EYE CANDY

They're paper and can be printed out for purists.

They're unmistakably bright and ridiculous looking so everyone will still look at you. 

Downloaded the Rubikon2.
When I get some thicker paper, I'm gonna give it a go. 

I'd like to see what kind of pictures it actually produces. I could google it, but I feel they should have stuck a sample in the article. 

Alfonso said:

I'd like to see what kind of pictures it actually produces. I could google it, but I feel they should have stuck a sample in the article.

They actually work extremely well.

Downloaded the Dirkon. 

pinhole cameras are AWESOME.
shall download and try. Sweet link thethinktank. 

in shop in junior high we had to do a section on pinhole cameras... our shop teacher told us that we had some real lame film paper, but didn't know exactly how long to expose it for, so for us to try it for about 5 minutes at first, try to develop it, then maybe cut it down from there

luckily we were one of the later groups to do it as in reality, it took about 3/4 of a second exposure time 

This is unbelievably rad. I cant wait to try this out.

best link I've seen in a while. I had no idea about these things. 

masterblaster said:

This is unbelievably rad. I cant wait to try this out.

best link I've seen in a while. I had no idea about these things.

echoing this

i've already printed out one to start on for my wife
and i'm going to make another one for my buddy's wife who is a photographer by hobby

i think these are great gift ideas 

I've done this in high school photo class. It sucked, but like the guy above said, likely due to the crappy film. The problem with most of the ones we made was that any tiny light leak leads to completely overexposed film, and that problem will only get worse if you get high quality film.

Really the best way to learn how cameras work though, which I'm sure is the reason we did it in photo class. 

We did this in GATE when I was in third grade, only instead of using film we used photographic paper. The camera itself was just an oatmeal can and looked just like this.

Our exposure times were measured in minutes, if I remember, because the paper was far less responsive than film, and instead of taking the roll of film to get developed, we did the developing on the paper ourselves in a darkroom. I don't think the results were very crisp, but it was an interesting little project that really showed us how cameras work, as derelicthobo said. Something I'll always remember, and probably a large part of the reason I work in photography now. 

http://www.matchboxpinhole.com/

this site has a really good walkthru with pics.
I'll try one of these first probably. 

masterblaster said:

http://www.matchboxpinhole.com/

this site has a really good walkthru with pics.
I'll try one of these first probably.

I saw an image of one of those, seems pretty cool, but the pinhole is so close to the film that it seems like it would mess with the relative focal length, or like it wouldn't fill up the whole 35mm frame. I, too, will be testing this out. 

I'ma try the Dirkon... 'cause it looks like paper trying to look like a camera. Also, I'm impressed by the examples. Even though I have no idea what film type or exposure was used, I know I'll have the right tool if I happen upon any mildly interesting roadworks. 

I made the Rubikon2, though I customized it a bit:

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/728/rubikon2.jpg

Sealed everything up in electrical tape to block out any light leaks, reinforced the film winder a bit. We'll see what the results are like. I'm not sure if I made the pinhole too small or just right, I guess we'll see. 

mediaphile said:

I made the Rubikon2, though I customized it a bit:

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/728/rubikon2.jpg

Sealed everything up in electrical tape to block out any light leaks, reinforced the film winder a bit. We'll see what the results are like. I'm not sure if I made the pinhole too small or just right, I guess we'll see.

Siiiick. Glad to see a commenter actually busting out some real world initiative. 

Stealthmode said:

Siiiick. Glad to see a commenter actually busting out some real world initiative.

Thanks! Now post yours. 

mediaphile said:

... but the pinhole is so close to the film that it seems like it would mess with the relative focal length, or like it wouldn't fill up the whole 35mm frame.

I guess, at least in theory, a pinhole close to the film would act a bit like a wide angle lens,
while a pinhole far from the film would act like a zoom lens. Isn't it? 

Maqroll said:

I guess, at least in theory, a pinhole close to the film would act a bit like a wide angle lens,
while a pinhole far from the film would act like a zoom lens. Isn't it?

Yes, I believe that's correct. I saw an article where a guy was building pinhole lenses for his DSLR, and he build something like a 100mm "lens" with a long tube and a pinhole at the end. But it seems like that would only work to a certain point before there simply isn't enough room for light to hit the whole film plane.

This, too, requires some testing. 

built* 

Am I the only one that got a virus aler when I loaded this page? 

Idigcoolstuff said:

Am I the only one that got a virus aler when I loaded this page?

Yep 

We made pinhole cameras in a photography class I took at the U of MN,
which were practically identical to these,
though they supplied a small piece of aluminum
with a laser-drilled hole
to ensure aperture uniformity for the class.

It was pretty cool,
and I'd like to try it again sometime
now that I actually know wtf I'm doing with a camera.

Also, the short versus long exposure times
are going to be wayyyyy more dependent upon the available light
than anything else.

If you expose outdoors, in full sunlight, it should only take a moment,
whereas indoors is going to take a while, especially with very low light. 

We made a derivative of the Dirkon. 

I would like to try making one of these.

But even more so, I would love to create a big one, where I can get inside (even if crouching or lying down)
Where you can see what is going on inside the "camera" (no need for film),
and I would love to show this to my son, when he has the age to understand/get excited by this sort of thing.
So, I still have some time to plan it, and even test with these small ones.

I really liked this link. Thank TheThinkTank for the suggestion. 

But even more so, I would love to create a big one, where I can get inside (even if crouching or lying down)
Where you can see what is going on inside the "camera" (no need for film),

wtffffffffff 

Maqroll said:

I would like to try making one of these.

But even more so, I would love to create a big one, where I can get inside (even if crouching or lying down)
Where you can see what is going on inside the "camera" (no need for film),
and I would love to show this to my son, when he has the age to understand/get excited by this sort of thing.
So, I still have some time to plan it, and even test with these small ones.

I really liked this link. Thank TheThinkTank for the suggestion.

Well, that is how the originals worked, long before film. They used the camera obscura in larger spaces, then traced down the images, then painted that. 

Ohhh... oh yeah.
That wasn't what I was thinking at all. 

They used the camera obscura in larger spaces

Camera obscura, thanks! That's the name I was looking for to describe the big camera, but couldn't remember.
I saw a documentary once of a camera obscura somewhere in Italy, I think it was Florence,
people would walk inside and see the upside-down image coming from outside though a tiny pinhole on one side of the room.
It looked like magic. I though it was great. And completely forgot about it til now.
Thanks mediaphile. 

Sure thing, more information here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura