Pinhole cameras

**BetterSense** · 01-14-2009, 11:35 AM

I made a pinhole camera out of $1 worth of foam-core and spraypaint, and a diet coke can. It takes 8x10 paper negatives, although it could probably be modified to take sheet film. I just got the exposure roughed-in today (about 15 seconds in daylight). The contrast is a bit off but I can't believe how sharp it is for having no lens. I would post pics but they are still in the analog domain.

Ever make a pinhole camera? Post pictures.

**Bobtrumpet** · 01-14-2009, 12:31 PM

A friend of mine in college made one. He was working over the summer at a company that did not allow cameras in the facility, but his folks wanted pics of where he worked.

He took a stack of computer punch cards (remember those?), cut out an area for a 110 instamatic film cartridge (remember those?), and then punched the center hole out of several cards for the opening. He even had a small piece of card to use as the shutter and a concealed paper clip he used for the winder!

Since people were still using punch cards, he just carried it in his briefcase every day; plant security was none the wiser (it wasn't a DoD secure facility, just company security). He just took pics of his desk area, etc. no other facilities. He'd set the card deck down, pull up the shutter, wait a few minutes, then put the shutter back down and wound the film to the next exposure.

The picture quality was very good. It was interesting to see that you could read a computer printout on the desk right next to the the camera, and a sign across the wall about 6-8 feet away in the same exposure!

**Haiku** · 01-14-2009, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by Bobtrumpet

A friend of mine in college made one. He was working over the summer at a company that did not allow cameras in the facility, but his folks wanted pics of where he worked.

He took a stack of computer punch cards (remember those?), cut out an area for a 110 instamatic film cartridge (remember those?), and then punched the center hole out of several cards for the opening. He even had a small piece of card to use as the shutter and a concealed paper clip he used for the winder!

Since people were still using punch cards, he just carried it in his briefcase every day; plant security was none the wiser (it wasn't a DoD secure facility, just company security). He just took pics of his desk area, etc. no other facilities. He'd set the card deck down, pull up the shutter, wait a few minutes, then put the shutter back down and wound the film to the next exposure.

The picture quality was very good. It was interesting to see that you could read a computer printout on the desk right next to the the camera, and a sign across the wall about 6-8 feet away in the same exposure!

Great story. Sneaky, but a great story.

Pinhole cameras always surprise people, they do me. It's hard to believe the depth of field possible. I read somewhere that they in effect have infinite depth of field.

**BetterSense** · 01-15-2009, 09:46 AM

This is a really bad scan of a contact print I made--my scanner is way too dark. The actual print is much better. I tried to show the DOF from right in front of the camera to the horizon but in this scan the fence is too dark to see any detail.

**Trius** · 01-15-2009, 11:28 AM

I've never made one, but always planned to get a round tuit. Once I find a round tuit, I'll build it. Hmmm... I have a 4x5 camera and gear, Tri-X loaded in holders, plus an extra undrilled lensboard. Hmmm.

**Haiku** · 01-15-2009, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by Trius

I've never made one, but always planned to get a round tuit. Once I find a round tuit, I'll build it. Hmmm... I have a 4x5 camera and gear, Tri-X loaded in holders, plus an extra undrilled lensboard. Hmmm.

Might be easier to buy yourself a 4X5 pinhole:

http://www.pinholecamera.com/

**Trius** · 01-15-2009, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by Ontario

Might be easier to buy yourself a 4X5 pinhole:

http://www.pinholecamera.com/

Nah ... since I have the lensboard and there are lots of precision manufacturing operators (read: laser cutting) here in Rochester, I think it would be better to go that route. What with the Toyo having bellows, I could have a helluva lot of fun. I can just see it ... set up on the grounds of George Eastman House and do a whole series of pinhole shots.

**Haiku** · 01-15-2009, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by Trius

Nah ... since I have the lensboard and there are lots of precision manufacturing operators (read: laser cutting) here in Rochester, I think it would be better to go that route. What with the Toyo having bellows, I could have a helluva lot of fun. I can just see it ... set up on the grounds of George Eastman House and do a whole series of pinhole shots.

There's something about that idea that I find just great. Make sure you have someone else there though to take pictures of you doing that. And of course, that person ought to be using a digital...

**BetterSense** · 01-15-2009, 09:35 PM

Laser cutting? I made my pinhole with a pin I stole from my wife.

**Confilo** · 01-16-2009, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by BetterSense

I made a pinhole camera out of $1 worth of foam-core and spraypaint, and a diet coke can. It takes 8x10 paper negatives, although it could probably be modified to take sheet film. I just got the exposure roughed-in today (about 15 seconds in daylight). The contrast is a bit off but I can't believe how sharp it is for having no lens. I would post pics but they are still in the analog domain.

Ever make a pinhole camera? Post pictures.

http://www.abelardomorell.net/photog...recent_01.html

Are you familiar with the work of Abe Morell? He uses a similar principle to photograph whole rooms in large format

**liege** · 01-16-2009, 09:48 AM

Ansel Adams and the "f/64" club. Mucho pinhole.

http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/adams.html

**letterk** · 01-16-2009, 02:58 PM

I've turned by D70 into a pinhole a number of times and got interesting results.

**BetterSense** · 01-17-2009, 10:43 PM

I shot this today. Here's an example of the bizarre contrast you can get with paper negatives, for better or worse. This scene would have been perfectly normal on film but since the rusty bridge was red, it's too dark, while the rocks under it and the sky are blown out, eating up the power lines.

**joyfulwoogie** · 02-21-2009, 06:34 PM

If one has a DSLR, using the camera body cap is a fun pinhole camera improvision. I haven't tried because of dust worry but maybe. My DSLR is pretty old. Maybe I try.

**richmondesi** · 02-21-2009, 06:48 PM

Excellent Ideas! I think I'll be trying this myself.

**Bluestaco** · 02-21-2009, 10:00 PM

I tried really hard to get into photography about 3 years ago. Pinhole photography especially interested me (the whole infinite depth of field thing!), and I ended up getting a Zero 4 X 5.
I got rid of it after a little while. Not because it wasn't any good (it was very nice); because I wasn't any good.
I am thankful that I am not as bad at everything else (probably not as bad at ANYTHING else) as I was at photography.

I still like to go to exhibits and look around online for good pinhole photos.

**BetterSense** · 02-26-2009, 09:39 PM

moar

**bluepunk18** · 02-27-2009, 08:58 AM

I seem to remember my Photo shop teacher in highschool managed some crisp images with a modified Quaker Oats canister. The inside was sprayed flat black, and he had a little brass plate taped to the front with a small pinhole in it. It really is amazing that you can get sharp pictures from something so simple.

**paul.c** · 02-27-2009, 01:21 PM

Anyone know where i can find a how to manual on how to make one? I am extremely interested now.

**BetterSense** · 02-27-2009, 06:20 PM

Google knows. But here is what I do.

1. get or make a REALLY light-tight box and spray the inside flat black, and the outside too while you are at it--cigar box, tool box, or make one. Practically anything can be a pinhole camera. The black foamcore from walmart and aluminum foil tape is perfect.

2. decide how far you want the pinhole from the 'film'. 1/2 the diagonal dimension of the paper is a good place to start. Further away is more zoomed (and slower) and closer is more wide-angle (and faster).

3. Make the pinhole. I use a piece of pop can I cut out with scissors. Poke the hole with a needle, and use one of your girls' emery boards to file the burr off. Poke a little bit, file a little bit, until you have a flat, thin, very round pinhole. You might have to try a few times. You can scan the pinholes in a flatbed to pick the roundest ones. Use a sharpie to make the pinhole black inside and out.

If you want maximum sharpness you can be fancy and measure the diameter of the pinhole by scanning it or by chucking it into an enlarger and measuring its image. Optimum pinhole diameter d=C sqrt (f*l) where f is your pinhole distance/'focal length' and l is the wavelength of light you want to optimize for, typically 475nm for paper and 550nm for film. C is between 1.5 or 1.9 with 1.5 supposedly better for near-field objects. Knowing the pinhole diameter precisely allows you to calculate a good f-stop for your camera, which can be useful. Your camera will work with any old pinhole, though, if it's no bigger than a needle.

4. Illford MGIV seems to be about ISO3 with little reciprocity failure under 3 minutes...it's a printing paper afterall, so it's used to long exposures. Use matte finished paper or you can get strange reflections. You can meter the scene with another camera if you have some idea of your pinhole cam's film speed and aperture. I can just meter with my Program Plus with 200 speed film and f/16, and add 6 stops to whatever it gives me for shutter speed.

There is still a lot of seat-of-the pants involved though, especially cause paper is not sensitive to red at all. So brown and beige are way darker on paper than they appear to the eyes. Blue sky is going to be blown out no matter what you do. Don't let sunlight directly hit the pinhole; shade it with something. You can inspection develop both the negatives and prints in weak developer with good stop. I contact print my paper negatives before scanning, for some reason scanning and inverting has never worked well.