Hold onto your Holgas...the factory has shut down!

ChristopherCoy · Dec 24, 2015

Apparently Holga Hoarding madness is in full effect. Prices are already ridiculous....

hoffy · Dec 24, 2015

ChristopherCoy said:
Apparently Holga Hoarding madness is in full effect. Prices are already ridiculous....

Which has just hardened my resolve not to bother with one.

ChristopherCoy · Dec 24, 2015

hoffy said:
Which has just hardened my resolve not to bother with one.

I had two original 120s models. I know I sold one, but I thought I had kept the other. I can't seem to find it right now, so its either lost in the abyss of my junk room, or I sold it and dont remember.

In any event, I have the 120s box for one of them. Since I can't find my camera, I just bought a 120s with strap, mask, and lens cap on etsy for $30.

I enjoy the Holga and if I can't find my old one, at least I'll have this one.

But its still crazy to see the prices some of these people are trying to sell theirs for.

AgX · Dec 24, 2015

ChristopherCoy said:
Apparently Holga Hoarding madness is in full effect. Prices are already ridiculous....

I never ever came across a used sample, thus it does not bother me.

Sirius Glass · Dec 24, 2015

ChristopherCoy said:
Apparently Holga Hoarding madness is in full effect. Prices are already ridiculous....

Avoid the rush and buy them up to keep them from the hoarders.

ciniframe · Dec 26, 2015

Well, it's not a Holga but kind of the same idea. I see B&H has the Diana now for $40 with free shipping and it has a removeable lens with several lenses you can buy if that is your thing. It also shoots either 12- 52X52mm or 16- 42X42mm negs. I have no much interest in these type of cameras but for those in mourning over the demise of the Holga this is just a heads up.

mhcfires · Dec 26, 2015

I have an old Brownie Hawkeye. It is better than a Holga, still in good shape after 60+ years.

Sirius Glass · Dec 26, 2015

mhcfires said:
I have an old Brownie Hawkeye. It is better than a Holga, still in good shape after 60+ years.

+ 1

eddie · Dec 26, 2015

mhcfires said:
I have an old Brownie Hawkeye. It is better than a Holga, still in good shape after 60+ years.

In what way(s) is it better?

Sirius Glass · Dec 26, 2015

No light leaks
No fogging
Better optics
It is less expensive

Just for starters. Just because a Holga was made more recently, does not in itself make it a better product.

eddie · Dec 26, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
No light leaks
No fogging
Better optics
It is less expensive

All of which really have nothing to do with being "better", if the light leaks, fogging, and optics of the Holga better suit the images one wants to make. Absolute claims like "better" are easily refuted.
As for price (with the exception of my Holga Pano) I've never spent more than $5.00 on a Holga or Diana.

ChristopherCoy · Dec 27, 2015

mhcfires said:
I have an old Brownie Hawkeye. It is better than a Holga, still in good shape after 60+ years.

I have three of those myself. One has a flipped lens.

rockpowered · Dec 27, 2015

I am somewhat amused to see how many members come to the Lo-Fi camera thread to bash the nature of these cameras. If you don't like the essence of these beasts in whatever incarnation they happen to present, then maybe don't comment in the Lo-Fi threads.... Unless of course you need to do that because your bored and not making images

MDR · Dec 28, 2015

eddie said:
All of which really have nothing to do with being "better", if the light leaks, fogging, and optics of the Holga better suit the images one wants to make. Absolute claims like "better" are easily refuted.
As for price (with the exception of my Holga Pano) I've never spent more than $5.00 on a Holga or Diana.

"rockpowered
I am somewhat amused to see how many members come to the Lo-Fi camera thread to bash the nature of these cameras. If you don't like the essence of these beasts in whatever incarnation they happen to present, then maybe don't comment in the Lo-Fi threads.... Unless of course you need to do that because your bored and not making images"

Agree with eddies post and was wondering about the thing as rockpowered in his post. That a card carrying member of the Hassies and Zeiss are the best club isn't to happy with the results from a Holga is understandable, that he needs to voice his dislike in the Toy Camera forum on the other hand is less understandable.

As for the 5 Holga and Diana where did you get them I am envious.

eddie · Dec 28, 2015

I bought my Diana's in the 1970's. Discount stores sold them, new in box for $1.00. Last year, a friend who knows I like lo-fi cameras found a few Diana's, a Holga, and a Lubitel2 for a total of $10.00.

Nikonic · Dec 29, 2015

ChristopherCoy said:
Apparently Holga Hoarding madness is in full effect. Prices are already ridiculous....

The madness will cool off, I bet.

Everyone who is willing to pay ridiculous prices for original Holgas will have already bought their stashes in a while.

Then, those who continue to ask ridiculous prices will, after re-listing 10-12 times on the bay will realize that there are no more crazies left willing to pay that price, and things will come down.

There were a lot of Holgas made.

How many? The factory was open for decades. More than a million, I'd wager. Is that safe to say? But certainly no more than 100 million. Possibly a few million is my guess, over many decades. A lot of those are lying around in boxes, and will start showing up in estate sales, tag sales, etc when whoever discovers them realizes they are worth more than $10, and then dump them onto the internet.

AgX · Dec 30, 2015

But spreading of these cameras is different between countries. (see post #104)

Andrew O'Neill · Dec 31, 2015

I've had my 120S for about 20 years now. I just ran a roll of TMY-2 through. No matter how much black tape I wrap around it, she still leaks. The images are mushy. The shutter is clunky. I sometimes still forget to take the lens cap off. The images are always a surprise. I love it.

bvy · Dec 31, 2015

Amazon says they'll be back in stock on January 3.

CHX · Dec 31, 2015

Given that they are a bread and butter model for the marketing bods at Lomographische AG, I imagine that if the factory actually has stopped production, they will try and buy the rights to the name/design, and get a mainland / PRC factory to continue production. They have already commissioned a slew of custom models, so they have a sizable interest in keeping a production line going. Failing that, I imagine they'll get a clone out the door pretty quickly.

subcolour · Feb 23, 2016

I read somewhere that the factory threw out all the machines that make them, so I'm not sure it would even be possible for them to start up again.

Sirius Glass · Feb 23, 2016

Welcome to APUG

Photo-gear · Feb 23, 2016

subcolour said:
I read somewhere that the factory threw out all the machines that make them, so I'm not sure it would even be possible for them to start up again.

Yeah, indeed. :/

bvy · Feb 23, 2016

This wasn't Kodachrome. Molded plastic is easy and the design is trivial. It could easily come back. Personally I think we're being set up for a great marketing gimmick.

AgX · Feb 24, 2016

The demise of that production is a bit enigmatic. As you said starting production again is trivial, but nevertheless making new tools is costly (in case they got scrapped).

Hold onto your Holgas...the factory has shut down!

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