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.
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.
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.
Jesus. For that price I can get a solid 35mm film SLR in good condition. As an avid photographer (both film and digital, moreso film) I've never understood the point behind Holgas, especially given how much they cost.
However, I encourage you to try the Holga or a Diana before you knock it. Try some modifications and see what comes out. I've been crazy-glueing miniature glass dollhouse props into my Holga. Except the first roll, I forgot it would be upside down so I have all these shots of people with wine bottles on the ceiling.
The point behind Holgas is the same point behind slot machines. The fact that there's so little control over what you're doing makes every shot that turns out feel like a gift from God. I couldn't imagine using my Holga as my only camera, but it's a fun diversion. Actually, I can't imagine using any of my cameras as my only camera.
Also, you can get a basic holga for around $30, the more expensive stuff on the lomography.com site is for the lunatic fringe of the lunatic fringe.
If you use a full frame sensor, you get the full effect of vignetting from the plastic lens. ... Essentially, the lens is right-sized for 35MM or a crop sensor while it's generally used with 6cm medium format negatives.
I'm not sure I follow. As you say, a normal Holga lens is used on 6x6 which is almost four times the surface area of 35mm film.
So you're not going to get the same lens vignetting as you get on a 6x6 frame without shrinking the lens proportionally.
There's also detail. Large film area is one of the reasons why you still get some clarity in your picture, even though the lens distorts the light.
So if you drop to 35mm equivalent or smaller then your lens has to become proportionally less crummy as well as smaller, in order to get the same result. If that's your goal, anyhow.
I'm not entirely certain that Holga is a 35mm lens on a 6x6 film transport, but it is plausible. I have never looked to closely at a Holga -- it's not my preferred tool.
I suspect that the chromatic and anastigmatic aberration that are characteristic of a Holga are a result of a single element meniscus lens, which is well known for having these problems. I've heard that the lens is also made out of plastic, which transmits lights differently from glass. All that combined with poor quality control at the Holga plant means that every Holga is special.
Meniscus lenses are simple enough to manufacture, which means that they can probably be made to vignette on a full-frame or crop sensor.
Meniscus lenses are simple enough to manufacture, which means that they can probably be made to vignette on a full-frame or crop sensor.
The problem I see is that you still need a -better- meniscus lens in order to get the same quality photo on a smaller film plane.
Maybe this isn't really a factor, but it's certainly one of the reasons why I prefer my Holga over 35mm toy cameras - you can see a bit more in your crummy quality photo. :).
I don't think "better" is really a consideration at the Holga or LOMO factories. :-)
A guy that knew who was very serious about doing sharpness testing on lenses pointed out that lens resolution doesn't really matter that much. He claimed that most lenses had resolution far beyond the capacity of any media that we could record images to... and things like flare and aberrations were far more important. I have no idea how true this is, but it certainly sounds plausible.
He should redo it with a crop sensor. Even one of the small sensors of snapshot cameras would probably work for this.