Pinhole

[Brian Pearcy]

I just participated in an exhibition at the Oshkosh Public Museum where they made 16 inch square prints of my photographs from scans of my 6x6cm negatives, with no sharpening or unsharp mask applied. https://sites.google.com/view/opmthenandnow

I think they hold up well.

Nick,
I checked your blog. I really enjoyed reading it today.

I really am convinced now that a 6x9 pinhole camera is in my future.

 

[Donald Qualls]

It's worth the effort. I'd recommend converting a folder or a box camera rather then spending a bunch of money on your first one. That can come later, when you have a better idea what you want.

 

[ciniframe]

Heresy!

If you use fiber base paper, you can oil or wax the paper negative and put it in a condenser enlarger. You'll have fairly long exposure times, but you'll avoid sleeping with the enemy...

Meh, I’d just build a front surface enlarger. Thinking about something along those lines for a while. Think I’ll do a mockup/proof of concept from cardboard.

 

[Donald Qualls]

That should do a nice job of heating your darkroom in the winter. Oh, wait, you're probably going to use LED lamps instead of several hundred watts of incandescent, aren't you?

 

[ciniframe]

That should do a nice job of heating your darkroom in the winter. Oh, wait, you're probably going to use LED lamps instead of several hundred watts of incandescent, aren't you?

Yes, LED for sure, and still dim images and long exposures. Don't have a 150mm enlarging lens but that shouldn't be that hard to source.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I wouldn't think that'd be all that difficult. I just did a quickie eBay search for "enlarging lens" and found 137 listings for combined 135 and 150 mm focal lengths, including a 135 mm f/5.6 Componon for $22 BIN.

 

[ciniframe]

I wouldn't think that'd be all that difficult. I just did a quickie eBay search for "enlarging lens" and found 137 listings for combined 135 and 150 mm focal lengths, including a 135 mm f/5.6 Componon for $22 BIN.

Yep, still real cheap and make ‘good enough’ macros mounted on bellows to.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I can confirm that a Componon is a very acceptable lens for scenes and landscape. I've got a 150mm f/5.6 version in shutter that I've used on my Graphic View with good results. "Convertible," too. Unscrew the front group, and it's a very workable 250(ish) mm f/13(ish) triplet. Conversely, my enlarging lens for 6x6 is an 80mm Anastar f/3.5 in shutter that came off a Kodak Reflex II. Never had any complaints about the prints from it. Yes, enlarging, copy, and process lenses are optimized differently from lenses made for imaging distant objects -- but in an eight inch print from a medium format or larger negative, you aren't magnifying enough to see the difference.

 

[ciniframe]

Hey, I have a couple of 130mm f7.7 Kodak Lenses from old Kodak folders that came with broken struts and bellows that looked like black lace curtains. I know they will cover 4X5 because I have them mounted on homebuilt 4X5 box cameras. And they both have 'T' settings on the shutter to keep it open.
As an aside, I subscribe to the motto, "If I can mount it, I'll shoot it." Along those lines I was gifted a Kodak Tourist about 3 months ago that had a clean and working 100mm f8.8 triplet. Turns out it has about a 140mm image circle. So I have it mounted on another 4X5 box with the frame limited to 95X100 mm, works fairly well and being cheap I shoot Ilford MG4 RC paper as a negative. Slow? Sure, but always use a tripod anyway so it works out okay.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

I am not a math whiz, but if I'm understanding correctly I probably need multiple pinhole cameras depending on the subject matter.

For example an image of a church or other architecture vs. an image of a mountain.

I need to read that Renner book.

Instead of expensive Titan, get a cheap 4x5 wich you can find for $100-150, and stick a pinhole on it. You can change pinholes and adjust focal length for each size precisely for optimum sharpness. You have ultimate flexibility.

 

[Black Dog]

I started out with a Nescafe coffee tin...still have that camera somewhere!

 

[DWThomas]

For the larger formats 4x5, 8x10, etc., building your own from scratch working out the dimensions to use standard filmholders isn't all that big a deal. The camera is just a box with one side open to hold the filmholder and a hole in the opposite side! But I would agree that a cheap 4x5 press or view camera and making a lens board to carry a pinhole (or replacing the lens in an existing kit) gives a nice flexible approach.

I've gone through a number of varied designs for WPPD over the years. There's likely more than you want to know out in my PBase galleries.

 

[Donald Qualls]

If you drink tea, the square tins loose leaf tea comes in make excellent pinhole cameras. They'll take a near 4" clip of 120 (or a 2x3 sheet) flat on one side, or (looks like) a 9x12 cm curved between opposite corners with the pinhole in another corner. I've even seen web images of people building film transports onto the lid and shooting 120 (looks like you'd get about 6x4.5 by the time you clear the spools, but then 16 shots on the roll).

 

[jay moussy]

About tin cans (tea, as above post, Altoids, etc.): can the metal lids be trusted regarding light leaks, or should provisions be made?

 

[Donald Qualls]

For a tea tin, maybe. Altoids, no, and you also have to light seal the hinge. I'd probably glue a piece of black foam at least 1/8" thick (used to be a "Foamies" brand of foam rubber sheet sold in arts & crafts stores) into the lid so it just clears the can lip or even so the lip of the can compresses the foam; that will act as a light trap. I've done that with Altoids and Altoids Gum tins and gotten good results. Another alternative is to put a wrap of black electrical tape over the edge of the lid (and hinge) when you close up the tin, but this is hard to do accurately in the dark.

 

[Black Dog]

For a tea tin, maybe. Altoids, no, and you also have to light seal the hinge. I'd probably glue a piece of black foam at least 1/8" thick (used to be a "Foamies" brand of foam rubber sheet sold in arts & crafts stores) into the lid so it just clears the can lip or even so the lip of the can compresses the foam; that will act as a light trap. I've done that with Altoids and Altoids Gum tins and gotten good results. Another alternative is to put a wrap of black electrical tape over the edge of the lid (and hinge) when you close up the tin, but this is hard to do accurately in the dark.

When I made mine on a workshop at Duckspool with David Gepp, we painted the inside of the tins matt black as well to cut down on reflections.

 

[Jeremy Mudd]

I have a Noon 6x12 pinhole camera that is truly a thing of beauty, as well as being very flexible (multi format) and capable.
I like it because it handles the issues surrounding film handling really well.

I also have a NOON 612 and really enjoy it. I love the flexibility of being able to shoot 6x6, 6x9, ot 6x12 with it. And it is quite good looking. I added some bubble levels to mine and a cold-shoe with a viewfinder to help with framing. Here's an image I shot with it. This was a 30 minute exposure on a stormy, windy day with Fuji Acros film.

 

[Brian Pearcy]

I also have a NOON 612 and really enjoy it. I love the flexibility of being able to shoot 6x6, 6x9, ot 6x12 with it. And it is quite good looking. I added some bubble levels to mine and a cold-shoe with a viewfinder to help with framing. Here's an image I shot with it. This was a 30 minute exposure on a stormy, windy day with Fuji Acros film. View attachment 245697

Good looking photo