Its Digital.

…and that’s not all. It shoots video as well. At this point you might be asking yourself why you are reading about a digital camera on a Toy Camera blog. I have known about this camera for quite a while, but not until now have had images and details to share with you. There is a line somewhere, and right on one side of that line is a something that we’ve debated for several years: can there be a digital Toy Camera? Of all the emails we get at Four Corners Dark, the answer to that question is one of the most asked. Most people point to the PixelVision PXL camera as the first true digital Toy Cam, but it recorded to analog tape. It has a following almost as rabid as the Holga, but there are only a few left in existence. And to get one, you’re going to have to be willing to shell out several hundred bucks on eBay. That’s if you can even find one. I have been looking for a few years, and have been outbid many times when the prices skyrocket into the $500 plus area.

Are the $10 digital cameras you get at the corner store Toy Cams? I don’t really think so. I feel that you have to start from scratch and build a camera with the Toy user in mind. The look, feel, and quality have to reflect what the Toy Camera user is looking for in an image. And there are going to be days when we’d rather not wait for our film to be processed, scanned, or printed. There are days when even I look over at my pair of Nikon’s, the D300 and D90, and think… ‘maybe I will just grab them instead.’ That day has not come yet, but the idea of a small digital camera that I can keep in my bag that both shoots like a toy and records moving images does sound very, interesting. We’ll be testing it soon, and the U.S. launch of the camera is not far off. Below are a few videos shot with the Harinezumi, and edited by Nick Dangerfield from SuperHeadz, they are quite well done, and I have to say, quite ‘Toy Camera.’ The PixelVision may now have a rival…

trio-aware from nick dangerfield on Vimeo.

motomachi from nick dangerfield on Vimeo.

Tapas from Nic Nichols on Vimeo.

St. Michael’s Maryland from Nic Nichols on Vimeo.

Read More about the Digital Harinezumi here.