Plasticam Pinhole Hack
For folks who don't feel like building a whole pinhole camera from scratch... it's easy to take apart one of these focus-free plastic cheapies and convert to pinhole use. That way you can get 35mm images with the standard framing & spacing so that any minilab can develop them.
I posted another version of this idea before... but this shows the more common kind of plastic camera, that has a little lens-guard operated by the tab below it. I see literally baskets of these for sale at most thrift stores--the one in back with the swooshy grips seems especially common. I've made quite a few pinhole cameras out of that kind. (Note the 80 cent price-- about all it's worth as a regular camera.)
I've hot-glued some plywood on the bottom here, with a 1/4-20 nut epoxied into a hole to make a tripod socket. The plywood also adds a stable base you can steady against doors, tables, etc. during exposures of a few seconds.
[EDIT: Sample shots from the Vivitar pinhole here, and from my earlier plastic-trashcam conversion here.]
[Another edit, May 2008: I've now blogged all the details on how to hack one of these cheapie trashcams and how to make & measure the pinhole itself.]
Plasticam Pinhole Hack
For folks who don't feel like building a whole pinhole camera from scratch... it's easy to take apart one of these focus-free plastic cheapies and convert to pinhole use. That way you can get 35mm images with the standard framing & spacing so that any minilab can develop them.
I posted another version of this idea before... but this shows the more common kind of plastic camera, that has a little lens-guard operated by the tab below it. I see literally baskets of these for sale at most thrift stores--the one in back with the swooshy grips seems especially common. I've made quite a few pinhole cameras out of that kind. (Note the 80 cent price-- about all it's worth as a regular camera.)
I've hot-glued some plywood on the bottom here, with a 1/4-20 nut epoxied into a hole to make a tripod socket. The plywood also adds a stable base you can steady against doors, tables, etc. during exposures of a few seconds.
[EDIT: Sample shots from the Vivitar pinhole here, and from my earlier plastic-trashcam conversion here.]
[Another edit, May 2008: I've now blogged all the details on how to hack one of these cheapie trashcams and how to make & measure the pinhole itself.]