The Holga camera was designed by T. M. Lee in 1982. It first appeared outside China in 1982 in Hong Kong. At the time, 120 roll film in black-and-white was the most widely available film in mainland China. The Holga was intended to provide an inexpensive mass-market camera for working-class Chinese in order to record family portraits and events.However, the rapid adoption of the 35 mm film format, due to new foreign camera and film imports, virtually eliminated the consumer market for 120 roll film in China. Seeking new markets, the manufacturer sought to distribute the Holga outside mainland China.
Within a few years after the Holga's introduction to foreign markets, some photographers began using the Holga for its surrealistic, impressionistic scenes for landscape, still life, portrait, and especially street photography. These owners prized the Holga for its lack of precision, light leaks, and inexpensive qualities, which forced the photographer to concentrate on innovation and creative vision in place of increasingly expensive camera technology.[8] In this respect, the Holga became the successor to the Diana and other toy cameras previously used in such work. A Holga photograph by photojournalist David Burnett of former vice-president Al Gore during a 2000 campaign appearance earned a top prize in a 2001 White House News Photographers' Association Eyes of History award ceremony.
Recently the Holga has experienced renewed consumer interest outside China due to the increasing popularity of toy cameras, and a continuing counterculture response to the increasing complexity of modern cameras.
In late November 2015, Freestyle Photographic Supplies COO Gerald H. Karmele confirmed that Tokina had shut down the factory that produced Holga cameras and related accessories, ending the production of these toy cameras. A revitalized, but saturated, toy camera market led to waning sales. However, as of July 2017, Freestyle reported that the molds had been tracked down, put back into production, and the Holgas were once again available.
The Holga camera was designed by T. M. Lee in 1982. It first appeared outside China in 1982 in Hong Kong. At the time, 120 roll film in black-and-white was the most widely available film in mainland China. The Holga was intended to provide an inexpensive mass-market camera for working-class Chinese in order to record family portraits and events.However, the rapid adoption of the 35 mm film format,…
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