* * * * * Persnicketty cameras > Burnett, 54, now has four of these plastic beauties—and he doubtless will > buy more of them. Depending on modifications, made by seemingly obsessed > Holgaholics offering them on the Internet, these cameras can go for as much > as—you ready for this?—$30.95. (The regular price for a pristine, virginal, > light-leaking Holga, is more like fifteen bucks.) > > Consider that, when the average gun of your average photojournalist—say a > Nikon D1—runs close to five grand, a plastic toy that I once mistook for a > squirt gun can hold its own against it. > Via Squirrel Bait, [1] Dr. Burnett's Magic Box [2] For a leaky, cheap knock off Chinese camera with a plastic lens and a fixed shutter rate, the pictures running with the above article are wonderful. Makes me almost wish I had one of these cameras. Then again, I do have a rather persnicketty digital camera [3] that is probably just as difficult to use as the Holga. [1] http://www.treehaus.addr.com/squirrelbait/ [2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/essays/vanRiper/010706.htm [3] http://www.conman.org/people/spc/about/1998/focus.html Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org .