Fourteen people, one camera.

Mads Varnæs spent ten years designing hearing aids, which taught him how much can be fitted into very little. Keiko Arendt is an optical engineer who grew up between Osaka and Aarhus and worked on microscope objectives before Halvane. They met at a photography club and started Halvane in 2019, convinced that a full-frame camera could be smaller, simpler and repairable.

The name comes from the wooden fishing boat Mads's grandfather sailed out of Gilleleje. It is painted on the wall above the assembly benches.

How the H1 is made

The magnesium chassis and the sensor come from partners in Japan. Top and base plates are machined by a family firm in Vejle. Everything else happens here: final assembly, sensor alignment to within 10 microns, weather testing in a spray booth, and a 30-point inspection that every camera passes before it is boxed. Each H1 is signed off by the person who assembled it, and their initials are on the inside of the battery door.

Built to be repaired

We keep spare parts for every H1 for at least ten years after the last one is made. Screws, not glue, hold the camera together.

We are not hiring right now. If you repair cameras or write firmware and would like to hear when that changes, write to hello@halvane-optics.com.

Visit the showroom: hours and directions.