How To Make A Pinhole Camera

Make your own camera out of materials around the house and take black and white photos with it.

Step 1 Gather Materials

You will need a box, photo paper, thin piece of metal like a can or brass shim, tape, xacto knife, needle, and sand paper.

Comments

[mtownsend]

Am I the only one who thought this meant a tiny little spy camera? I feel so uncultured when I'm on this site.

[markinstruct]

Yes, but the digital camera guy is right there with you.

[a.nony.mouse]

I was thinking the exact same thing, but this is cool, too :)

[mcantu4]

i think u need to elaborate more on the last part. that is the hardest part and there are no pics

[mcantu4]

where would i get a brass shim from

[saharahoveybaldwin]

can i use a safelight for this step? like, while loading the paper...

[tylervitale]

Using a safelight should be fine. Just don't use a bulb higher than 25 watts and be sure not to get the paper closer that 3 feet to the safelight.

[DemeGeek]

Why does everthing have to be perfectly still?

[Puppy-Sized-Elephant]

 the picture would be blury, like when you take  picture and your hand moves slightly, so it turns out a bit blurry, when the shutter is open taking a long exposure picture, its just like that shaky hand, but on a larger scale, if you can understand what i mean

[thirtyfivefox]

right... and now everybody should have a little more appreciation for the photos taken of they great-great-great-great-great-grandparents if they are lucky enough to have any of them at all. :-D

[kimm123]

the picture will come out blurry and not right, i suppose XD

[j_wo]

Well...now we know how they manufactured that picture of Lee Harvey Oswald...

[andyoaryoga]

whether it is possible to replace the paper with a regular camera film? how to apply and the required distance between the pinholes with a regular film camera

[andyoaryoga]

if you read this comment, i have the answer for my question up there . check this site, it explaining how to applying regular camera film into a pinhole camera http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=11865&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=9939

[shortw]

Where could I get the developing photo paper and how much is it?

[Quest for Questions]

what is a pinhole camera for ?

[skippyconsuelo]

as the name would indicate, they are strictly for taking pictures of pinholes... I am only kidding. they are one of the simplest means of taking pictures, by using a very tiny hole to create a small inverted image on a fixed plane at the back of the device, they do not require any lenses.

[92033]

Look up my postings on the other 'Making a Pinhole Camera' pages. Also, to everyone of your questions...simply go to your local camera photo shop dealer. They have everything you need for developing film and prints, printing papers to use, information, etc. Just visited your page...great photos. You can make an easy tripod base for use on the camera. Use a piece of 1/4" thick plywood or plastic. Drill a 1/4 inch hole in the center. Use double-face carpet tape or layer of rubber cement on face of the wood/plastic base and layer on bottom of camera. Stick together for a permanent bond. Screw your tripos screw into the hole and you're all set. Want 'simpler'? Lightly duct-tape it to tripod. Removes easily. Idea is to hold the camera still and level..this'll do the trick. Great Instructable mind-refresher for me...have been in photography all my lifetime...'1200 Year Old Highlander Immortal', y'know. :-) Which reminds me...Do you know what Jesus said to the Apostles at The Last Supper? "All you guys who want your picture taken, sit on this side of the table with Me". Moses was The First Photographer. He used a Pinhole Camera and Bolt Of Lightning for the FLASH. Came out pretty good, eh?

[KMaq]

i got photo paper from staples.  will this work? it comes in a small box of 100.  i suppose i need to take them out of the package in the dark room as well? 

[Musicman41]

You need to make sure that it is photo DEVELOPING paper. What it sounds like you got was photo PRINTING paper. They are not the same thing. Developing paper is sensitive to light and changes color when exposed to the light. Printing paper is not and can only be colored by ink. I hope this helps.

[vickaronomie]

 Yes, or else the paper will be developed all over, turn gray, and will not be able take another image. It'll be useless, like film taken out of the cartridge and exposed to sunlight.

[oobtim]

I've been developing at home for years in shared houses too. I've used a dark cupboard, in the attic or thick blankets across a bathroom window in the past and have been used with good results (mostly in the evening/night to be safe). A red light is needed if you want to see what your doing though... :)

Look on any retrophotographic site or pick up and old photography book from a second hand book store to find the details of development and the chemicals. Ebay is a good source of cheap photography equipment too.

Good luck!

[lrdogs12]

NetPrintz specializes in professional quality e6 slide film processing and developing as well as bulk slide scanning. We monitor chemistry and equipment daily and only professionals get near your originals. http://netprintz.net/scans.html or http://www.netprintz.net/e6.html to go directly to the pricing page.  NetPrintz is competitively priced and will produce the highest quality output for you every time.  We use plastic mounts and they are shipped to you in a plastic box. We are a full service lab producing 30” Chromira print posters, copy work, scanning to cd and photo restoration.

[likeanita]

can u be more specifite about how to develop a pic, by using photo paper? becasue it seems interesting to just directly have a image on the photo paper instead the film

[vickaronomie]

 The photo paper you use is a special paper with silver crystals. THIS PAPER: www.freestylephoto.biz/c501-Black-and-White-Paper-Resin-Coated-Variable-Contrast is what you need. You also need the developer--which is on that website--which is for PAPER development, not film, because they're different. :P

It's all done in a darkroom because, like film, the image initially imprinted onto the paper will be destroyed if left in direct light of any kind. There are filters used over dim lights to prevent that.

Other than that, the chemicals used and process is pretty much the same as developing film; developer, stop bath, fixer, and then a wash through some fresh water, to remove all the chemicals. If the wash isn't done, then the chemical stains will eat the photo.

Just research it. You need a lot of stuff, if you aren't taking a photography course in college, like I am. The darkroom and everything inside it is available to me, but an average Joe might have to make their spare bathroom into a darkroom, in order to be able to develop photos. ;)

[nutsandbolts_64]

 where do you get the developer and fixer?

[anti_mullet9]

 It needs to be darkroom paper and not regular inkjet photo paper for a printer. 

Something like this will totally work.  
www.amazon.com/Ilford-Multigrade-Deluxe-Coated-Glossy/dp/B00009V3C5/ref=pd_cp_p_1

[Gh{O}sT]

Thx gonna use it for photography project at school (i will credit you)

[sxdemon]

I build something similar, but I was using a len instead of only a pinhole.

[Lamah]

where does the digital camera go

[Yerboogieman]

You don't need it when you build this. Just like you don't need a digital camera when you are using a 35mm camera.

[Dr. Steel]

I  do believe that was a troll.

[darelite]

hheeyyyy   what about fixer?

[linkmaster03]

What do you mean by "photo paper"? What kind of photo paper?

[Yerboogieman]

Light sensitive paper.

[kentdunne]

It's a specific type of paper. It's got a coating of light sensitive stuff (basically a cocktail of Emulsion, little silver-halide crystals, and some other things spread across it). It's not just "photo quality" paper that you might buy at Best Buy (but it's very easy to think that now adays =])

You probably have to order it online-- I get mine at www.freestylephoto.biz

[343GUILTYSPARK]

Light sensitive paper. Parts that were exposed to light will turn dark when developed.

[Yerboogieman]

This one kid at school decided to turn on the lights in the dark room and ruined hundreds of dollars of photo paper.

[foxtrot4697]

WHY DO THEY HAVE LIGHTS IN THE DARk room?

[Yerboogieman]

WHY ARE YOU YELLING?!

They have lights for when she is teaching how to set stuff up.