[wiwi_an]

this is a digicam thread, but pinhole camera is ok rite?

The photography class at my school learns to make a camera on the first day. I wish i took it (regrets)...you can make it out of an oatmeal can or a shoebox

using a shoebox
using a can

I wonder if anyone has tried it before, and how do the pictures come out? It looks difficult and i don't dink i have a drill to poke through a can...
Is using a can better than a shoebox? does size matter if i use a soup can?
I don't have black spray paint to coat the inside of a shoebox...can i just use black construction paper??

[la folie]

I prefer can over shoebox/cardbook because it's more durable and doesn't give as much light leak.

Using a soup can may be too small.. your photo paper would have to be quite small if you don't mind that, sure, go ahead!

Black construction paper works, but you have to be sure that all surface area is covered, sealed tight. Also, don't forget to colour the masking tape black if you're not using black duct tape or electric tape. Another downside of using paper is that once you finish covering, your box/can becomes bulkier and harder to close and open. If you don't have spray paint, you could always use acrylic paint to do it.

You don't necessarily need a drill for making a hole in the can. What I did was I took a pin (or thumbtacks, anything that has a sharp point) and carefully nailed a tiny hole on the lid with a hammer. Do it very lightly because you don't want a huge hole. The bigger the hole is, the shorter exposure time you'd have to do. I had a friend who made her hole too big and on a sunny day, she exposed it for less than 5 seconds! Obviously, with a bigger hole, you have less flexibility in exposure time.

I would love to show you my pinhole photos, but I don't have a scanner.

[Berryz Fields]

I remember doing this when i still went to school and had photography class.
We didn't use a shoebox or cans.
Instead we used those tiny film containers.
It's funny how i was looking at my few [only 3] pinhole pics yesterday evening and now read this thread.

[JeannieV.]

oOOOooo i remember doing pinhole cameras for photo club, it was funn.
we used an oatmeal can, the pictures come out ok, some of them came out pretty cool looking

[lyyzilla]

i remember doing this in a tech class
it was so much fun, i think i used a shoe box
i kept it, but i couldn't take anymore pictures, coz
1) no dark room ==;
coz i decided to steal some film paper, but realized i need a dark room ><

[Bebe_Ji]

whao! you can do that? haha.. anyone mind posting their picture they took?? i really want to see how a picture is like.

[esskeigh]

The pictures come out pretty well if you make it super duper light tight. I mean, of course it's not a real picture but you can see most of the outlines & details (black & white).

[la folie]

^How would it not be a real photo?