Pinhole 4x5

[ageorge]

I am interested in trying a 4x5 pinhole camera. Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance,
-alan

[Ash]

maybe you could make one?

There are LOADS of sites with information on how to construct one on the cheap. I'd recommend that over buying one. I think LOMO sell them, but the prices will be ridiculous

[Walter Calahan]

Zero Image has a pretty one. http://www.zeroimage.com/web2003/EntryPage/entryFrameset.htm

I've also used Leonardo. Simpler and also well made: http://www.pinholeresource.com/agora/agora.cgi?xm=on&product=Cameras

Then there's the Lensless Camera. Very rugged: http://www.pinholecamera.com/

There are many more out there. Good luck.

[Glenn Thoreson]

I make my own. That's half the fun of it.

[Vick Vickery]

Why not use your current 4x5 with a pinhole installed instead of the lens???

[BradS]

My son and I made one out of black foam core board and duct tape. Used a bit of Aluminum Foil for the pinhole. We followed plans that we found on the world wide wait somewhere...think it was a university professor - Chris something? I'll poke around and see if I can find the link.


Brad.

[BradS]

Here are the plans for a simple and inexpensive 4x5 pinhole camera...
http://pinhole.stanford.edu/foamcore.html

[Jim Jones]

One forum on pinhole photography is http://www.f295.org/. A site with much good information is http://home.online.no/~gjon/pinhole.htm. If you already have a LF camera, it may be the most convenient and versatile way of getting into pinhole photography. However, as Glenn noted, making one adds to the experience.

[Erich Hoeber]

Bender makes a really nice 4x5 pinhole camera kit. Features include 3 focal lengths and an optional ground glass back for composing. Some may think it's overkill, but if you're serious about pinhole, it's a good deal. I've modified mine quite a bit over the years.

http://www.benderphoto.com

I also have the zeroimage 4x5, which I find more cumbersome to use - in part because you have to use rubber bands to hold the thing together.

Or... if you're new to pinhole, just get some foamboard and a glue gun and go nuts. Anyway, that's how I started!

Erich

[ageorge]

I have put an order in for this thing. Wish me luck:)

http://www.pinholeresource.com/graphics/abelson_turret1.jpg

[Ash]

interesting... where from?

EDIT:

http://www.pinholeresource.com/agora/agora.cgi?xm=on&product=Cameras#apogeo

SO expensive

[Ted Chambers]

If you want to do pinhole you can just mount one on a lens board.

If you're interested in zone plates, a shutter is really necessary as the exposure times are very short. I use a Speed-i-o-scope shutter and mount the zone plates on Cokin step-up rings that are screwed into the front of the shutter.

[m messerly]

I have put an order in for this thing. Wish me luck:)

http://www.pinholeresource.com/graphics/abelson_turret1.jpg

This looks like a beautiful piece... have been thinking about getting one. I've taped zone plates etc. on lens boards but the shutter aspect for this and quick aperture changes are nice.

What I'm curious about are the slit apertures... I've used one in front of another (home made box) but can't tell if they can be 'stacked' with the Abelson or if you simply use one slit for exposure?

[al olson]

It is not difficult to modify your 4x5 to perform pinhole photography. It can be useful if you have a Polaroid back to experiment with the results.

Simply take a couple of pieces of cardboard and cut them into the shape of the lensboard (easily done if you trace around an unused lensboard).

Find the center at the intersection of the diagonals and punch a hole (about 1/4" is good enough).

Take a piece of aluminum (or aluminium) foil about one inch square and punch through it with a needle. Then take a piece of fine emory paper and rub off the rough edges on the back side.

Center the pinhole over the hole in the cardboard and tape it in place. Then sandwich the other piece of cardboard over the foil.

Place the cardboard lensboard in the camera. An example is shown in the accompanying image.

The second image is a closeup of the pinhole. It does not have to be beautiful to work and I have warped mine by trying to take off a rough edge with the emery paper while it was mounted in the cardboard.

The needle I used to make the pinhole is .87mm. When I have my front standard set to infinity for my 127mm lens this results in an aperture of approximately f/145. Of course as I extend the bellows I have to recompute the aperture.

My next project is to make a large popcorn can into an 8x10 pinhole camera.

Happy shooting.

[Jim Jones]

The size of a pinhole is fairly critical if maximum sharpness is wanted. This can be calculated, or any of several calculators can be downloaded. A good one is at http://www.pinhole.cz/en/pinholedesigner/. For optimum on-axis resolution a user constant of 1.5 is about right. A slightly larger pinhole improves off-axis resolution. Calculating the optimum pinhole diameter is easy; accurately measuring it can be difficult. I use an old comparator micrometer. With care a pinhole can be scanned and the diameter calculated by counting pixels. The image of a pinhole can be magnified for convenient measurement by projecting it in an enlarger. Many pinhole photographers concentrate more on photographs than on technical details such as optimum sharpness, and produce significant images.

[Gerlof Homan]

If you prefer a metal(alu) Pinhole construction: www.8banners.com
I have the 6 x 6 pinhole.

[Rory_5244]

I was thinking about buying this product:

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/PY3005/

But, Al's method is a lot less expensive than $40. :D

[Robert Hughes]

I got a pinhole from Lenox Laser for $18 + shipping and tried it on my Busch Pressman. I was surprised how good it looks. The image is soft & creamy, not out-of-focus, with lots of DOF.

[jongrep]

One forum on pinhole photography is http://www.f295.org/. A site with much good information is http://home.online.no/~gjon/pinhole.htm. If you already have a LF camera, it may be the most convenient and versatile way of getting into pinhole photography. However, as Glenn noted, making one adds to the experience.

Please note that my website is moving by the end of October. New URL: http://jongrepstad.com/

My pinhole article will be transferred to that site.

Jon Grepstad