На выпуск объектива Pinhole Pro собрано более 130 000

Usage

The image of a pinhole camera may be projected onto a translucent screen for a real-time viewing (used for safe observation of solar eclipses) or to trace the image on paper. But it is more often used without a translucent screen for pinhole photography with photographic film or photographic paper placed on the surface opposite to the pinhole aperture.

A common use of pinhole photography is to capture the movement of the sun over a long period of time. This type of photography is called . Pinhole photography is used for artistic reasons, but also for educational purposes to let pupils learn about, and experiment with, the basics of photography.

Pinhole cameras with CCDs (charge-coupled devices) are sometimes used for surveillance because they are difficult to detect.

Related cameras, image forming devices, or developments from it include Franke’s widefield pinhole camera, the pinspeck camera, and the pinhead mirror.

Modern manufacturing has enabled the production of high quality pinhole lenses that can be applied to digital cameras; allowing photographers and videographers to achieve the camera obscura effect.

Selection of pinhole size

Up to a certain point, the smaller the hole, the sharper the image, but the dimmer the projected image. Optimally, the size of the aperture should be 1/100 or less of the distance between it and the projected image.

Within limits, a smaller pinhole (with a thinner surface that the hole goes through) will result in a sharper image resolution because the projected circle of confusion at the image plane is practically the same size as the pinhole. An extremely small hole, however, can produce significant diffraction effects and a less clear image due to the wave properties of light. Additionally, vignetting occurs as the diameter of the hole approaches the thickness of the material in which it is punched, because the sides of the hole obstruct the light entering at anything other than 90 degrees.

The best pinhole is perfectly round (since irregularities cause higher-order diffraction effects) and in an extremely thin piece of material. Industrially produced pinholes benefit from laser etching, but a hobbyist can still produce pinholes of sufficiently high quality for photographic work.

One method is to start with a sheet of brass shim or metal reclaimed from an aluminium drinks can or tin foil/aluminum foil, use fine sand paper to reduce the thickness of the centre of the material to the minimum, before carefully creating a pinhole with a suitably sized needle.

A method of calculating the optimal pinhole diameter was first attempted by Jozef Petzval. The sharpest image is obtained using a pinhole size determined by the formula

d=2fλ{\displaystyle d=2{\sqrt {f\lambda }}}

where d is pinhole diameter, f is focal length (distance from pinhole to image plane) and λ is the wavelength of light.

For standard black-and-white film, a wavelength of light corresponding to yellow-green (550 nm) should yield optimum results. For a pinhole-to-film distance of 1 inch (25 mm), this works out to a pinhole 0.236 mm in diameter. For 5 cm, the appropriate diameter is 0.332 mm.

The depth of field is basically infinite, but this does not mean that no optical blurring occurs. The infinite depth of field means that image blur depends not on object distance but on other factors, such as the distance from the aperture to the film plane, the aperture size, the wavelength(s) of the light source, and motion of the subject or canvas. Additionally, pinhole photography can not avoid the effects of haze.

An example of a 20-minute exposure taken with a pinhole camera

A photograph taken with a pinhole camera using an exposure time of 2s

A graph of the resolution limit of the pinhole camera as a function of focal length (image distance).

In the 1970s, Young measured the resolution limit of the pinhole camera as a function of pinhole diameter and later published a tutorial in The Physics Teacher. Partly to enable a variety of diameters and focal lengths, he defined two normalized variables: pinhole radius divided by resolution limit, and focal length divided by the quantity s2/λ, where s is the radius of the pinhole and λ is the wavelength of the light, typically about 550 nm. His results are plotted in the figure.

To the left, the pinhole is large, and geometric optics applies; the resolution limit is about 1.5 times the radius of the pinhole. (Spurious resolution is also seen in the geometric-optics limit.) To the right, the pinhole is small, and Fraunhofer diffraction applies; the resolution limit is given by the far-field diffraction formula shown in the graph and now increases as the pinhole is made smaller. In the region of near-field diffraction (or Fresnel diffraction), the pinhole focuses the light slightly, and the resolution limit is minimized when the focal length f (the distance between the pinhole and the film plane) is given by f = s2/λ. At this focal length, the pinhole focuses the light slightly, and the resolution limit is about 2/3 of the radius of the pinhole. The pinhole, in this case, is equivalent to a Fresnel zone plate with a single zone. The value s2/λ is in a sense the natural focal length of the pinhole.

The relation f = s2/λ yields an optimum pinhole diameter d = 2√fλ, so the experimental value differs slightly from the estimate of Petzval, above.

Construction

A home-made pinhole camera (on the left), wrapped in black plastic to prevent light leaks, and related developing supplies

Pinhole cameras can be handmade by the photographer for a particular purpose. In its simplest form, the photographic pinhole camera can consist of a light-tight box with a pinhole in one end, and a piece of film or photographic paper wedged or taped into the other end.
A flap of cardboard with a tape hinge can be used as a shutter.
The pinhole may be punched or drilled using a sewing needle or small diameter bit through a piece of tinfoil or thin aluminium or brass sheet.
This piece is then taped to the inside of the light-tight box behind a hole cut through the box. A cylindrical oatmeal container may be made into a pinhole camera.

The interior of an effective pinhole camera is black to avoid any reflection of the entering light onto the photographic material or viewing screen.

Pinhole cameras can be constructed with a sliding film holder or back so the distance between the film and the pinhole can be adjusted.
This allows the angle of view of the camera to be changed and also the effective f-stop ratio of the camera. Moving the film closer to the pinhole will result in a wide angle field of view and shorter exposure time.
Moving the film farther away from the pinhole will result in a telephoto or narrow-angle view and longer exposure time.

Pinhole cameras can also be constructed by replacing the lens assembly in a conventional camera with a pinhole. In particular, compact 35 mm cameras whose lens and focusing assembly have been damaged can be reused as pinhole cameras—maintaining the use of the shutter and film winding mechanisms. As a result of the enormous increase in f-number, while maintaining the same exposure time, one must use a fast film in direct sunshine.

Pinholes (homemade or commercial) can be used in place of the lens on an SLR. Use with a digital SLR allows metering and composition by trial and error, and is effectively free, so is a popular way to try pinhole photography.

Unusual materials have been used to construct pinhole cameras, e.g., a Chinese roast duck by Martin Cheung.

Calculating the f-number and required exposure

A fire hydrant photographed by a pinhole camera made from a shoe box, exposed on photographic paper (top). The length of the exposure was 40 seconds. There is noticeable flaring in the bottom-right corner of the image, likely due to extraneous light entering the camera box.

The f-number of the camera may be calculated by dividing the distance from the pinhole to the imaging plane (the focal length) by the diameter of the pinhole. For example, a camera with a 0.5 mm diameter pinhole, and a 50 mm focal length would have an f-number of 50/0.5, or 100 (f/100 in conventional notation).

Due to the large f-number of a pinhole camera, exposures will often encounter reciprocity failure. Once exposure time has exceeded about 1 second for film or 30 seconds for paper, one must compensate for the breakdown in linear response of the film/paper to intensity of illumination by using longer exposures.

Exposures projected on to modern light-sensitive photographic film can typically range from five seconds up to as much as several hours, with smaller pinholes requiring longer exposures to produce the same size image. Because a pinhole camera requires a lengthy exposure, its shutter may be manually operated, as with a flap made of opaque material to cover and uncover the pinhole.

More Interesting Articles

• Capturing the Spirit of Shambala by Garry Jones and the Lomography Color Negative 800

  
  2019-10-14

  Check out what UK-based photographer Garry Jones documented the Shambala Festival in Northampton using some Lomography Color Negative 800 120 film.

• Livin’ the (Analogue) Life With Frenchyfyl

  
  2019-10-13
  #people

  We shine the spotlight on Lomographers who have been with us for the past few years. They are the community members who continue to inspire us with their distinctive visual styles. Say hello to frenchfyl, a Lomographer who hails from a small village in the South of France!

• For the Love of Film with Lafilledeer

  
  2019-10-12
  #news #people

  Starting this month, we would like to shine the spotlight on Lomographers who have been with us for the past few years. They are the community members who continue to inspire us with their distinctive visual styles. Today, say hello to osteologist, teacher, and photographer La Fille Renne (aka @lafilledeer).

• Capture cool blues of the sea, the sky above or just life around you, life is truly a picnic with the Diana!

• Around the World in Analogue: Hakone

  
  2019-10-11
  #places

  Just less than a hundred kilometres away from the buzzing metropolis of Tokyo is the scenic town of Hakone, where the iconic Mount Fuji and Lake Ashinoko reside.

• Photo Stories: We Met With Three Photographers Who Favor Black and White Film Photography

  
  written by ellieash on 2019-10-10

  Black and white photography has been experiencing a comeback these past years. Hear from three photographers who favor black and white film over color and are helping to keep B&W analogue alive!

• Black and White Perfected: First Sentiments with the Refined Berlin Kino 400 2019

  
  written by cielsan on 2019-10-09 #gear #news #people

  Due to popular demand, we made some upgrades with the Berlin Kino 400 for better black-and-white results. Hear out what these artists have to say as they share their own thoughts and photographs using the new formula.

• Check out our Last In Stock offers and get your hands on these analogue superstars before they’re gone for good!

• Colors, Mirrors, and a Lot of Whimsy: a Photo Story by Jamie Noise

  
  written by cheeo on 2019-10-08 #people

  If you think his portraits are trippy, then you should see what photographer Jamie Noise has to say about himself and his work.

• Cambodia Peace Project as Seen Through the Simple Use Film Camera

  
  written by cheeo on 2019-10-07 #culture #news #people #places

  See the many faces and sceneries of Cambodia as captured by students from Li Po Chun United World College with the Simple Use Film Camera.

• It’s Never Lonely in the Suburbs: Photo Story by Octavio Garcia

  
  written by cheeo on 2019-10-06 #culture #people #places

  Surprises are always waiting in the next frame. You just need to keep winding that film until you reach the end of the roll. See these beautiful and nostalgic scenes from Octavio Garcia’s visual diary.

• Travel the seven seas in style and capture the wonders of the world with the wide angle lens of the La Sardina Fitzroy!

• Simone Zanoli: Across North Europe with the Lomo’Instant Automat Glass and Splitzer

  
  2019-10-05
  #news #people

  Take a deep breath, and let the Northern European scenery of Simone Zanoli shot with the Lomo’Instant Automat Glass whisk you away.

• Elisa Routa: California in Black and White with the Lomo LC-Wide

  
  written by Anna Carestia on 2019-10-04 #news #people

  Through the spirit of surf, adventure and road trip, Elisa Routa makes us discover authentic and raw California! Equipped with the Lomo LC-Wide, she captured every moment on film and shares with us a series of black and white pictures made with our Berlin Kino 400.

• Fresh and Seasoned: Film Experience Diptychs with Neja and Nnlynn

  
  2019-10-03
  #people

  Welcome to another installment of diptychs as we walk through the artistic processes of longtime Lomographer and film experimenter Julija (a.k.a. neja) and analogue wild child Lynn (a.k.a. nnlynn) on how they see, feel, and capture color.

History

Camera obscura

The camera obscura or pinhole image is a natural optical phenomenon. Early known descriptions are found in the Chinese Mozi writings (circa 500 BC) and the Aristotelian Problems (circa 300 BC – 600 AD). A practical demonstration of the pinhole effect from 700 AD is still in existence at the Virupaksha Temple in Hampi, India.

A diagram depicting Ibn al-Haytham’s observations of light’s behaviour through a pinhole

Early pinhole camera. Light enters a dark box through a small hole and creates an inverted image on the wall opposite the hole.

Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039), an Arab physicist also known as Alhazen, was the first to thoroughly study and describe the camera obscura effect. Over the centuries others started to experiment with it, mainly in dark rooms with a small opening in shutters, mostly to study the nature of light and to safely watch solar eclipses.

Giambattista Della Porta wrote in 1558 in his Magia Naturalis about using a convex mirror to project the image onto paper and to use this as a drawing aid. However, about the same time, the use of a lens instead of a pinhole was introduced. In the 17th century, the camera obscura with a lens became a popular drawing aid that was further developed into a mobile device, first in a little tent and later in a box. The photographic camera, as developed early in the 19th century, was basically an adaptation of the box-type camera obscura with a lense.

Early pinhole photography

The first known description of pinhole photography is found in the 1856 book The Stereoscope by Scottish inventor David Brewster, including the description of the idea as «a camera without lenses, and with only a pin-hole». One older use of the term «pin-hole» in the context of optics was found in James Ferguson’s 1764 book Lectures on select subjects in mechanics, hydrostatics, pneumatics, and optics.

Sir William Crookes and William de Wiveleslie Abney were other early photographers to try the pinhole technique.

Film and integral photography experiments

According to inventor William Kennedy Dickson, the first experiments directed at moving pictures by Thomas Edison and his researchers took place around 1887 and involved «microscopic pin-point photographs, placed on a cylindrical shell». The size of the cylinder corresponded with their phonograph cylinder as they wanted to combine the moving images with sound recordings. Problems arose in recording clear pictures «with phenomenal speed» and the «coarseness» of the photographic emulsion when the pictures were enlarged. The microscopic pin-point photographs were soon abandoned. In 1893 the Kinetoscope was finally introduced with moving pictures on celluloid film strips. The camera that recorded the images, dubbed Kinetograph, was fitted with a lens.

Eugène Estanave experimented with integral photography, exhibiting a result in 1925 and publishing his findings in La Nature. After 1930 he chose to continue his experiments with pinholes replacing the lenticular screen.