Pinhole Viewfinders from 3D Printing

[LJClark]

Greetings all. I'm new to this part of the Photrio, new to pinhole, but have been into serious photography (which means I do the work, not the camera) since the mid-1960s. I've dabbled with long exposure, and decided to get a pinhole camera to expand on that -- so a Zero Image 6x12 is on the way.

I've been reading some of the discussion regarding framing aids/viewfinders. And I understand different philosophies regarding "if" a viewfinder and "how much" of a viewfinder. I've been 3D printing for the past couple of years and thought there might be some VF approaches that could take advantage of 3D printing.

Just playing around, and lacking a camera to actually work with, I came up with a couple of concepts for a 6x6 / 6x9 / 6x12 aid.

-- The one with the pips mimics what some pinhole cameras already have. I wouldn't even consider it for permanent mounting -- just something you'd lay on top of the camera when you're setting up. The actual layout would depend on the "terrain" on top of the camera and what your framing requirements were.

-- The multi-frame one would actually be two prints, with one flipped, then the two glued together (so you don't waste a lot of time and filament printing supports). The concept illustration is pretty clunky, but the basic idea is there.

Unfortunately, my printers are packed away in storage right now, so my execution will be delayed a bit.

 

[M Carter]

I've struggled with my pinholes and framing - but my 4x5 is about a 58mm, very wide. I got a bright idea and got one of those $9 fisheye adapters for my phone. I lay my phone on the camera's front and take a pic; the phone photo is just a tad wider than the pinhole renders (and very distorted) but at least I know if I need to adjust the camera. Don't know if a posrts-type finder would work well for an FOV that wide.

 

[awty]

To me the greatest appeal of my pinhole is that it distorts the image and a view finder wont pick that up. I don't do square on shots, instead I try to work with the distorted view, angle the camera and position the subject to best take advantage of this. Takes a bit of practice and some imagination and different cameras do different things, its kind of something you need to work with. A view finder might help initially, you can just cut a rectangle window in a piece of card at the different aspect ratios, but would be much more cooler using a 3d printer .....maybe.

 

[grahamp]

For the multi-format case, it is probably as easy to make a wide frame matching the format, and then adjust the distance of the eye alignment pip/aperture, rather than have multiple frames. Making the eye to frame distance the same as the 'focal length' is convenient for the geometry, it is not easy to use with designs wider than the eye's view. When you get to really wide designs you have to move your head from side to side unless you have an optical finder.

In practice I just learn the format of the camera and align by eye. A couple of tape markers helps to begin with.

 

[DWThomas]

First up, I admit to a generally casual attitude about pinhole work, but years ago I was using a pinhole body cap on my Bronica SQ-A and decided I wanted to make a wire-frame finder of some sort. Perhaps I could come up with one that would fold down when not in use. At the time, I still had some sheet metal working equipment and a small stash of matte black anodized aluminum stock. So I figured I would prototype something out of mat board to refine my design and try it before committing to the work needed for a final item.

Alas, the final item never happened. I concluded that at the angle of view I had, I could do about as well by guessing! It was just too difficult to take in the whole scene through an eyepiece aperture. Maybe with some actual optics -- the equivalent of what one might have with putting an ultrawide lens on an SLR -- it might be useful, but for an open frame finder -- enh.

When I built my 8x10 pinhole, since it was easy to do during the construction layout, I installed two pairs of 1/8" dowel on the top and two more pairs on one end. They were positioned such that they could serve to define sight lines for vertical and horizontal range when aiming the camera. That works reasonably well, though certainly not to micrometer precision. And I still don't use them for every shot.

"Hey! It's pinhole!"

(Sorry ... )