Making a pinhole camera out of a mf speed graphic ...

peter k.

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• Apr 22, 2022

• #1

Wanting to get into pinhole, and got a great book to get started with, Pin hole cameras do it yourself guide, but wondered if anyone here has ever made one out of a baby speed?
Background... got an old one with a focal plane shutter, that we have not used in years, that would be perfect for a new do.
What's your thoughts?

 

awty

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• Apr 22, 2022

• #2

Fine, provided you can get the required focal length.

 

DWThomas

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• Apr 23, 2022

• #3

My first pinhole attempt in this millennium was with a 4x5 press camera -- a Burke & James, not a Speed Graphic, but it's doable. It was basically a homemade lens board to replace the normal one. Since the B&J has no focal plane shutter, I used a pivoting flap. Typical shutter speeds are measured in seconds, so quartz timing is not necessary. It worked! I suspect a similar approach would work with a baby speed.

 

juan

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• Apr 23, 2022

• #4

I tried Zone Plate photography for a while. I cut a new lens board from model airplane plywood, cut a small hole for the zone plate, and mounted it on a Speed Graphic. There’s no reason you couldn’t mount a pinhole in the same fashion.

 

ic-racer

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• Apr 23, 2022

• #5

I just taped a piece of aluminum foil over a lensboard and used the top of a film box as a shutter. Focal length is what ever you want it to be.
In this case I was taking pinhole pictures on 8x10 during a partial eclipse. Only one of the ten sheets had this almost circular opening in the overcast sky where I could actually visualize the sun on the negatives. Pretty amazing.

 

OP

OP

peter k.

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• Apr 23, 2022

• #6

Thanks for the replies... its going to be interesting doing the do, Will start out today, and try the aluminum foil to start.

 

NedL

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• Apr 23, 2022

• #7

The heart of it is:

• any kind of container which can keep film or paper in the dark.
• a pinhole.

Everything else is extra! Have fun and remember wppd is tomorrow!!