Pinhole Camera

"The pinhole camera is the most basic of cameras. If you take a sophisticated still image camera and strip it of its features such as lens, zooming, automatic focus, flash, automatic exposure, etc., what you have left is the simplest unit that functions as a basic one"

The pinhole camera is made from any light-tight container that houses an aperture and some form of light-sensitive material. This simple approach to photography happens without benefit of lenses, and requires no manner of specialized accessories. The pinhole camera is making a comeback with new, modern designs that you can make from kits out of cardstock.


The pinhole camera was first developed in the 10th century by Ibn al-Hyatham, a great mathematician and physicist. The idea came about after he noticed light streaming through a hole in a window shutter. He created a sharper image after realizing that to accomplish that he needed a smaller hole.


A pinhole camera is often constructed with a sliding film holder or back so that the distance between the film and the pinhole can be adjusted. This allows the angle of view to be changed and also the effective f-stop ratio. A pinhole camera is actually very easy to make and is so intriguing to artsy types because they have no focal length; they have infinite depth of field, from a fingertip in front of the pinhole all the way to infinity. The term "focal length" means the distance between the pinhole and the film.