What is a Pinhole Camera?
A pinhole camera is basically a box that keeps all light out, with a small hole on one end to let a focused bit of light through. If a picture is desired, a piece of film is attached to the other end of the box to capture the light that comes in. The camera obscura is essentially a large pinhole camera, and as long ago as the 15th century, Leonardo Da Vinci was speaking in awe of the simplicity and magnitude of the device. The basic principles of the pinhole camera were outlined by Euclid in Greece over 2300 years ago. To make a reasonably good pinhole camera, start with a sturdy box. Many people suggest an oatmeal container. Drill or cut a small hole in the box, about midway up its surface. Paint the inside of the box black–spray paint works best for this. Cut a small piece of an aluminum can, and pierce a very small hole in it; 1/100th of an inch (.25mm) is ideal. Glue the aluminum piece to the inside of your box, so that the tiny pinhole is positioned over the larger hole you made
It is essentially a small-enclosed box with a tiny hole placed on one of the sides. When light is allowed to entire through the tiny hole, an image of the object directly outside the hole is projected onto the opposite side of the box. We will explore pinhole camera history a little deeper so you learn more about how they first came into being. The history of pinhole cameras spans as far back as 1544. The first pinhole camera was actually not even a camera. It was a room. In 1544, a German physicist and mathematician named Gemma Frisius used this concept of light projection in a small room to observe the solar eclipse. This was the very first documented account of the use of a pinhole camera device. It was not until 1850 that a Scottish scientist by the name of Sir David Brewster actually took the first actual photography with a pinhole camera. However, it really was not until the 1960’s that the pinhole camera became recognized as a popular means for photography. Click on the followin
The basic principle of the pinhole camera is a dark room (camera obscura in Latin) or light-tight box, with a small opening on one side to let light in which is projected onto the opposite wall. In an actual pinhole camera, this is where a piece of film or photographic paper is placed, but pinholes were and still are also used to project images like that of the sun. As early as the tenth century, experiments with pinholes were made, and in the Renaissance, the camera obscura was a popular form of entertainment and also a tool for artists to better understand perspective. The obvious difference between the usual cameras we use and pinhole cameras is the lack of a lens. A lens gathers a lot more light on its large surface than a tiny hole, and so a pinhole camera requires much longer exposure times. It also provides almost infinite depth-of-field, though, which makes images possible that would not otherwise be. But the most interesting part is really building such a camera. While it is p
A pinhole camera is a small, light-tight can or box with a black interior and a tiny hole in the center of one end. See illustrations below. You can design it to accept roll or sheet film. The two ends of the camera are parallel. The end opposite the pinhole is flat so that the film is held in a flat plane. The pinhole has a cover to prevent light from entering the camera when you aren’t taking a picture.
Video Transcript What Is a Pinhole Camera? My name is Anthony Maddaloni. I’m a professional photographer from Austin, Texas. I’m going to talk about pinhole cameras and what a pinhole really does in a camera. Pinhole is essentially your aperture and what you’re doing is you can do it a few different ways. You can make a pinhole, some people call them a zone plate, out of a piece of aluminum, a piece of medal, and what you’re doing is essentially what the name is. You’re putting a tiny little hole into that piece of metal and you’re, in this camera, I’m replacing the shutter with that pinhole. Now pinholes are a pretty fascinating camera and if you think about it, really you can make a pinhole camera out of just about anything. I’ve seen people make pinhole cameras out of brooms in apartment buildings. I’ve seen people create pinhole cameras out of UHaul trucks. Also I’ve seen someone actually make a pinhole camera using the aperture with their mouth and they had a piece of film at the
