DIY Pinhole Camera in 10 Steps

I decided to try pinhole cameras this past week. First I had to make one. For my camera body, I selected a standard 35mm film case -- the black plastic type with gray lid that Kodak film comes in. Additional tools you'll need are black electrician's tape, the smallest pin you have, a pair of scissors, a compass, and some colored electricians tape or white out. Also, you'll need some photo paper.

I suggest photo paper because you'll have to cut your medium to size, which can be done with little difficulty in a lit darkroom but great difficulty in total blackness, as you'd need to do with film. Most paper is about ISO 6, so expect exposure times for this camera in the 90-105 second range on a sunny, cloudless day. At dusk, exposures could be in excess of 150 seconds.

The following pictures will demonstrate how to make this simple, cheap camera. If you have some photo paper developer and kids, this would be a great project to introduce them to analog photography.


Supply list: A black 35mm film case, a compass, scissors, some tape, photo paper, a pin, and some photo paper or other light-proof paper (such as 120 film backing paper) to make the shutter.


Step 1: Take the film case and pin. Puncture the film case in the exact center. Fortunately, this is easy to find. Film cases either have a tiny spru mark where the makers injected plastic into the mold or the ones with recycling information have a "2" on the bottom. The center is inside the "2's" loop.


Step 2: Actually puncture the hole.


Step 3: Check the hole to make sure it is clear of obstructions. Hold the case up to your eye and look at something with detail or a light source. If you wear glasses, you should still see through the hold with relative clarity.


Step 4: With the compass, measure the lid's inner radius.



Step 5: You will need to be in a dark room for this step. Using photo paper (in this image a business card served as the analog), draw a circle on the BACK -- non-emulsion -- side with the compass. The back is the non-shiny side.



Step 6: Cut out the photo paper circle. This will be the medium that records your image.



Step 7: Place a rolled-on-itself piece of masking or cellophane tape on the canister lid and place the paper (circle-side down, shiny-side up) on the tape.


Step 8: Using the photo paper or, preferably, backing paper from 120 film, cut a small (0.5 cm X 0.5 cm) square.





Step 9: Cut a length of black electricians tape, fold the end over to make a convenient tab, and then tape the cut paper from Step 8 on the bottom. Affix the tape to the bottom of the canister with the paper over the pinhole. Also make sure that you can peel the shutter back to exposure the paper inside.

You should probably make the shutter before cutting the paper circles. Place the lid, with the paper, back on the canister and your camera is functionally ready.


Step 10: Decorate your camera. This will probably be the best part if you have kids doing it. For me, I used colored electricians tape to make a different pattern on each camera. That way, I don't accidentally double-expose an image.


And the results! After exposure, developing, fixing, drying, and scanning, this is what you can expect. More tomorrow on what you're seeing and why.