Pinhole cameras, or pinhole cameras in English, are analog photo cameras that work without batteries and without automation of any kind, and do not even have a lens.
Although we are now used to digital cameras, and we can take as many photos as we want and then delete them, photography, originally, was a very simple procedure that you can replicate in your own home.
Believe it or not, the only essential thing to make a pinhole camera is an opaque box and a piece of light-sensitive material (mainly photographic film or paper). The lens is supplanted by a small hole in the case called a pinhole, from which this type of camera gets its name.
These cameras, which are not so well known but are highly appreciated by amateur photographers and artists, are far from offering sharp and perfect images, but in return they offer particular and unrepeatable effects with a charm of their own that many photographers with professional cameras would envy.
Dare to make your own camera, and take your own pictures with it!
Necessary materials
– A matches box
– A new 35mm photographic reel
– An empty 35mm roll with some film (1cm minimum) sticking out
– Pieces of thin cardboard, the same one from the box of the new reel can be fine
– An ice cream stick
– Insulating tape (it is very important that it is black)
– Regular duct tape
– A sewing needle as fine as possible
– Scissors
– A cutter
– A black indelible marker
-A rule
General procedure
1. Separate both parts of the matchbox, and initially keep only the drawer. With a ruler, locate its exact center, and draw a 24 x 24 millimeter square around it.
That will be the surface of the negative that will be exposed to light, that is, with these measurements, our camera will take square photos. The conventional format is 24 x 36 millimeters, and you can do it that way too.
2. Pick up the outside of the matchbox again. Find its center, and draw around it a square of one centimeter on a side. cut it out
On the outside of the matchbox we look for the center of the box in the same way we did with the drawer. We draw on it a central square
3. Now you need to make your pinhole, the extremely small hole that the light will pass through. You need a black and opaque cardboard (be careful with common cardboard, which is often translucent), and you must place it on some relatively soft surface (such as another cardboard or paper), to pierce it very carefully with a fine needle in the center. The hole should be as fine as possible.
Light should be seen through the hole.
4. Return to the outside of the matchbox, and adjust the perforated opaque cardboard on it so that the hole is right in the center of the box, that is, in the center of the opening that we made earlier. Tape it down and make sure that all the joints are perfectly covered so that no light can pass through them. That is absolutely important, because a single ray of light will ruin the photo. To completely block out the light, paint the inside of the box with a black marker.
5. Take a new cardboard, which can be from the box of the photographic reel that you are going to use. Cut out a cardboard of about three centimeters on a side, and then draw and cut out, in its exact center, a square of half a centimeter on a side.
6. Center this new cardboard on the matchbox so that the cutout you made is over the pinhole. Tape one of the sides parallel to the matchbox scraper.
7. When you join these pieces you will have the camera itself finished, then you will only have to place the reel.
8. You will need a blank (new) roll of film, and you need to take some film out of it (approximately two or three frames).
You will have to pass that film through the matchbox, which will be with the drawer on. The film should go under the drawer so that it is perfectly flat.
9. When you’re done threading the new spool, grab an old one to act as a reed. Join both with a bit of tape, and tighten the film by activating the empty reel.
10. You already have the complete mechanism. Now, you just need to make a controller so you can play the movie. To do this, cut a piece of popsicle stick, place it in the winding hole of the empty spool, and tape it.
11. Finally, take some toilet paper or gauze and plug the bottom of both reels. This will ensure that they do not unroll if there is too much pressure.
Tape this part up, and your camera is complete! If you want, you can make a cardboard shell yourself to make it more beautiful, and it will also better protect the film from light.
Now you can enjoy your homemade camera. Try out different film types and exposure times to achieve amazing effects!