Expired 110 Film Pinhole Camera

[Sumin]

Greetings!
This is my 110mm Pinhole camera, which is also my first experience with Pinhole photography. I'd like to use them but I'm afraid of exposure times. The calculations are complex but could anyone give me any tips? The 110 Film i am using has expired in 1991 and my pinhole diameter is 0.2 mm (F/number 174 - Focal Length 40). What could be the best Exposure Time for this 110mm Pinhole camera?
My sincere thanks for any help!

 

[bernard_L]

As you don't provide that information, let me assume the film was 200ISO (adjust according to the actual box speed). Due to age assume the effective ISO is now 100.

• You have a meter. Meter the scene (not appropriate to start a discussion about subtleties). What speed for an f-number somewhere between f/16 and f/22 (target f/17.4). Multiply that time by 100.
• You don't have a meter. Apply "Sunny 11" (yes, I mean f/11) for 100 ISO film, i.e. sunny or hazy 1/100 f/11, cloudy bright 1/50 f/11, cloudy or open shadow under sunny sky 1/25 f/11 (and yes I vary the speed rather than the f-stop, easier for what follows). Multiply the time by 250 (174/11)^2.

Enjoy!

 

[bernard_L]

pinhole diameter is 0.2 mm (F/number 174 - Focal Length 40).

The numbers do not fit. Pinhole diameter 0.2 and "focal length" 40 results in f/200. Marginally significant for exposure calculation. But, since there are unknown unknowns, it is best not to start with a systematic error.

 

[Don_ih]

The numbers do not fit. Pinhole diameter 0.2 and "focal length" 40 results in f/200. Marginally significant for exposure calculation. But, since there are unknown unknowns, it is best not to start with a systematic error.

The hole diameter could be 0.23 - rounded to 0.2 - but used to calculate f174.

 

[xkaes]

Pinhole calculations are not complex at all, and exposure is the same as normal photography. The simple Sunny f16 rule applies -- all you do is adjust from f16 to whatever your f-stop actually is. You'll need about a 2 second exposure with ISO 100 film at f200.

http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/pinhole.htm

 

[SMD]

Although making its own mistakes lead to learning something, it is not necessary to repeat the errors of others. So as you mentioned this is your first pinhole, I dare to warn, you will be dissapointed with that format.
I made my first pinhole exposure on 135 film. (SLR with hole in cap. More exactly hole with a piece of thin metal sheet with the correspondingly calculated diameter hole in it.) I was dissapointed. Only when I did the same on a 6x6 frame did I had the aha effect. Later when I had a LF camera I really could appreciate pinhole photography.
So my advice is you use that roll in a proper 110 camera and explore pinhole photography with the largest format camera you have on hand.

 

[Hassasin]

110 is definitely not a pinhole format, as @SMD mentioned. Part of the problem is that people have different expectations of what a pinhole image should look like. So there is going to be some image recorded on a 110. Blowing it up a thousand times might create a one of a kind output. But I don’t see anything to be learnt about pinhole with 110.

 

[MattKing]

For clarity, the advice above about using larger film or paper for pinhole cameras comes from well founded experience.
It all comes from science - the wavelengths of visible light, how pinholes interact with that light, and the role that diffraction plays.
That being said, building your own camera is fun, so if you get satisfaction out of that part of the process, and aren't too worried about the results, I wouldn't discourage you.

 

[Nick Dvoracek]

I have to step in and defend the use of smaller formats for pinhole, although the 110 format is a bit of a challenge. By the way, it's not 110mm, it's just the designation of the cartridge format. The frame is 13 mm × 17 mm.

I use 35mm film for pinhole and often with just a 24x24mm frame.

I think this may be a misperception that "sharpness" is the highest goal in photography, and technically resolution is going to be reduced with a smaller format. But composition, light, color and subject can elevate a photograph to where you don't even notice lack of detail. Here is a recent post all done with 35mm. https://pinholica.blogspot.com/2024/08/homebuilt-air-photography-ultralight.html

For those of you who don't want to visit that link, here's an example:

(Incidentally that's with a hand-drilled pinhole and no sharpening, but I had to downsample the file get Photrio to accept it.)

I'm an advocate of slowing down and concentrating on each frame, but I have to say that using 35mm film gives a refreshing freedom to photography. You can put a 35mm camera in your pocket. I tend to use my 35mm cameras much like most people use their phones. I don't fool around and take multiple slightly different frames like digital photographers do, but I'm a little more lax with what I try to photograph. (btw, that post above has 33 frames out of a possible total of 36.) Exercising and practicing anything is likely to improve your results and 35mm gives you that chance to do a lot of pinhole without expending a fortune.

I think with your little camera the problem is going to be more likely the 40mm distance to the film. If you were using lenses, that would be considered telephoto. That's going to cause you more problems than just the film size. I don't want to get into a long technical definition, but you might have "sharper" results with a wider angle and a little smaller pinhole. Getting close up to things so you can see details helps that perception of sharpness too.

One thing I think that stops a lot of people with small formats is that dust and other flaws get enlarged along with the photo. You will have to learn to retouch dust in order to appreciate the quality of your images.

So don't let the scientific rules keep you from trying things. (although it's a lot of fun to understand those rules)

Here's some examples of 110 pinhole photography that's made Justin Quinnel world famous. https://www.pinholephotography.org/gallery

 

[bernard_L]

Here's some examples of 110 pinhole photography that's made Justin Quinnel world famous. https://www.pinholephotography.org/gallery

Thank you for the link!

Also followed the link to your site. Interesting! Found the page about The Populist. It is worthy of Miroslav Tichý!

35mm gives you that chance to do a lot of pinhole without expending a fortune.

Another option is paper negatives. But with my pinhole camera (4x5"), exposures run into 5-15 minutes. So I'll revert to expired HP5 and when that is used up, maybe X-ray film.

 

[Nick Dvoracek]

Some more response: https://pinholica.blogspot.com/2024/09/one-lousy-square-inch-of-film.html

 

[MattKing]

Hey Nick, I resemble that!
The very least you could do in your blog is add the rest of what I said - which is undoubtedly the most important part:

That being said, building your own camera is fun, so if you get satisfaction out of that part of the process, and aren't too worried about the results, I wouldn't discourage you.

Fun with film and pinhole - although not on quite so small a piece of film!