Lomographic Holga Starter Kit

a friend of mine and i were talking about how much we wanted holgas but couldn't find them... so when i saw this on here i immediately bought two kits, one for me and one for her.and YES IT COMES WITH THE CAMERA. i just wanted to say that. but the whole package is great! comes with film, batteries, a poster extolling the virtues of lomography, a mini-handbook for the camera itself, incredibly easy to use. and what i think really makes the package is the "HOLGA - life through a plastic lens" book, with Holga enthusiasts, experts and aficionados giving you tips and sharing their images. Such a charming book, breathtaking pictures, and inspiring because it shows you what this cheap little thing is capable of. and they also give you cool little tricks for modifying the camera and different effects you can get and so on. so... yeah.Buy it!

At first I was apprehensive buying a Holga. I have only ever used Minolta X-700 SLR's and Maxxum AF SLR's. The images I have seen from Holgas seemed to have so much more depth and soul, so I ordered one for myself. I had seen these on display at a high-priced clothing store at the mall that also sells vintage items. I was intrigued but they wanted twice the price for the starter kit. When I looked it up on Amazon.com I was surprised at what I thought was the great value of the starter kit. I am only disappointed because my kit did not include the roll of color film or the batteries. Other people have mentioned these items missing from their box as well. Otherwise I would rate this a great deal compared to brick and mortar stores in my city. Film and batteries are relatively cheap. The book that comes with the kit is inspiring and full of beautiful photos made with this humble toy camera.

This camera was a gift to my daughter, so she will be giving the review on the product:The camera is an old, cheaply made little piece of crap. It really is. But if I could afford the cost of the film, the camera would never leave my side, because truthfully I am in love. The moody little thing captures everything in a dream and whether you work it right or work it wrong you get breathtaking or devastating results. So when you buy this camera you need to know the risk. This was something I hadn't known when I was searching for and wanting this camera. I was in utter shock when I got my holga - it is a plastic box with faux leather that weighed less then a couple pounds. I said, "Oh my gosh!! This is where you put the film! Look there's no play back screen! Look how simple it is!"And really that's all I would expect from it. A crappy little box that would soon become a good friend, or even an aunt or uncle.

Its not as advertised. Its a lot cheaper to buy just the camera. There is no film or batteries in the box. So I guess your spending the extra money...nothing really. I didnt listen to the other reviews saying the same thing. I should have and I hope you do. Good luck and enjoy the Holga that you end up getting.

I LOVE my holga. Its so much fun to work with and people always asks about it when I'm out and about snapping pics. I got the starter kit about a year ago. The book included in the kit has lots of beautiful images and fun tips. The kit also contained batteries for the flash, a roll of 120 mm film, instructions, and electrical tape. I highly recommend that some kind of tape is used because I've had problems with the back cover sliding off. I also recommend converting your holga so it can use 35 mm film (you can either buy a converter or make one yourself). In my experience, developing 120 is expensive and its not something you can take to a drugstore to develop. I guess a cheaper way of developing 120 film is to develop it yourself if you have the means to do so.I'd have to say that the best feature is the colour flash, its amazing, especially with multiple exposures.I think the worst feature is the focus, because it doesn't seem to do much of anything (at least in my experience).Don't expect all your images to be phenomenal or you might end up disappointed. Holga is perfect at making things imperfect, which is the best part. Embrace the crazy looking pictures.

If you are like me, just trying to get started with Holgas, you will find the users manual completely useless and senseless. There are directions referring to illustrations that are non-existent, tiny type, and teeny tiny illustrations that are impossible to decipher. I don't know why they bothered to put this booklet together-- it would not have been much more difficult to make this legible and sensible. The Holga book is beautiful but has virtually no practical information for the beginner. I am disappointed and frustrated. If you already know what you're doing, then you will probably enjoy this kit.