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Homemade Matchbox Pinhole Camera
Alan of alspix has come up with a nice a easy solution for creating a pinhole camera from a simple matchbox. here is how he describes it (check out alspix blog for the most updated instructions):
My first couple of 35mm pinhole cameras attempted to be panoramic, wide angle jobbies but this time I thought it would be nice to get back to the classic square format.
Here's my latest contraption which uses 35mm film to provide square images of 24 x 24mm. Using this size means that you can get up to 50 exposures on a standard roll of 36 exposure film. Now that's what I call economy!
The image edges suffer from distortion that gives a "Diana" quality to the pictures. In fact, the images look very "toy camera" like indeed, except that the pinhole allows some really good close ups due to the DOF of the pinhole.
It's also costs pretty much nothing to build - certainly a lot cheaper than a $100 Diana off ebay!
So far I've only run a single roll of colour film through it, which I then developed in B&W chemicals,so the results are a bit odd but they did prove it worked. I'll be posting additional photos (colour too!) onto my flickr site, check it out .
All you need is a matchbox, an empty roll of 35mm film, some new 35mm film, some black tape and a bit of foil! at the end, this is wht you will get, a small "spy like" pinhole camera.
you may also want to check out Matchbox Camera Shutter and 35mm Sprocket Counter Clicker
check out alspix blog for the most updated instructions.
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Comments
very impressive!
very impressive!
questions!
i'm really enthralled with your design. for a photo alternatives class i have to make my own camera and i'd be interested in making yours. everything seems pretty clear (but that might change once i start executing, hehe), but i'm kind of confused on the foam part. i don't understand exactly where it goes and what size and basically everything about it.
also i took a gander at your flickr gallery and i saw your redscale photos. i would love to do that too, but you don't mention what kind of film you use. your gallery is really interesting to look at. very inspriring!
i'd really appreciate it if you e-mailed me back because i should get started on this project quite soon now. thanks for your ideas!
Redscale
I've just built one of these cameras and I can assure you they are really simple to build, not sure that you need the foam really. But the reason I replied was to let you know about the "redscale" if you put the film through the camera so the emulsion is facing the other way, (you can only really do this in pinhole cameras unless you re load your film canister the wrong way round) then the orange base to the film acts as a filter giving a lovely red tone to the images. Hope that helps!
Homemade Matchbox Pinhole Camera
Clever guy!
matchbox camera
you are doing a nice job
thanks i got an idea to do camera thanks to you
Photography Coursework
I love this idea, im currently doing a project in photography on pinhole images, and i have been desperatly looking for a way to create more then one image at a time. If this way actually works then i think you may have saved my life, i love this idea and the images look really good. One quick question though how does the matchbox stop from exposing the film? have you had a lot of problems with accidental exposures?
please explain
hey
i love your camera and i would like to make one.
but i need more detail on where to put the shutter and how big it needs to be?
as i am a beginner in photography.
your pictures are great i really like the unique touch to each set of photographs.
i would like to hear from you soon as i am really excited to begin.
Thanx
shutter
Hi Katie,
you can look here for a shutter tutorial
would i have to develop it
would i have to develop it myself?
or could uh cvs still do it
Here's my results!
I've made a matchbox pinhole camera and put a few short pieces of HP5 through it. Some images here.
First image is the camera I made, with my own shutter design. You push the card through in one direction and when the apertures line up the exposure is made. Shutter speed can be varied depending on how fast you push it. I estimate that speeds of up to 1/125 are possible.
I used HP5 rated at 6400 ISO. I wanted short shutter speeds so I could hand-hold the camera and take photographs of people. The first pinhole shot is taken inside, 1/4 second and is underexposed because I didn't make the pinhole large enough.
The second pinhole shot is taken at work, 1/30 second with window light. The shutter worked quite well including some I took outside, but I had problems with light leaks.
Both shots are quite blurry. I'm trying to figure out why. Udi's shots are much sharper. I'm going to try reversing the pinhole and see if that helps at all.
I tried linking the images directly here, but the Epson site apparently doesn't allow it. If admin wants to copy the images and post them here they are welcome to do so.
Chris.
Ideas
Hi Chris,
I like your implementation.
I can think of three main reasons for the blur, though I am not sure if I am hitting the spot:
- The film you are using is very grainy.
- Hand moving the shutter creates blur, since it is moving the camera.
- the film is not "tight" on the back of the box.
hope this is useful info,
(The picture are not mine, the photographer is Alan E. Cooper, who is also the author of the article)
cheers,
Udi
Just plain blurry:
All thos things would be easy to fix, but I'm afraid it's not that simple. A lot of it has to do with how precise the pinhole is made, or maybe some of the information is misleading and the recommended f/90 is not really suitable for this focal length. Thanks for the thoughts though...
Chris.
Winding?
My question feels really dumb, but how do you wind the film? I was trying to make one of these, and turning the protrusion in the center of the canister doesn't do anything on the film I have. I'm only able to wind and unwind the film by pushing or pulling it, so far as I can tell, which I clearly can't do if the film is going to be unexposed.
Oh! I just have to spin it
Oh! I just have to spin it for longer. Ummm. Feel free to never put these comments up.
amazing
this camera design is fantastic, thanks for sharing. it was more fun than anything i've tried yet...the clicker is brilliant.
pinhole size
what are tips for making the correct pinhole size, I made this camera, the image was blurry, I figured the pinhole was too large, but I really don't know exactly how small to make a pinhole for a camera like this..
???
where do i get an empty roll of film??
roll of film
You just go out with one of them "old" cameras, and have a nice day out photographing some film. when you are done, ask the guy at the photo lab to keep the roll for you.
Or, you can probably get an empty roll at the same photo lab, if you ask nicely.
hi it's really good stuff
hi
it's really good stuff you've made
and i've searched for an explanation like this for a long time
but one question i have...
how,with so much black stick on it,you are going to move the film???
thank you
rolling the film
Hi Sindri,
try looking on this article for rolling the film on the pinhole camera.
send your pictures once you have them :)
cheers,
Udi
Hi! i just built this little
Hi! i just built this little wonder you have taught us how to make but realized i forgot a step! putting the plastic clicker in so I know how far to wind! if anyone know, could you tell me about how many (or what fraction of) a revolution i should do between shots? that is, how far should i turn the spool before i take another picture??
sorry to say, but you might
sorry to say, but you might just have to open it up and put the clicker in =[
since film is coiled in the canister, it only starts to move back in when the tension from turning the knob overcomes the friction of the velvet. in other words, you might turn the wheel 3 times and the film might not wind at all, or you could turn it a half turn, and the film could come back in half an inch
Wind-up
Hey there,
I've made one of these models but with out the match box, i had created a box to fit the 35mm film. Now, i had trouble winding in the film into its canister and out. can you explain again how you wind the film back into its canister?
clicker
i make my clicker with a long tab so when the spool is finished i pull the clicker out and so its possible to wind the film back into the cannister.
foam
Hey.
I spent couple of days lookin for info how to build pinhole. Ur idea is amazing. I will start tommorow mornig. I juz have a question about the foam u mentioned, that supose to prevent film to unwind ("Place a small piece of foam on the underside of the takeup canister then wrap tape over it. This gives some tension and stops the film unwinding withing the canister each time you wind on."). I dont get it clearly. I meant I dont get where and how should I place the foam.
Would u be so kind and give me some advices about that step?
Thank u so much for ur help. I will share my pic for shure to show what I was able to get.
it's kinda funny!
it,s funny to explore the form of pinhole cameras. I had read it once but I forget the Website, the camera is made with a house with black painted and use the window as it lens and it also use verry large photo paper. (sorry my english isn't good)
New matchbox pinhole website
Hello!
I have finally got around to re-writing the matchbox pinhole instructions and it now has its own website with lots more photos :)
www.matchboxpinhole.com
There's not a lot there at the moment apart from the instructions, but hopefully I'll find time soon to add some more content. The old instructions are still on my blog
hello.need your suggestions please.:D
your idea is cool. i already have my own matchboxpinhole camera.:D and i really enjoy taking pictures with it! i was just wondering... this sounds dumb i know, but when im finished with taking pictures in it. and i need to have it developed, would you advise me to take the clicker off and wind the film back to the original canister (new roll)? or just wind it directly to the old canister and have that developed? so that i can use the other canitser( the new roll) if i wanted to make a new matchboxpinhole camera. (so that i dont have to ask the photo lab guy for an empty roll hehe) thanks.:D
Exposure.
um, yea, how long should you let it be exposed for in say, regular out door light? Like, seconds? or minutes? or what?
i've seen loads of these
i've seen loads of these designs on the web before varying from juice boxes to tin cans but this one is too cute! love it!
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