> i would like to keep this as "user-friendly" as possible. > here are a few > more questions i have come up with: > > -could i use a smaller film size to avoid the vignette? (is there a > recommended size?)
Bryan, a couple of thoughts: first, if you are using a large box as Guillermo suggested (50 or 100 sheet boxes), the vignetting will not be a problem. But if you are using a 10 sheet box, there will be vignetting, but it that doesn't mean it will look bad. It will definitely give it a "pinhole" look. If I were doing what you are planning to do, I would make a camera, make a photo, evaluate it. One possible way to avoid the vignetting (if you don't like it) might be to provide balsa wood "risers" to lift the inside box away from the back of the middle box. These could be around .5 inches long, and perhaps .25" x .25". Your users would have to glue these to the inside box corners. Then you would need to tape the box to be sure there are no light leaks. The resulting photo would have four black squares - one on each corner. This is just off the top of my head, but that's how I would approach it - experiment until you have what you want, and can package it so others can reproduce it. Of course, having to glue the four balsa wood pieces might deter some. > -would the box need to be tapped in someway to make it light-tight? I never taped mine and never had any light leaks. The 3 boxes form a light-tight container. But, if the planned use is a one-shot deal, it never hurts to tape around the edge after the film is loaded. > -do you have any advice on flim, lighting conditions, exposure times? That depends on what you're trying to accomplish. The short focal length will result in a shorter exposure time, so you might want a slower film (less than 100 iso). This would allow for capturing movement as a blur, etc. But, if your audience is more likely to expect a photo more like a conventional one, you might want to go for a faster film and a really short exposure time. Is sending paper rather than film a possibility? Will they be developing their own film (or paper?) Paper might be a little easier to work with. Are you sending these to people who already know photography or people who know nothing about photography? That would make a big difference in what you decide. As far as lighting conditions, if your users have never done pinhole before, I would suggest that you advise them to start off in normal daylight, using some suggested exposure based on what you work out with a particular film. There's considerable latitude in the exposure, so having a simple instruction like "expose in bright sun for (x) seconds" should get them started. There are several places to work out the pinhole size and exposure calculations on the web. I recommend Larry Fratkin's site at www.mrp at ???????. > -am i asking too many questions? :o) nope. > > thanks for your help! > we really appreciate it, and i look forward to trying this out. > > Bryan Alexander > > Gregg Kemp wrote: > > > > One of the first cameras I made (circa 1972) was from a 4x5 > film box. I still use it, so the ones you send out may turn > out more durable than you might imagine. > > > > I found that the short focal length was a bit too short to > fill the 4x5 film. So I added a strip of matte board around > the middle box to increase the distance from the pinhole to > the film plane. For your purposes, using the box as is > should work fine, but I believe you'll get about a 3 inch > vignette image. > > > > Gregg > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: Bryan Alexander [mailto:br...@peerlessgraphics.com] > > > Sent: Friday, June 08, 2001 4:11 PM > > > To: pinhole-discussion@p at ??????? > > > Subject: [pinhole-discussion] pinhole camera design help > > > > > > > > > I am new to this mailing list. (and to pinhole cameras for > > > that matter) > > > > > > i am working on a promotional photo project and would > like to offer > > > a simple pinhole camera to our clients for fun. > > > > > > our idea is to use a 4x5 film box to ship everything in as well > > > as house the camera. this gives us about 1 inch between the > > > film and the pinhole. > > > > > > would something like this work? especially for first time > > > pinhole camera users.. > > > > > > thanks > > > bryan alexander > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Pinhole-Discussion mailing list > > Pinhole-Discussion@p at ??????? > > unsubscribe or change your account at > > http://www.???????/discussion/ > > _______________________________________________ > Pinhole-Discussion mailing list > Pinhole-Discussion@p at ??????? > unsubscribe or change your account at > http://www.???????/discussion/ >
