Pinhole videos

the.cheat

the.cheat

Active member
this is an amazing video, ive always loved the pinhole look but i had no idea it could be done with video as well. since its free, you have nothing to lose, try to make a similar video!

i know i'll be doing this when i get my t2i later today (stokestokestokestoke) i already made a pinhole lens, i randomly found an eos mount body cap in my 35 mm stuff.

 
So,you're telling me that if I poke a small hole in my body cap for my 60D, I'll have a pinhole lens? I've never really experimented with this stuff...
 
I don't think it'll work too well. The body cap is way too close to the sensor, and it's thick, so you'll have way too much CA.
 
It sounds to me like you might need to. I think a larger hole would just knock things out of focus even when letting in more light. I'd imagine this is far more suited towards stills which lets you take longer exposures.

From what I see here, you end up using grainy ISO (3200 in this) in daytime.

http://vimeo.com/10734736
 
yeah smaller hole=sharper image, so your gonna have to go high iso on this. but i think it adds to the effect and looks sick.
 
There's a pinhole aperture calculator somewhere, you can scan it or something then upload the image. But I've always heard of people cutting out a square in the body cap, replacing that with a metal piece then drilling a nice hole in that. Or just cutting a large hole then putting metal with a small, precise hole over it.
 
Also that guy needs to clean his sensor. It does not add to the effect, it just looks like his sensor is dirty. The grain is something you'll have to live with. Doesn't look that bad though.
 
how does it look on the viewfinder? does it actualy cover the sensor or do you have to crop your video to remove the black from the image?
 
im going to buy a cap right now along with a bunch of other adaptors and stuff from my favorite store ever. I will try it out!
 
thats true but the hole is absolutly tiny, like the tip of a pin on mine. i just shot a bit of video i think il upload tonight. it came out pretty well considering its a dark overcast day, and its at 3200 iso lol
 
Hahahahahha I really want to know if this works before I go and cut a hole in my body cap... Worst comes to worst I'll put duct tape over the hole...
 
it really works, i just shot a test video and it looks semi similar to the vid i posted. il upload it once it exports, i boosted the contrast a bit but left everything else normal.
 
Generally speaking, yes. Go too small and you'll start getting diffraction, but that probably wouldn't be an issue if you're doing video. Pinhole sharpness has a lot to do with how precisely the pinhole is made, too--if you just poke a pin through and call it good, the rough edges will probably give you a softer image than you should be seeing.
 
the one in that video is exactly as described in the guide i linked to, but the one in the guide also has instructions for a 200 mm lens (pinhole intenseness) the video i took is almost done uploading, so il post it soon. and i just made a really sharp one with a tiny ass hole il post a couple pics from
 
I just ran some tests, its pretty swell. I tested it in monochrome since the grain looks better like this. I also did a color test but Its not sunny enough to do good tests. I will try and post something
 
heres my sharpest pinhole lens so far-

5728344848_cab60918ef.jpg


heres what i did to it in photoshop. all i did was mess with the colors, no unsharp mask or anything

5727793141_768f857670.jpg
 
sick stuff! can you show some video. and what was the lens made of? I did my first with aluminum foil but I have a feeling its too soft and doesnt pierce well

 
i have a video in line to covert on vimeo, it'l be its turn in a couple minutes. that was shot with the same thing your doing, aluminum foil on a lens cap.

the video is a lott softer because it needs a wider apeture, you obviously can't rock a 6 sec shutter on a video lol. for the photo i used the very tip of a size 5/10 needle (i have no idea what that means, but thats what it said on the case with the needle in it)and on the soon to be video, its a full through needle size 5/10.

i feel like on a sunny day at a much higher iso, video of the caliber of that picture is possible. i am officially in love with pinhole photography
 


my first cheap test. The light is garbage right now and its horrible iso. this was my first lens.

*tip: I found that using metal from a can works better since it pierces much cleaner. also use dark or black tape ( hockey tape) to seal it so no light goes through.
 
By hockey tape, what do you mean? I have a shitload in the house, but do you mean using it to seal the metal? or put it over the hole?

 
to seal around the metal so that the corners of your metal dont let any cracks of light through. transparent tape will just let light through where black hockey tape wont.
 
was it overcast out? do you think on a sunnier day you would be able to have a smaller hole and get sharper images?
 
yah for sure, the light was pure trash. I can have a much better lens for when its sunny out. I just made one and Im waiting for the sun. its shitty out so its going to be a few days :(

Plus these look way more interesting in daylight so I cant wait to get some of that.

Im going to be using this as a lens for a documentary Im working on. it will give me a bit of an artsy edge that I have been looking for.

dont worry silly, it wont be my only lens!
 
heres my video-

digital pinhole test from Evan Merrill on Vimeo.

3200 iso, 1080p 24 p footage from a canon t2i, just got the cam yesterday.

cloudy day, pretty flat looking. all i did was bump the contrast up 30% in premiere and called it a day. obviously not fantastic cinematography, just a jerky looking almost unedited test
 
god i am aweful, im postwhoring the shit out of my own thread... well heres more pics i took, a minute of photoshop or so in each. and im not good at photoshop.

5728114861_cff7056f9d.jpg


5728667900_63b77a6fd4.jpg
 
didnt mean to hit reply, not thinking.

5728121627_d932c3353a.jpg


5728125885_82a9ab517f.jpg


5728130609_415a468d34.jpg


this was just to show the sharpness of my lens

5728133543_fd0ca9c88f.jpg


also, remember to put a bit of stick tack over the hole if you leave it on the body to keep dust out. i just stick it over the hole in the body and when im shooting i peel it off and stick it on the lens above the hole.

i feel like this sharpness could be feasible in video if i shoot on a sunny day, sadly my weathers planning on being shit until saturday.

 
thanks! post up when you shoot some, i hold your edits in high esteem, so your pics/vids with a pinhole will probably end up good. no pressure. ive owned this thing for a day and i spend a lott more time with a pinhole on then the kit lens. its really fun to shoot with, and easy, no focusing
 
You guys should be able to get sharper images if you're careful, even with 35mm. This is a shot from a 120mm camera at f/135, and I know it could be even better:

Untitled-7.jpg
 
A perfect pinhole. Any imperfection in the edge of the hole is going to cause softness, those of you using aluminum foil or plastic are going to run into this problem a lot. You either need to really carefully puncture a thin sheet of metal with a needle or buy a pre-made pinhole to get sharp(ish) images. Sizing the pinhole for the format you're shooting is important, but it's irrelevant if the hole itself is shitty.
 
where do you buy precut pinholes? will a side of a soda can suffice for thin metal? and how do you know that was shot at f/135?
 
A can would be great, given you could make a hole without leaving a tear or indentation in it. You can get pre-made pinholes from a few companies (try searching zone plate), although they're pretty expensive...you could also take one from a kit for building a pinhole camera. The big thing is that any imperfection will cause softness--that means a hole that isn't quite round, one that bends in slightly, or one with rough edges.

I bought a pinhole camera that is supposedly f/135, and after running some film through it that seems about right. However, it's hard to gauge perfectly since I have to adjust for reciprocity failure shooting under any light besides midday.
 
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