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- 7,507
- Name
- Nige
- Edit My Images
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Erm, sorry, but from what I've seen taken on Holgas, they ain't sharp enough for my personal preference. And your shots, as nice as they are (and they are good, I do like them), for me, they could be improved significantly by having better IQ. I don't understand how Holgas can be so desirable, yet a cheapo compact that doesn't have so much hype surrounding it, isn't. I don't see the lack of sharpness, and the dreadful IQ anywhere but in the centre, as 'character'; I see it as an indication of poor quality.
The highlighted phrases are key. It's your preference to not use a Holga, which is fine. Those of us who do don't need to be informed of the camera's shortcomings, or that better image quality can be had from a different model. We use Holga's (and other less than perfect kit) because we enjoy doing so. In most cases it isn't the only camera we use and many of us have very capable digital models (and better specified film cameras) too, and while it is possible to "downgrade" a digital image to mimic the Holga look, it's not something I personally want to do because I wouldn't really enjoy that process as opposed to doing it "in the field".
I enjoy the process and challenge of getting photos I'm happy with using a basic piece of kit, and I bought my Holga (for £20) especially because I'd seen other people's Holga photos that I liked and wanted to make some of my own. I certainly don't believe that all Holga photos are good - many of them are awful, including many of mine, certainly. But then again, the same goes for photos from any camera. I'm also as far from being a hipster or the sort of person who engages in anything for the sake of fashion as you can possibly imagine. I make photos for myself. If anyone else likes them isn't a concern (although it makes me happy if they do).
Thing is, you can't improve those images, so why hobble yourself by using such a poor cam in the first place? You could shoot the same pics on a decent, cam, add in the 'low-fi' effects in post (or with a scratched up old filter, etc), yet still have a decent quality version should you want that, at any stage.
For me personally, it's because I don't want to. I know that I can, I just choose not to. Not having an ultra-sharp version of a scene I deliberately photographed with my Holga (or any film camera for that matter) isn't something that bothers me at all.