[thechat] Pinhole Cameras - was Doonesbury

[matthew garrett]

Hi,
Other pinhole options:
You can cut a hole in the "body cap" of your 35mm SLR (or Hassleblad, or
whatever), gaffer tape a copper shim with pinhole over the body cap hole,
and voila a pinhole SLR that uses roll film. Be sure to test for light
leaks...

Commercially available options include nice plain wooden boxes which accept
4x5 film holders (Polaroid, or traditional). 8x10" version also available.
But then, you can take any view camera and just tape a pinhole over the hole
in a regular lens-board. As long as you can get the front standard close
enough to the rear standard, you're fine.

I have a friend who has a travelling camera obscura which is made out of a
12 *foot* by 12 foot industrial-grade tent. In demos, he starts with varying
size holes to project an image on the opposite side of the interior. The
smaller the whole, the sharper (and darker) the image. Then he upgrades to a
simple (single element) lens which make things sharper and brighter. Then to
a nice multi-element repro lens, which throws a huge, sharp, bright image
onto the wall. It's fun at parties. The camera is even air-conditioned.

matt
 

> From: "Luther, Ron" <Ron.Luther at COMPAQ.com>
> Hi Martin,
> 
> 
> For a more 'upscale' pinhole camera ....
> 
> I ran into a fellow in Ohio [Cleveland Photography Society] who built a
> pinhole camera to accept the film backs from his Hassleblad!