What is a Pinhole Camera?
A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture, a pinhole– effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the aperture and projects an inverted image on the opposite side of the box, which is known as the camera obscura effect.
A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture, a pinhole– effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the aperture and projects an inverted image on the opposite side of the box, which is known as the camera obscura effect.
How do they work?
A pinhole camera works on a simple principle. Imagine you are inside a large, dark, room-sized box containing a pinhole. Imagine that outside the room is a friend with a flashlight, and he is shining the flashlight at different angles through the pinhole. When you look at the wall opposite the pinhole, what you will see is a small dot created by the flashlight's beam shining through the pinhole. The small dot will move as your friend moves his flashlight. The smaller the pinhole (within limits), the smaller and sharper the point of light that the flashlight creates.
A pinhole camera works on a simple principle. Imagine you are inside a large, dark, room-sized box containing a pinhole. Imagine that outside the room is a friend with a flashlight, and he is shining the flashlight at different angles through the pinhole. When you look at the wall opposite the pinhole, what you will see is a small dot created by the flashlight's beam shining through the pinhole. The small dot will move as your friend moves his flashlight. The smaller the pinhole (within limits), the smaller and sharper the point of light that the flashlight creates.
The image-forming ability of a tiny hole is thought to have been known thousands of years ago by nomadic tribes of North Africa, who lived in animal skin tents. A pinhole in the tent would project an image of the brilliant scene outside.
In the 5th century B.C., Chinese scholars had discovered that light travels in straight lines. The philosopher Mo Ti recorded the formation of an inverted image with a pinhole. Aristotle wrote about pinhole images in the 4th century B.C. In his famous books are references to pinhole observations. In the 10th century A.D., Arabian physicist and mathematician Alhazen, described a pinhole’s usefulness for viewing a solar eclipses without the risk to the eyes. These are just some of the fascinating accounts describing the early experiments and observations by scholars.
In the 5th century B.C., Chinese scholars had discovered that light travels in straight lines. The philosopher Mo Ti recorded the formation of an inverted image with a pinhole. Aristotle wrote about pinhole images in the 4th century B.C. In his famous books are references to pinhole observations. In the 10th century A.D., Arabian physicist and mathematician Alhazen, described a pinhole’s usefulness for viewing a solar eclipses without the risk to the eyes. These are just some of the fascinating accounts describing the early experiments and observations by scholars.
Here is a video showing us how to make one: