----- Original Message ----- From: <tricks...@aol.com>
> Weird. The only experience I have ever had with a pinhole was in my high > school photography class. We made shoebox pinholes, painted them entirely > black inside with a small hole about the size of a pencil hole on the > opposite side of the RC based paper. For a shutter we just covered the hole > with a paper and tape and just lifted it up for about a 10 to 20 sec exposure > and then closed it. We then developed the paper. My first pinhole image > turned out pretty good but it didn't have a lot of contrast to it. From what > I'm hearing it sounds like you guys have more technological forms of a > pinhole camera like actually using film in it. Most people start shooting B&W paper, but there are times when you would like to have the luxury of making lots of exposures. Having lots of shoe boxes loaded with paper is a way, having pinhole cameras that take film (rolls: 35mm or 120, or even sheet film 4x5, 8x10, etc) is a less "bulky" one!. BTW, film holders for 4x5 and above also take B&W of the corresponding sizes. Making your own film winding mechanism is not feasible for many of us, so usually we recur to modify cameras. These are some I have modified (and that still have with me!): A disposable 35mm plastic camera made to be a 14mm pinhole camera, shutter is a piece of electric tape: http://members.home.com/penate/cameras/14f.jpg A 35mm format camera bought for a few bucks ($3.50 US I think) and converted to a pinhole camera, shutter is a piece of foam: http://members.home.com/penate/cameras/12.jpg My latest one, just finished it yesterday!, an Agfa 6x6 folder purchased at eBay for $9 converted to a 36mm pinhole camera, I still use the shutter that came with the camera, but removed some of the front stuff to avoid vignetting. http://members.home.com/penate/cameras/6x6.jpg Finally, this is a Pinhole Nikon bodycap I made by drilling a hole and taping a pinhole at the back of it, I use that with my Nikon camera (obviously). http://members.home.com/penate/bcap_files/cap.jpg > I guess that is another way to > do it. I'm sort of clueless as to make one. Hope the above give you some ideas. > The words you guys use are > somewhat unfamiliar to me like pinhole/zone photography . You know what pinhole is. Zone Plate photography is a "relative" to pinhole photography, you can read an explanation about it here: http://members.home.com/penate/pinhole.html (look for the article at the bottom of the page. There is also a link to some examples of zoneplate images. > I'm assuming that 4x5 is a large format camera? How do you make a good > pinhole camera? What do you guys use? Yes 4x5 refers to large format cameras, it is relatively easy, though, to construct a camera that uses 4x5 film holders, some of the list members have done it. I made one that takes 8x10 film holders. Here is a picture as seen fron the rear: http://members.home.com/penate/camera/camera.JPG As far as "how to make a good pinhole camera", you'll have to define what "good" is for you, first. Guillermo
