Watch the video to find out how to make and use a pinhole lens
Believe it or not, you don’t need a lens to make an image. Instead, you can simply turn your DSLR or mirrorless system into a digital pinhole camera and capture stunning results without an expensive piece of glass!
Okay, the images you get won’t be perfect. In fact, they’re likely to be slightly blurred, but that’s all part of the charm. Pinhole photography is a great way to add a unique twist to your creative repertoire – and is a really cheap and easy technique to try.
There are readymade pinhole lenses, made by Thingyfy, if you want something that is professionally made - but it is a fun home project to have a go at making one yourself
All you need is a spare body cap for your camera, a piece of thin metal (a small, square piece of an aluminum drinks can is perfect), a pin or needle (about size 7 should be fine), a pair of scissors, black electrical tape, some fine sandpaper and a drill…
Photo hack: make your own pinhole lens
01 Drill your body cap
Place a spare body cap on a block of wood or other secure protective surface, and use a power drill to make a fairly large hole in the centre of the plastic (about 5mm in diameter). File away any loose bits of plastic so they don’t fall into your camera.
02 Make a hole
Use a size 7 needle to make a pin-sized hole in the aluminum square. Use fine sandpaper to file down the center of the hole until it’s smooth.
03 Set up and shoot
Attach your camera to a tripod, work manually and use the LCD display and histogram to set up a good exposure and composition. To light a still life, use an off-camera flashgun set to quarter power. Press the test button to fire multiple flashes during an exposure of 5 secs.
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