Johnny Ringo said:

I've got this friend who invests in high end cameras and in general he takes some good shots - BUT he's also the kind of guy who likes to HDR the hell out of things

I really don't care for HDR. Mildly interesting the first few times I saw it, but after a while everything looks the same. To me, it takes all the depth and emotion out of the piece, literally and figuratively.

I have a friend who shoots nearly everything HDR now. Looking through her portfolio is like looking at a box of crayons - lots of color, not much else.

Oddly enough (considering we're a movie-based board), I see HDR as a very similar situation to the over-use of CGI or shaky-cam in films. As a tool to help convey a message within a scene it's fine. When it becomes an obsession with a film maker i.e. Lucas or Greengrass, it takes the place of content, emotion, and story.

I don't think there is any advice for HDR lovers. I think they're looking for something else out of a photograph. Whatever it is, depth and mystery aren't part of it because HDR does away with all that.
[/rant]

Regarding finding a Holga, I thought they were still being made but I may be wrong.

*edit*

You can get them on Amazon for about 30 bucks.