Pinhole photography is not about "sharpness", it is about pinhole
photography.
To put it another way (perhaps more clearly, perhaps not), it is not
about how sharp the photo is and it is not about how unsharp the photo
is. What it IS about is what the photo looks like. Sometimes being as
sharp as possible helps, sometimes being blurry helps.
It is certainly true that the "optimal" size pinhole is a good starting
point, but the photographer may need to use a different size to get the
photo they want. Serendipity can be a great creative tool, but using
the scientific tools that are available (such as the formulas) can work
jus as well from a creative standpoint.
Note that I said "pinhole photography" above. "Pinhole camera making"
is not always the same thing. Often, that IS about getting the sharpest
photo possible. That is more of an engineering issue than a creative one.
The best answer that I can think of to the question "What size pinhole
should I put in my camera?" is: Use the size that will produce the type
of photo that you want. In other words, the answer is "That depends..."
Mike Vande Bunt
(WPPD2 #97)
