Building a 4x5 pinhole camera..

Liam

Liam

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I have been planing on doing this for a while but I finally found the time to go to my local joiners and see if they had any spare hardwood...

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The guy was more than happy to help and cut me up some really nice walnut! I am probably going to make two as I need to cut the front piece in half anyway. The plan is to get it around 40-50mm which is nice and wide on 5x4 with a 0.3mm pinhole which I already have (pinhole-solutions)


I will document my mistakes here :D
 
That's some nice wood that you've got there. I built one about 20 years ago it took 8x10 sheet film and I built it out of a tea-chest.
 
50mm might be a little too wide Liam for coverage, I can't remember how wide I built my first 5x4 pinhole but there's nothing so disappointing as getting only a circular image from the box you've just made. That's much nicer than the crappy ply I've made all of mine out of to date, look forward to seeing the finished article
 
I am probably going to go for a 45mm focal length, I realise this won't cover all of the film but I want some vignetting for the arty look.
 
Ohh should be very nice, must resist building my own:p

Mart
 
good luck Liam :)

I still haven't got round to making mine, getting on for a year after you gave me the film holder. I must get back on to it !
 
Hi Liam,

the vignette isn't a vignette as such for the image circle, it's a fairly well defined edge with a pinhole. It will also show up how accurate you were with the needle when making your hole as it takes the same shape (fairly obviously)

My favourite pinhole I've built is a multiple focal length version, with inserts in one side which take the focal length from 50mm (not enough coverage) to 75mm (just enough) and on to 135mm
 
Tricky69 said:
good luck Liam :)

I still haven't got round to making mine, getting on for a year after you gave me the film holder. I must get back on to it !
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:eek:

raathistle said:
Hi Liam,

the vignette isn't a vignette as such for the image circle, it's a fairly well defined edge with a pinhole. It will also show up how accurate you were with the needle when making your hole as it takes the same shape (fairly obviously)

My favourite pinhole I've built is a multiple focal length version, with inserts in one side which take the focal length from 50mm (not enough coverage) to 75mm (just enough) and on to 135mm
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Looking at flickr, I quite like the results...

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=4x5+pinhole++45mm&ss=2
 
Ok, I have now designed the camera! Cut the wood today and have attached it all together using a funny joint I made up that will hopefully do the job and look good. I would love to do a nice a finger joint on all the sides but I don't have access to any tools other than what I can find in the shed.

Going to sand all of the outside removing the bits that are sticking out..

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that should look quite nice when it's done :)

Putting me to shame though .. I must make a start on mine !
 
I woke up at 7 as I was so excited about sanding, so by about 8 it looked like this..

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As you can see the holder is going to be strapped to the back which means the chances of light leaks are looking high at the moment. I am going to put some black foam on the back which should hopefully work.

I just need to drill some holes for the bubble level / tripod socket and pinhole but I need to revise now..
 
Liam said:
I woke up at 7 as I was so excited about sanding, so by about 8 it looked like this..

As you can see the holder is going to be strapped to the back which means the chances of light leaks are looking high at the moment. I am going to put some black foam on the back which should hopefully work.

I just need to drill some holes for the bubble level / tripod socket and pinhole but I need to revise now..
Click to expand...

This.....is.....just.....beautiful.... :clap:
 
Cheers!

I have almost done everything now, its just a case of giving it a couple of layers of varnish and then screwing/gluing everything on...

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I love the neat finish you've got. My own woodwork skills are much less zen minimalist, and much more wabi sabi..
 
Its finished! Here are a few quick snaps, its going to be a while before I can actually use it as Cardiff uni need to sort out a darkroom..

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Looks really good Liam !
 
Cheers guys, can't wait to use it but it will be a miracle if I don't get any light leaks! I think I might have to redesign the rear to stop light. The next design will probably use a back from a 4x5 camera...
 
Good work. I'm (still) saving up the cash to buy a 48mm or 57mm XL wideangle so I can build something similar but a fixed focus, very wideangle, point & shoot jobbie with a grafmatic back and gaeorsi viewfinder :)

£3.86 done, only about £996.14 left to save!
 
This is amazing.
I studied pin hole photography at college & it fascinated me; but our cameras were far from being this elaborate! My own
camera was made from a solid cardboard box, painted black & using foil with a 0.2 hole. I'm looking forward to seeing the
work this camera produces! It's beautifully made, best of luck.
 
Gandhi said:
Good work. I'm (still) saving up the cash to buy a 48mm or 57mm XL wideangle so I can build something similar but a fixed focus, very wideangle, point & shoot jobbie with a grafmatic back and gaeorsi viewfinder :)

£3.86 done, only about £996.14 left to save!
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Liam said:
So do I!! Something like this but with a nice bit of walnut on the front..

http://home.online.no/~gjon/dias.htm

And I think I might be getting access to a darkroom soon, happy days.
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I assume this type of design could also work with the right 4x5 polaroid back to use Fuji 45 instant? And the fixed focus could also be done with a portrait length lens with an aperture to give +/-12" depth of field.. plus a length of string/chain on the front for distance setting? No need for a glass viewing screen as a sports-finder could be used.. I don't know enough about 4x5 to know what focal length would be appropriate or what aperture would give enough fudge factor on the focus..
 
Alastair said:
I assume this type of design could also work with the right 4x5 polaroid back to use Fuji 45 instant? And the fixed focus could also be done with a portrait length lens with an aperture to give +/-12" depth of field.. plus a length of string/chain on the front for distance setting? No need for a glass viewing screen as a sports-finder could be used.. I don't know enough about 4x5 to know what focal length would be appropriate or what aperture would give enough fudge factor on the focus..
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Yes it would be really easy to do something like this, the main inspiration for my camera came from this...

http://www.photographyireland.net/arca-irish-8x10-t25732.html?sid=ca7675ef52e797f22aa01b7f0d253266

I will probably try making something similar in easter....
 
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