What brand of pinhole camera do you have?

[jstraw]

Thanks, I'll search for "focus pinhole."

 

[Dwane]

Thanks DW, I don't machine so I'm looking for something off the shelf. Maybe when the new 8 Banners shutter becomes available that'll be the one for me to go with, mounted on a Zone VI lens board.

Dead Link Removed

I presume the positions on the turret accomodate their Pinhole Plate Set, though their website isn't very informative.

Dead Link Removed

As for a viewfinder, I'd prefer to compose on the ground glass. I'm hoping that either with no plate in one of the turret openings or with another lens board with just a hole drilled in it, I can get enough of a blurred image on the ground glass to suffice for compositional purpuses at whatever focal length the camera is racked to for a given aperture.

Can this be done and if so, what would be the best sized hole for that purpose?

Many pinholers who use view cameras do use a larger hole to compose their pictures on the ground glass. As to the best size - I think you'll just have to try different size holes to see what gives you the best compromise between brightness of image (larger size hole) with adequate sharpness of image (smaller size hole).

Another approach that I have used is to convert a Kodak Duaflex into a pinhole camera by replacing the taking lens with a pinhole. The viewing lens projected a nice clear image on the viewing screen.

I have a Ciro-Flex that I'm thinking about converting to a pinhole camera by using a pinhole for the taking lens. I can change the focal length of the pinhole by "focusing" the camera on the scene - focusing will change the film to pinhole distance. I'll first have to calculate how the f/stop will change when I "focus" the camera, and then make a table to find the correct exposure at different distances. It might be a lot of fun haveing a zoom lens pinhole camera!

 

[Jim Chinn]

I bought a box of refrigerated but expired 5x7 HP5 at a recent photo swap meet for a couple of bucks and since I currently don't have a 5x7 camera decided to build a pinhole camera as a project with my oldest daughter. We used scrap black komatex plastic (expanded pvc sheet) and put in guide rails to hold down either film or paper. We used the tried and true sewing needle and brass shimstock method to make the pinhole.

 

[bdilgard]

Leonardo 4x5 - boringly reliable, hardest part is loading and unloading the sheet holders, I have never been that good at it. Good for getting funny looks while walking around with it mounted on a tripod.

Kodak Tourist 6x9 converted with a piece of aluminum foil and a shirt pin - have to re-roll 120 to a 620 spool on that one. Much more fun, so much more to go wrong.

Thinking of gettomg into ULF and make a briefcase pinhole (Sampsonica?)

 

[walter23]

Could you give details on how to find or construct a nice shuttered pinhole for a 4x5 lens board? The rough idea is pretty obvious (mount pinhole on lens board!) but I haven't really read about it or worked out the details. I'd love to do this though.

Various. Zero Image, Lenless, Leonardo, as well as a pinhole shutter mounted in a lensboard for a 4x5 camera.

Ultimately it's not about the camera us use, but whether the camera is the correct tool to achieve your vision. They are all good if you get the image you want. They are all bad if you can get your vision on film.

 

[Ric Johnson]

I use a Mamiya 645 with f224 pin

 

[Clay2]

Brand of pinhole ?

Well,

As I posted on the Nikonians.org site under manual
cameras:

My pinhole 'silent' camera is made from a cylindrical,
old-style cardboard oatmeal box.

But, proudly engraved on the front, in Black Crayon,
it says : 'NIKON' , ha !

Best reply I got was:

"Does it come in a chrome version too ?''

/Clay

 

[DWThomas]

Could you give details on how to find or construct a nice shuttered pinhole for a 4x5 lens board? The rough idea is pretty obvious (mount pinhole on lens board!) but I haven't really read about it or worked out the details.

I suppose it depends a little on the specifics of the lensboard (and your definition of "nice" ), but here is one approach that couldn't get much simpler. It's basically two pieces of plywood, one smaller than the other, with the edge of the larger one milled down to correct thickness. The pinhole aperture is clamped between the two pieces of plywood. Hobby shops sell model aircraft plywood of high quality in thin pieces. That could probably be found in a thickness that would be just right without having to do any fancy woodworking. I used 1/4 inch birch plywood scraps left over from a project. The inner surface of the lens board is painted flat black.

The pinhole in this one was 0.004" thick aluminum (soda can sidewall) with a pinhole cut by the dent-and-wet-sand method.

The shutter is just a metal flap (in this case, a scrap of black anodized aluminum but it wouldn't have to be). There's a metal washer on top of the shutter flap and a thin paper one underneath. The round head screw serves as a pivot and is adjusted to supply friction so the flap stays where you put it. There's two additional small round head brass screws set into the wood to limit the shutter travel. (and that's it!)

Dave T

 

[RetroMan]

I have recently dabbled in pinhole cameras, I made one by removing the bellows and stuff from an old 6x9 folding camera and blanked off the front to create a focal length of about 65mm. The 6x9 negative is a very usefull size for scanning on my flatbed and the results were interesting for a first try.

 

[PhotoBob]

Just got my Zero Image 45 today.
Exposed two sheets.

 

[Black Dog]

Well,

As I posted on the Nikonians.org site under manual
cameras:

My pinhole 'silent' camera is made from a cylindrical,
old-style cardboard oatmeal box.

But, proudly engraved on the front, in Black Crayon,
it says : 'NIKON' , ha !

Best reply I got was:

"Does it come in a chrome version too ?''

/Clay

Has anyone asked if it's a hassleblad yet?

 

[Ric Johnson]

My pinhole camera

I use a Mamiya 645 with a f224

 

[cowanw]

A container for scotch; the bottom is drilled and the top comes off to stick paper to. Cutting them shorter or longer detemines the focal length. Gives a 4 inch round negative.
Regards
Bill