Pinhole Camera manual

IAL R O T A TU

MAT

PIN X O B CH

H

ER M A C OLE

YOU WILL NEED:

• A matchbox • A roll of 35mm film.

• An empty roll of 35mm film with some film sticking out • The box the film came in • A can • Black PVC electricians tape • The plastic from a spiral binder • A thin needle or pin • Scissors • A sharp craft knife • A black marker pen

Take the matchbox tray, and draw two lines from corner to corner, then draw a square (1) or any other shape - this will be the exposed area of the film. After you’ve done that cut out the shape (2) with the craft knife, being very careful not to damage the box.

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2

THE BOX

Now colour the inside of the tray and matchbox sleeve with a black felt tip pen (1). the next step is to cut out a 3mm square exactly in the middle of the matchbox sleeve (2)

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2

THE PINHOLE

Cut out a piece (13-15mm square) of aluminium from the drinks can(1). Place the aluminium onto some thick cardboard. Press a blunt pencil in the middle of the square to make a dip (2), then file it down a little bit to make the metal thiner, then gently make a hole using the needle/pin. Colour the back of the pinhole black.

Place the aluminium onto the box so that the pinhole is exactly in the centre of the square hole in the top of the box (3).Tape the aluminium onto the box, securing all four sides (4).

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2

4 3

THE SHUTTER

Cut two pieces of thin card, a square about 32mm, and a rectangle about 25mm x 40mm. In the square piece, cut out a 6mm square in the centre (1). Place some black tape on one side of the rectangular piece to prevent light leaks. Place the square piece over the pinhole and tape down three sides, leaving a gap in the top into which the rectangular shutter card can slide. Check that the shutter can be pushed down to fully cover the pinhole.

open

closed

THE CLICKER

Take one loop off a spiral binder and place it over the new film canister, the pointed end of the plastic should enter one of the holes in the film. Tape the plastic to the film canister securely. Test the clicker by gently pulling out some film. The clicker should ride on the back of the film smoothly and make a click as it drops into the sprocket holes.

LOADING THE FILM

Trim the film, cutting the edge as squarely as possible. Pull out a little more film and thread the film through the matchbox (1). Make sure the non-shiny side is facing the pinhole. Using some clear sticky tape join the ends of the film together.

Try to make sure the edges are lined up together so the film can pass easily into the empty canister. Tape both sides and make sure the joint is secure (2). Slide the match tray back into the box. Wind up the film making sure the edges of each film canister are pushed up tight to the matchbox and no film can be seen. The film is now loaded. Now make the camera light tight by covering all of it with the PVC tape, go over the canisters and all the gaps.

USING YOUR CAMERA

To make it easier to wind the film on, stick something into the top of the empty spool eg key or some thick plastick. The completed camera is now ready to used.

Make sure the shutter is closed. To wind the film on, turn the winder on the empty take up spool anticlockwise. Listen for the clicks. Count 10 clicks for each photo.

The Matchbox Pinhole camera has an f number of about f90. There’s no need to be very accurate about exposure times when using colour print film, use the following as a rough guide when using ISO100 or 200 film.

Outside, sunshine: 1 or 2 seconds Outside, cloudy conditions: 5 seconds Indoors, normal room lighting: 5 - 10 minutes When the film can’t be wound on any more it’s time to unload the film. You can just cut the box open, but if you are careful you can reuse the camera many times.

The film can be developed by any normal photo lab. It might be a good idea to tell them that the frame spacings might be a bit irregular when you drop the film off - if the staff are helpful they might take a little more care when printing.

TEXT ADAPTED FROM: http//www.matchboxpinhole.com