Re: Calculating f-stop for pinhole camera

From: G.Penate <penate_at_domain.name.suppressed>
Date: Sun 08 Apr 2001 - 06:33:08 PDT

----- Original Message -----
From: <Photoed77@aol.com>

> I never heard of anyone using a slide projector to find the optimal
pinhole
> aperture. Somebody else out there might have heard about it.

Slide projectors, enlargers and even scanners (
http://members.home.com/penate/diameter.htm ) have been used, NOT to find
the optimal pinhole aperture, per se, but to simply find the diameter of the
hole.

> There are many formulas that various pinhole photographers have used.
Many
> have their own personal formula.

All the formulas are in essence the same, all are of the form:

Diameter = SQRT( Constant * light wavelength * focal length )

As for the Light wavelength, everybody uses "generally speaking" around 550
nanometers. The real and only difference would then be the value of the
Constant.

> Some pinhole photographers do not want the most optimal aperture. They
> prefer a softer or blurred image.

That's right, but to be 100% sure the pinhole you are using is not "optimum"
(before any exposure is made) you'd have to measure the pinhole.

Guillermo
Received on Sun Apr 8 09:33:58 2001

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