Pinhole Photography

A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens basically. It has a small single aperture and a light proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through this single point and projects and inverted image on the opposite side of the box. Up to a certain point, the smaller the hole, the sharper the image but the dimmer the projected image. The size of the aperture should be 1/100 or less of the distance between it and the projected image. A pinhole camera requires a long exposure this may mean the shutter may be manually controlled. Typical exposures range from 5 seconds to several hours. A common pinhole camera is used to capture the movement of the sun over a long period of time. This is called Solargraphy. 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. 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. 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.