Pinhole – Cameron Young

Zero Image 612

I recently replaced my Holga WPC with a Zero Image 612 Back to Nature model. As always, the Zero Image camera is superb in both image and build quality.

Reality So Subtle 6×17 Pinhole Camera

I was looking for something in a larger format pinhole camera and purchased a 6×17 from Reality so Subtle.

It is a well made camera that gives 4 exposures on a roll of 120 film. It is quite tricky to load and requires some practice. I really like the panoramic look the camera gives.

Baby Cube Pinhole Camera

An interesting little camera that a purchased from Chroma Camera. It has:

0.2mm Pinhole

30mm focal length

F/150 equivalent aperture

24x24mm frame size

It has an ingenious winding system that keeps the frame spacing constant.

This month is a simple build. I constructed the camera from a metal watch box. Placed the pinhole in the lid and used a simple tape shutter. I folded a 7 inch square of photo paper to fit inside the cube.

I was surprised how the image was captured inside the cube, I was expecting more distortion up the sides. Cutting the paper to fit in the cube was a little time consuming. Overall I was overall happy with the results and this could be an interesting start to a larger project.

January Pinhole Camera

Came across this in the Dollar Store and thought it would make an interesting camera. I am going to put a pinhole in each of the sides and a circular core in the center to hold a 3.5 x 6 inch strip of photo paper.

Hole drilled in the bottom for the tripod mount and to attach the central core.

Central core made from a piece cut from a plastic caulking tube.

A piece of wood cut to fit inside the tube. It has a 5/16 in hole drilled to accept the T nut.

The T nut is driven through the bottom of the can and into the hole in the center core.

The interior showing the central core mounted in place.

Painting the interior of the camera black. I used two coats of flat acrylic paint.

Making the pinholes out of a beer can. I calculated the focal length to be 35mm and a .26mm pinhole was required. The camera will be f135.

Mounted a pinhole in each of the 8 sides of the camera.

I am glad that I built the 8 sided camera but it is not something I will use regularly. The camera is really fiddly to load and I don’t find the resulting images all that exciting.

2023 Project – Camera a Month

I often re-read Erin Renner’s book Pinhole Photography or go through past issues of the Pinhole Journal. I find that this provides inspiration and makes me consider the camera as object. For a project this year, I will build a different pinhole camera each month. I will document the build and show example images from the camera.

Stay tuned.

Cuprotype

I was interested in trying the cuprotype process and finally got around to it. I used the information I found on darkroomdoc. I printed a couple of pinhole images that I had shot on Arista lith film. I am quite pleased with the results and will be working with this process more.

Nettar Pinhole

I had been looking for a wider option than my Zero Image 2000 camera, and looked at a couple of commercial options, but in the end, decided to make my own. I had a Nettar body that I had used for another project so I converted it to a 18mm pinhole camera. I initially had quite a few problems with light leaks so I used a lot of black caulking in the interior – not pretty, but effective. I am very pleased with the results from the first roll.

Small Journeys

I was interested in exploring the world by sending pinhole cameras through the mail, and having them record their small journeys.

I built pinhole cameras and loaded them with photo paper. I took them to various post offices in the area, opened the shutter and then mailed them to myself. They would generally arrive back within 2 to 10 days.

After the camera returned home, I developed the photo paper to reveal a record of the camera’s journey. I then rewrapped the camera with brown paper, and then sent it out on another journey. The camera pictured below, was reused 9 times.

I conceived of this project before the pandemic, but as things progressed, the idea of sending something out to explore the world, became more relevant.

The pinhole camera. The pinhole is in the “eye” on the shipping label.

Digital Pinhole

Over the years I have made or purchased countless pinhole cameras. What they all have in common is that they recorded the image either onto film or photographic paper. I had always hoped that a pinhole lens on a digital camera would be a viable option, but unfortunately, I have never been satisfied with the results. Here are four different options that I have tried for my Olympus Micro 4/3 camera.

All of the photographs were taken under the same conditions with only the levels adjusted in Photoshop.

Pinhole Body Cap

Quite simple. A body cap with a hole drilled in it and a pinhole put in place.

Pinhole Rising

I bought this commercially made pinhole body cap from a local camera store. It is a body cap with a metal insert that has the pinhole drilled in it.

Wanderlust Pinwide.

I got this one by supporting the original Kickstarter campaign. Made of plastic. It extends well into the camera body and is very close to the sensor.

Thingyfy Pinhole Pro S

Well made of metal and like the Pinwide, extends well into the camera body.

Final Thoughts

The Pinhole body cap produced images that are sharper than the Rising Pinhole.

The Wanderlust Pinwide has the widest field of view with some vignetting at the corners. In my opinion it is the sharpest of all 4 lenses.

Both the Pinwide and the Thingyfy show the yellow “blotch” in the upper right side of the image. The Pinwide exhibits this more than the Thingyfy. This “blotch” is caused by the angle at which the light hits the sensor. If the image is converted to black and white it is a non-issue.

All 4 of the lenses produce reasonable results in the Micro 4/3 format, but don’t produce the same image quality that can be had shooting film.

Category: Pinhole