Hey all,

I just joined and found this thread. I have tried a body cap pinhole and it reflected way too much light (light scatter made a trippy blur effect though!). I've made quite a few pinhole cams myself, from anomorphic to solargraphs.

There's a program that I find helpful, it is on this site. I don't have anything to do with it, just that I had downloaded it, and used it. The math of the proper aperture ratio to the distance to the film plane is way beyond my tiny brain, so this app helps me figure out the optimal diameter of the pin.
http://www.pinhole.cz/en/pinholedesigner/

I hope that link works properly.

Yes, most suggest using an aluminum soda can:
- I like to cut into a triangle shape, easier to tape into place (less edges for light-leaks)
- sand with the finest sandpaper you can until it is as thin as possible while still opaque
- use a tiny sewing needle to make a ROUND hole. Spin the sewing needle or the aluminum.
- sand the hole to smooth out again
- apply to camera/body cap. I use black gaffers tape to attach, so no shiny aluminum will cause internal reflections.

- shoot & enjoy!

If using a body cap... Yes, I'd suggest making a fairly large drill hole in the cap. Then, use a small piece of soda can, and attach the above homemade pinhole to the body cap for use. The body cap is simply TOO THICK to make a good pinhole. You'd have to dremel out a serious countersink in the outside of the cap to allow the proper light rays in. And, IMHO, it would likely melt the plastic into a mess more than it would succeed in making a great pin.

Cheers.

- david

I found this site about making your own pinhole lens.

The issue is not that he's using a pinhole camera, but he states after a little processing, he gets these incredibly sharp images.

I'm not sure if you can do that.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/Canon_1ds_pinhole.html

Yeah, I did what clillja is suggesting, but just punched a hole with a pin in aluminum foil for the actual pinhole, which I don't think was ideal. Sandpaper is a good idea, Pete.

Yes for DIY pin hole caps: You should drill like clillja recommended but make it app 4mm, into the cap. Then you can drill a hole into the metal from a pop can and then use very fine sand paper and make the metal as thin as possible and attach to the inside of body cap

have fun

Pete

I think the thickness of the material matters. I would make a larger hole (2-3mm) in the center of the cap, cover it with very thin sheet metal, and make the .27mm hole in that.

Actually, I would drill the thin sheet metal (on a flat, hard surface) before attaching it to the body cap. The sheet metal should be thinner than .27mm ...

If you want more info on the cap I used it is found on this site:

Be warned there is some nudity on this site, taken by Pin Hole lenses

http://www.pinholeedun.com/Welcome.html

Pete

I bought one and it has a aperture of .249mm, drilled in a very thin metal wafer. I have been using it on my D300, but I think honestly it would be better suited for a FX body

Pete

After the bit snaps and I end up heating it and plunging it through. I'm sure it will be a lot bigger.

so 0.28 wouldn't work :)?

I figured I need to make a 0.27mm hole in a Nikon Body cap for a nice pin hole.

I was looking to make as precise a hole as possible without getting crazy. I bought a 0.27mm drill bit. It's only 3/4" long.

I took this with the older 50mm 1.8 (my only lens with an aperture ring) with some ebay extension tubes. It's at f/22 with an SB-600 laying down on the table next to it. It was a quick and dirty shot but it's neat to see such a tiny drill bit next to a ball-point pen.