Make a Pinhole Panoramic Camera
Tutorial compliments of “Make:” magazine.
Pinhole cameras have been a long-time favorite of adventuresome photographers. But forget the Quaker Oats carton and go wide with this roll-film, panorama design.
It uses standard 120mm roll film, which means you don’t have to open the camera and reload after each exposure, and you don’t need a darkroom to process the results — just take the rolls to a photo lab. Also, it’s built entirely from scratch, rather than hijacking the film-transport from an existing camera.
Figure 1. The top photo demonstrates that the limitless depth of field of a pinhole lets you move as close as you want to your subject, while leaving distant details sharp, making all kinds of playful juxtapositions possible. During the 9-minute exposure that produced the bottom photo, people got up and sat down, unaware that the strange object resting on my table was taking a photograph.
To read this camera how-to as a PDF file in your Web browser, click “Pinhole Panoramic Camera.” You can also download the PDF to your machine for later viewing.
We highly recommend Adobe Reader 7.0 and above to view this PDF. Download Acrobat Reader here..
To learn how to configure your browser for viewing PDF files, see the Adobe Reader tech support page.
This article was last modified on July 11, 2023
This article was first published on July 23, 2007
Commenting is easier and faster when you're logged in!
Recommended for you
Switch Lenses in a Flash with the Quikdraw
Photographers on the go may soon have a new gadget to aid them in the struggle t...
Photography Fundamentals: Work the Scene
Excerpted from The Passionate Photographer: Ten Steps Toward Becoming Great by S...
Scanning Around With Gene: How to Look Like a Real Photographer
Originally published August 6, 2008 When I was in high school I spent a great de...