Digital Harinezumi Portraits and Memories
Hello everyone, with all the renewed interest in lo-fi digital imaging tech (especially with the Kodak Charmera) I thought I would finally “dust off” our old digital Harinezumi photos from about 2011ish and post them here. So crazy how that many years can pass in a blink of an eye. Photography was very fun back then, and very honest in the motives for getting out there and creating. The ‘Degi Hari’ was a fun little toy camera to bring along as we shot with DSLRs, first gen mirrorless cameras, film, phones, pretty much anything back then.
The Digital Harinezumi was and still is desirable due to its lo fi vibes and grainy imperfect image quality, especially in video. There was a time when it was highly sought after for its semi 8mm film look. Even new this camera was much more expensive than a $30 Charmera (that is if you are willing to just pre order and wait). Nowadays its rare to find a working Digital Harinezumi and they go for a whole lot. Is it worth it? Is anything worth it? Here are some imperfect memories from a bygone era. 🙂
Digital Harinezumi 2 Photos (The exif in the camera imgs show ‘Degi Hari’!)
Digital Harinezumi 2 Photos (The exif in the camera imgs show ‘Degi Hari’!)
Digital Harinezumi 2 Photos (The exif in the camera imgs show ‘Degi Hari’!)
Digital Harinezumi 2 Photos (The exif in the camera imgs show ‘Degi Hari’!)
Digital Harinezumi 2 Photos (The exif in the camera imgs show ‘Degi Hari’!)
I had the Harinezumi 2 in 2011 but it got destroyed in a rain storm at dragon boat one year. I then bought the original Harinezumi in 2020. The photo quality is better than a Charmera, but the Charmera actually takes much more reliable lo-fi videos I’ve found. Which is better? Any DSLR of course! 😉
Here are about 100 Harinezumi photos from back in the day. It’s crazy how in 2025 the AI upscaling of low res images is a viable thing. It’s pretty much a magician in how it can fix blurry images and make old images look like they were shot with a modern camera. I’m sure there’s a use case for that, but since the software recreates data that really wasn’t there to begin with, it’s not true photography, whatever that really means these days. Anyways I’d rather just leave these low res images as is and instead print them out on an equally low res printer and stick them in the shoebox.
Above is an animated GIF I made in MacOS from a video clip shot with the original Digital Harinezumi.
Video: Digital Harinezumi
If you enjoyed this fun retro post, please check out the professional work on my website frontend. If anyone has a need for Event Coverage, Documentary work or Photojournalism around the Atlanta metro area and SE US let me know!
