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    $25,000 digital camera back paired with $25 Holga camera in experiment

    $25,000 digital camera back paired with $25 Holga camera in experiment

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    Photographer Mike Martens experimented with a DIY mashup of a $25,000 Phase One P25 camera back, a $25 Holga 120N camera, and some gaffer tape a few years back, and came up with the "Holga-cam of the Apocalypse." The final product didn't require the destruction of either camera, so he could — in theory — return the Holga back to its former glory if he wanted to.

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    FLICKR Holga Phase One DIY Hardware
    FLICKR Holga Phase One DIY Hardware

    What if you were stuck with a $25,000 professional-grade digital camera back but didn't have the rest of the camera to go with it? Photographer Mike Martens experimented with that idea a few years back and came up with the "Holga-cam of the Apocalypse" — a DIY mashup of a Phase One P25 camera back, a $25 Holga 120N camera, and some gaffer tape. The cheap, plastic-lensed Holga is connected via a cord from its hot shoe mount to the camera back, and when the shutter button is depressed a signal is sent to tell the sensor to wake up and receive an image. Martens claims the camera is "very stable," and he says the top of the Holga serves as a sufficient left grip. We'll just have to take his word for it, but take a look at both source links below for a few more shots of the camera and some examples of the images it produces with that combination of a fine sensor and a sub-par lens.

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