Re: A matter of understanding?

Hi Julian,

I think the softness you mention may be an initial reaction to conventional "lens" photos; a lack of critical sharpness as against the pinhole's overall 'sharpness'. Almost limitless depth of field ,I think ,gives rise to some of this feeling .Sometimes you have to forget about conventional photography and enjoy the unique qualities of pinhole photographs. However.......

Have you checked the quality of the 'hole' by projecting it from an enlarger or slide projector or looking at it under a microscope? It is very easy to think a hole is clean and round without very close inspection.

For some time I have been working with 35mm film in pseudo-panoramic cameras and use both conventional and digital enlarging methods. I have actually been very surprised at the amount of 'sharpness' that can be maintained when enlarging pinhole negs from 35mm - it is in my mind to enlarge and print digitally to about 0.5 metres x 2.5 metres (the images are 5:1 ratio). Early results from a drum-scanned neg. are very exciting. The distance you view this from all becomes relative, of course.

Optimum hole size, I have found, is important both to establish the correct focal length and relative f-stop/aperture. I always seem to get the sharpest results from using brass shim ( usually about 0.003" ) although I have used silver shim and pie-plate aluminium to reasonable effect. Maybe I am able to work with the brass more confidently?

Are you sure that the softness isn't to do with a lack of contrast created by possible light leaks?
Sometimes you make a camera that works better than the others - everything just seems to come together. This is one of the exciting things about pinhole photography and the reason that I keep designing and building cameras and taking pictures with them. It's the surprise awaiting everytime you develop a new film from a new camera!

PS Is it possible to get hold of a copy of the Catalogue you mention - an address to write to,etc..
Thanks and hope I've started the ball rolling.

Hi there to all. I'm new to your list and thanks for having me.

I've been attempting to build a pinhole panorama camera for a little while
now and am well on the way, however recently decided to test the system for
exposure etc. Grabbed the info from the FAQs about exposure measurement and
tried that with great success. (That is I'm pleased to be on the right track).

I am however dissapointed with the massive degree of "softness" the my 6x9
format negs have when printed. I've tried to use the optimum hole size
formula and have gone to a fair bit of trouble to make "clean" holes etc.
So, it occurs to me that maybr the softness is always going to be that much
and that is why many of you will be using large format paper negs and
contact printing because the softness degree is then spread over a whole
picture rather than of a small neg. Can someone out there who knows their
stuff confirm this for me or point me in a better direction.

We recently had the pleasure of a great international pinhole exhibition
here arranged by Dianne Stoppard and although I did not get to the other
end of the country to see it, I was able to purchase a catalogue and really
enjoyed the works of some of these artists especially Craig Barber and
Victoria Cooper.

Cheers for now Julian

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John Gray
Bretton Hall College
Received on Mon Oct 2 04:12:21 2000