Re: First Pinhole Pix

----- Original Message -----
From: "Johanna Zamora" <jjjulep@yahoo.com>

> If you want to see the results the are at:
> http://www.geocities.com/jjjulep/pinhole.html

Good stuff! I see you were able to make a small pinhole this time.

Let me suggest you try color negative film instead as it has more latitud, therefore a lot forgiven.
 
> Big surprises:
>
> That any of them came out! Only one picture didn't
> come out, and I just didn't hold the shutter open long
> enough.

That's a sign you doing OK!
 
> That my film is too small for the image.
> That I could not really see what I was pointing at.
> Which considering the w i d e angle I was thinking
> I would get, was a disappointment.
> So the image is, as suggested to me earlier not as big
> as I'd hoped or could be...time to work on a pinhole
> cover for the beater kodak I found.

Your pinhole is mounted about 50mm (give or take couple of mm) from the film, that is exactly the same angle of view as a 50mm glass lens, which is not a wide angle but a "normal" lens. Increasing film size won't give you a bigger enlarged image, for that you 'd need to increase the angle of view, which can only be achieve by installing the pinhole closer to the film plane. Very difficult or imposible using an SLR, as the mirror gets in the way.

If you are using a tripod, mount a 50mm lens (or a Zoom set to 50mm focal length), compose your image and then switch to the pinhole body cap.

If the Kodak you are talking about is a medium format camera (120 film), you must install the pinhole 55mm or closer from the film plane to have wide angle effect (55mm in medium format is equivalent to 35mm in your SLR).

> I have never had "aluminum can" flare before and found
> it the best surprise of all. The best I could do was
> a black portion of a coke can. Thinking that would be
> enough. No. Must purchase some black enamel.

I bet you have some burrs in the pinhole that are causing the flare. Besides, your 0.19 is optimum for about 26mm focal length, almost 1/2 what you are using, therefore you may have some diffraction also.
 
> These pictures look very old. Nice, but the exposure
> times are still something I am chasing around.

Next time, try bracketing the exposure from -1 to +2 stops, this will help you find the right f/stop for your set up.
 
> There is a need to keep a spirit level on my camera
> because I sure could not tell what is perpendicular or
> not.

That's always a good idea.

Guillermo
Received on Tue Jul 10 23:30:51 2001