s dream. You can also blast as many exposures as you want on to one frame (just don‚t wind it) and the Holga comes with a built-in flash for low light. This package includes everything you need to get shooting: the camera, instructions in 8 languages, a roll of 120 film, batteries, photo tape to block light leaks if you don't want em, and a beautiful 90 page, full-color book of Holga photos.

reviewed by the mgmnt