Holga Direct have released info and pictures of the Holga 120 PAN – a double-width, panoramic beast in the same vein as the pinhole-based 120 WPC, but with a 90mm lens propped proudly on the front.

Like the WPC, the PAN takes “double” negatives – 6x12cm – on 120 film, although there’s no mention of a smaller mask as per the WPC. You also get a cable-release connection, a spirit-level levelness indicator, a handy viewfinder and – get this – two hotshoe mounts for double the flash fun. Not bad, eh?

Sadly Holga Direct have got sales on hold until they’ve clarified some of the details, but it looks like it’ll be on at the $90 mark when the gates are lifted, There’s more discussion and information over at this Flickr thread if you want to keep up.

Definitely going to need a bigger stocking this year.

To fit maximum footage time onto a roll of film (a max of 144 frames), the size of each frame is fairly squeezed – like a postbox – as you can see in one of Lomography’s showreels here:

Lomography LomoKino Teaser No.2 from Lomography on Vimeo.

While it’s never going to be the easiest process in the world, The Lomography lot have some good tips for using flash, scanning, and converting your results into digital files. There’s also a handy tripod mount on the camera for some steadier results, and it does look like you can do some kind of stop-motion style advancing for animated fun.

In Lomography terms, the LomoKino is fairly affordable, weighing in at a decent £65 (or $79). There’s also a package which comes with a “playback” device with similar handcrank, which you can pick up for £89 (or $99).

More info here!

1. How long has HolgaDirect.com been around for?

We first started thinking about the idea of HolgaDirect around the middle of 2010. The website only really came together at the very end of 2010 around Christmas.

2. What form of payment does HolgaDirect.com accept?

We use Paypal to accept payment which can either be from your own Paypal account or using a credit/debit card if you don’t have an account.

3. Why did you decide to get involved in the plastic world of cameras?

We’ve been passionate about Photography for quite a few years now. Starting off with Nikon SLR’s, we then used Medium Format (Pentax) equipment, TLR’s and eventually discovered Toy or Plastic Cameras like the Diana and Holga. We saw that photographer’s were really interested in these camera’s and that there was a need for good quality sources of information on the web. Sites like HolgaBlog and HolgaDirect hopefully help to share this information and build the community.

4. How long did it take to create the HolGlossary? It is a huge section and we imagine that is grows on a daily basis….

Indeed it did take a while! We realized that newcomers to Holga’s and Photography are quite often overwhelmed with technical jargon and so this was our attempt to provide a quick reference for any words or terms which you need clarifying. We’re happy to accept suggestions for new words if you think of something we should add.

5. On HolgaDirect.com, you have an Interview link. Who would your ultimate Holga interview be with?

That’s an interesting question. We are always scouting out for interesting photographers be they well known or waiting to be discovered. We’ve had two great interviews so far and some really exciting stuff already lined up for the weeks and months ahead. Actually you guys at HolgaBlog beat us to a real Scoop with Michael Kenna!  We really dig his work and when we discovered he uses Holga’s too we thought it would be great to try and talk to him at some point in the future.  Another high profile name we’d like to have featured one day is award winning photographer John Stanmeyer. He’s done a great book on Balinese culture with a Holga which is totally amazing.

6. What has been the biggest surprise that HolgaDirect.com has seen in regards to toy camera photography?

Well, we are really surprised how well it has been picked up and grown over the last few years. It just goes to show that analogue and film will not go down without a fight. Older photographer’s always knew that film had a special quality as they grew up on the stuff. But now it’s especially reassuring to see that young photographer’s who previously never even knew what a roll of film looked like now actually appreciate the qualities that film and film camera’s can produce.

7. In your opinion, what is the best Holga product you offer?

Are we allowed to say ‘All of Them’? Kidding aside, we usually get asked most frequently about which Holga to start with and we point folk towards either the basic 120N or the 135BC. The former if you are more comfortable with and have access to medium format film, the latter if you only have access to 35mm. Both are great introductions to the world of Holga Photography.

8. Does Holgadirect have any plans to start selling film with the Holgas that you offer?

We’d really love to offer film in our store and right now we are looking at the practicalities of doing so. We see that film is not quite as easy to get hold of as it used to be and sometimes there’s not a lot of choice when it is available. So watch this space

9. Are there any special offers the HolgaDirect is offering right now that we should all know about?

Well, since we only really launched the store at the end of last year we decided to give all our first customers a really great deal by offering 10% everything in the store until the end of January. In addition the first 100 customers will also be entered into a Prize draw to win a Holga and Some other goodies. We’re not quite up to that number yet so people still have a chance to win that Prize

10. How can people find you, whether it is online, by snail mail or via telephone?

Online URL: www.HolgaDirect.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/HolgaDirect

Facebook: HolgaDirect

11. And the most important one……Do you shoot with a Holga….and if you do where can people view your work?

We do shoot with Holga’s as well as other camera’s. Unfortunately we are only partway through our project of scanning and uploading our own personal work to a website somewhere. We hope to have something up soon!

We are so excited, we couldn’t wait until tomorrow!!!

Prize: Holga 135mm Pinhole (provided by Holga Inspire) , print of the winning image to the winner, grab bag of 35mm film and an upcoming POTM to be published in late spring.

Rules:

1.)  Image must be shot on any pinhole camera  (yes, even digital!)

2.)  Details of the type of camera, film and exposure & location must be provided

3.)  All images must be submitted in a JPEG format, no bigger than 3MB

4.)  All images must be submitted between Friday December 31st, 2010 and Monday, January 31^st, 2011 by midnight (12:00AM)

5.)  Holgablog.com reserves the right to use the images in a contest gallery on holgablog.com, however all copyrights remain with the photographer. Any additional use by holgablog.com will be discussed with the photographer.

6.)  Holgablog.com reserves the right to decline entries if they are deemed to be inappropriate.

7.)  All subject matter will be considered, including nudes.

8.)  Entrants are allowed three (3) FREE submission to the contest.

9.)  All entries must be submitted to contact@holgablog.com

10.) HAVE FUN!!!!

Please drop us a line if you have any questions about the contest! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee PINHOLE!

Here is a little Q&A with our newest sponsor,  holgacamera.net.

1.)   How long has Holgacamera.net been around?

We had started our internet business in 2008 on eBay. The HolgaCamera.Net website was established in August 2010. Holgacamera.net is the new web store for our company.

2.)   Where are you located?

We are located in Hong Kong

3.)   Do you ship internationally?

Yes, we ship internationally except China.

4.)   What sort of products do you have available?

We mainly offer Holga camera and accessories.

5.)   What are your most popular products?

Our best seller is 135BC & 120GCFN

6.)   What methods of payment do you accept?

We accept paypal only.

7.)   How can people go about submitting photos to your gallery?

By E-mail.

8.)   How many people at Holgacamera.net shoot with a Holga?

We have two colleagues shoot with a Holga.

9.)   Why do you think Holga cameras continue to grow in popularity?

Holga keeps create new camera model like 135BCTLR, 120GTLR, 135TIM……They are very successful.

10.)  What would you like to see in the next new Holga camera?

We would like to see the Holga brand instant camera.

Check out their HUGE selection of holga cameras and accessories. Not only do they have one of the largest selection of holgas, they also offer some of the cheapest shipping that you can find!

I have now formally handed over complete control of Holgablog to new owners (Sheena and Jim) who have been beavering away for the last month getting to grips with the site and you should see some big changes soon.  I would have loved to have kept going with Holgablog but unfortunately I just didn’t have the time to manage something that had grown so big, with many different writers, promoters, and sponsors to juggle, plus increasing work commitments, something had to give!

This is a just quick post to say thanks for making Holgablog one of the most visited Holga/Toy Camera sites on t’ interweb and you are being left in great hands with Sheena, Jim and the writing team. I’m really looking forward to seeing what appears next!

One final bit of shameless self promotion.   My personal site at www.goatkarma.com contains all my articles written for Holgablog(although they will still remain on Holgablog too), plus some of my photography and even some techy-web development stuff from my work(if that floats your boat).  I will be updating it regularly with new photographic articles, so if you enjoyed reading my stuff on Holgablog, you should like some of the new stuff I have planned (I also welcome comments on the design, I’m unsure yet if I like the redesign I’ve just done!).

Here’s a few of my articles I had fun writing over the last 3 years:

• My review of the PX100 film
• Massive Guide to TLRs Parts 1,2,3,4,5
• Holga: Plastic or Glass?
• The Polaroid 20×24
• When Candids Go Wrong
• Top Tips to get noticed on Flickr
• The Impossible backlash

Thanks everyone, and good luck with the site Sheena and Jim!

Here at Holgablog, we are growing so quickly we can barely keep up, and it is very exciting knowing that so many individuals worldwide share in our love of and interest in plastic camera photography. Of course, Holgablog isn’t just about the Holga realm, but also about all lo-fi and film photography in general. We use all sorts of different cameras and mediums to capture the images seen throughout this site, and are always excited to bring you updates, news and stories about the world of photography.

Those of you who return to the site time and again may have noticed a bit of a decline in new articles in the last couple of months and for this we apologize – we were in a brief transitional phase that left us a bit short of words. We certainly don’t mean to leave our loyal readers unfulfilled, so this update is to let you know that you can now expect to see lots more frequent posts from a wider range of subjects. Subjects like camera, photo-book and film reviews, documentary-type photo stories, and awesome camera-to-camera comparisons. Our Photographer of the Month page will feature an assortment of folks from some of our readers (**it could be you!), to blossoming newcomers, to world renowned pros from assorted corners of the photographic realm. You will also be invited to come along with us as we strive to broaden our horizons further to include all kinds of darkroom and alternative processes, as well as full month-long coverage of different photographic styles, and we hope you will join us.

Along with the addition of new subject matter, we hope that you will keep watching for more visual updates to the blog as well – you may have noticed we no longer have distracting advertisements cluttering the blog, as well as a more user-friendly appearance. Well, more updates and changes are coming soon to make your Holgablog experience that much better in coming months, but we ask that you please bear with us as these things may take some time to complete.

You will also notice new super-awesome sponsors and supporters listed in the sidebar – please be sure to check them out for all of your lo-fi photographic needs and tell them you found them through Holgablog.com – they are always thrilled to hear that, and we are always thrilled to have our awesome readers promote us in that way too.

We always welcome the input and opinions of our readers via the ‘Comments’ box at the end of each article, and hope that you will continue to let us know what you think of our work in the future. Please understand, we do not allow rude, slanderous or unrelated material to be posted and opt to proof-read and/or reject each comment individually to make sure that none of these problems happen.

**We mentioned above that the POTM selection will include the work of selected readers as well and you might have found yourself wondering, “How do I make these guys aware of my interest in participating?” The answer, dear friends, is this: if you wish to enter the POTM running for future months, please send us a note with an introduction and a few lines about your photography, including a link to your work at contact@holgablog.com Although we may not be able to feature your work right away, if you are selected we will contact you to discuss what we will need from you and when you will be on the site.

One last note before we leave you for the moment, if there is anything you would like to see more of, less of, or if there is anything especially particular you might like to suggest we write about, please take a minute and send us a note in the ‘Comments’ section below. We would love to hear from you.

Thanks again for keeping up with us and we look forward to bringing you more awesome photo-related sweetness now and in the future.

Don’t forget to follow us for your chance to enter in our contests and win great prizes in our giveaways on Twitter and Facebook!