PINHOLE CAMERAS

INTRO

Pinhole photography is about as close to bare bones photography as I can get. There is no lens, no focusing, and very little equipment between the subject and a piece of film. Light simply passes through a tiny opening and forms an image. That simplicity is a large part of why I still enjoy shooting pinhole occasionally, particularly with 4×5 film.

For me, pinhole photography is less about achieving technical perfection and more about returning to the fundamentals I have always chosen to embrace: light, exposure, composition, and time. The resulting photographs have a softness and character all their own, along with just enough unpredictability to make the process interesting.

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is a wonderful place to explore what photographers around the world are creating with this remarkably simple way of making photographs. I mark my calendar every year to participate.

I previously used the Pinhole Assist app for calculating exposures, and it remains a useful tool for pinhole photography. These days, however, I have simplified things even further. I developed an exposure formula for each of my pinhole cameras and keep the information on a small sticker attached to the camera. I meter with my Gossen Luna Pro at f/128, apply the conversion for that particular pinhole, and make the exposure.

No app required. Somehow that seems more appropriate for a camera without a lens.

The sections that follow include short notes about the pinhole cameras and individual pinholes I have used over the years, including designs with built in shutters and those without. Where possible, I have included photographs made with them so you can see the results rather than just read about the equipment.

If you would like to dig deeper into pinhole photography, I have also written several articles covering exposure, pinhole size, working with 4×5 field cameras, and my annual Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day adventures:

Balancing Light: A Simple Guide to Pinhole Exposure
Pinhole Photography: 4×5 Field Camera Pin-tography
Pinhole Photography: Optimal Pinhole Sizes
Worldwide Pinhole Day 2025: Tempus Fugit
Worldwide Pinhole Day 2026: Play the Guitar Twice

The Reality So Subtle (RSS) 6×17 is an unusual panoramic pinhole camera with two pinholes, allowing the horizon to be positioned toward either the upper or lower third of the frame. It has a 70mm focal length and a curved film plane designed to maintain a more consistent pinhole to film distance across the wide 6×17 format. You can read more about its specifications here.

Because I sometimes enjoy making very long exposures during daylight at the beach, I wanted a 6×17 pinhole camera that would accept neutral density filters. RSS offered exactly that with the 6×17F, with the F standing for Filter. It incorporates a 77mm filter ring into the front of the camera while retaining the same 70mm focal length and curved film plane as the standard 6×17. Aside from their different fronts, the two cameras are essentially identical. Specifications for the RSS 6×17F can be found here.

The only downside I encountered with either camera was loading film. Space inside the body is tight, and the curved film plane makes getting everything into position a little more challenging. I eventually discovered that a small pair of needle nose pliers made the job considerably easier. Once I started keeping a pair in my camera bag, film loading became much less frustrating.

I eventually sold both RSS cameras and moved most of my pinhole photography to 4×5. Since I also photograph 6×17 with my Fotoman 617, I found that I preferred keeping panoramic work with that camera while using the larger 4×5 format for pinhole photography.

That decision was about simplifying my own equipment rather than dissatisfaction with the RSS cameras. Reality So Subtle cameras are beautifully conceived pinhole cameras and remain easy for me to recommend.

Overall, I was very pleased with the construction and operation of both RSS 6×17 cameras. One feature I particularly appreciated was their ABS plastic construction. Much of my pinhole photography takes me around beaches, marshes, and other wet environments, and I specifically did not want a wooden pinhole camera. My first dedicated pinhole camera was the Harman Titan 4×5, also made from ABS, and it remains one of my favorite cameras for experimental photography.

The RSS cameras were equally at home in those environments. The 6×17F was especially useful because its built in 77mm filter ring allowed me to use neutral density filters for very long daylight exposures. Feet in the Sand, shown above, is an example of the kind of work I wanted the camera for.

Finding RSS cameras in the United States was more difficult. I purchased my first 6×17 through a U.S. dealer on eBay without a problem. About a year later, I ordered a 6×17F from the same dealer’s website. They shipped the wrong model, assured me the correct camera would be sent after the return, and then shipped the wrong camera a second time. I was eventually told they had never had the 6×17F in stock.

After that experience, I ordered the camera directly from the Reality So Subtle website. It arrived from France surprisingly quickly, cost slightly less, and the transaction was trouble free. Based on my experience, I would simply purchase an RSS camera directly from the manufacturer.

I eventually sold both of my RSS cameras as I moved my pinhole photography primarily to 4×5, but that does not diminish my opinion of them. They are thoughtfully designed, well made cameras, and I would readily recommend them to anyone interested in panoramic pinhole photography.

The HARMAN TiTAN 4×5 is simply a fun pinhole camera to use. It is lightweight, rugged, and remarkably uncomplicated, which is exactly what I want from a camera designed to reduce photography to its basics. The body and cones are made from injection molded ABS with stainless steel fittings, making the TiTAN particularly well suited to landscapes, travel, and the wet environments where I often photograph.

I primarily used the interchangeable 72mm wide angle cone, which provided the field of view I preferred for landscapes and seascapes. I later added the 150mm cone, although the 72mm remained the natural fit for the way I see. Gulf Breeze, shown above, was photographed with the 72mm cone on Kodak Tri X and later cropped to the 6×17 panoramic format.

I eventually sold the TiTAN and its 150mm cone, not because I found anything lacking in the camera, but because I simply was not using it enough. Most of my 4×5 photography is made with traditional field cameras, and carrying a pinhole mounted on a lens board allows me to turn one of those cameras into a pinhole camera without carrying another complete camera.

For someone who photographs regularly with 4×5 pinhole, however, I have no hesitation recommending the HARMAN TiTAN. It is thoughtfully designed, durable, wonderfully simple, and capable of making beautiful photographs. Sometimes a light tight box with a tiny hole really is all you need.

Full specifications for the HARMAN TiTAN 4×5 are available from Walker Cameras.

ONDU is a Slovenian camera company founded in 2013 following a successful Kickstarter campaign. Over the years, the company produced beautifully crafted wooden pinhole cameras in formats ranging from 35mm through 8×10. More recently, ONDU has shifted its attention toward building EIKAN large format cameras.

What initially drew me to ONDU was the idea of having a simple wooden 4×5 pinhole camera for still life photography around the house. I wanted something uncomplicated that I could place on a countertop, table, floor, or other surface without necessarily reaching for a tripod. At the same time, I wanted enough versatility to use filters and interchangeable backs for Instax and 120 film. At the time, the ONDU 4×5 was the only pinhole camera I found that brought all of those possibilities together.

After two unsuccessful attempts to purchase directly from ONDU, I eventually found both an ONDU 4×5 Rise and an ONDU 4×5 Large Format on the used market in excellent condition.

Both remain part of my camera collection, and I have been very pleased with them. They are simple, beautifully made cameras that manage to offer considerably more versatility than their wooden boxes and tiny pinholes might suggest.

I initially had reservations about making pinhole photographs on a negative smaller than 6×17 or 4×5. Pinhole images already have an inherent softness, and I wondered whether enlarging a 6×6 negative would simply magnify that softness beyond what I found visually appealing.

I was pleasantly surprised.

For Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day in 2023, I turned my Hasselblad 501CM into a pinhole camera for the first time using the Custom Camera Building Hasselblad Pinhole Cap with the 0.35mm pinhole, approximately 77mm at f/220. The 6×6 negatives had exactly the kind of softness I enjoy in pinhole photographs, but using the Hasselblad introduced another advantage I had not anticipated.

I could make several pinhole photographs of a subject, remove the CCB cap, mount a conventional Hasselblad lens, and continue photographing the same subject with the same camera and film format. On that first outing, I switched from the pinhole to my CFi 180/4. Being able to move so easily between two completely different ways of seeing the same subject turned out to be one of my favorite aspects of the system.

The CCB Hasselblad #4 kit includes five pinhole sizes, the Hasselblad body cap, and an empty holder that can be used by itself or fitted with a custom pinhole. Miroslav Francuz of Custom Camera Building was kind enough to explain why the kit includes several different pinhole diameters.

The different sizes are not intended simply as a progression from lower to higher image quality. They allow the photographer to alter exposure times, deliberately move away from the theoretically optimal pinhole diameter for a softer rendering, and experiment with different pinhole to film distances using extension tubes or homemade cameras.

The CCB cap and pinholes have earned a permanent place in my Hasselblad kit. They take up almost no room and give me the option of turning a camera I already enjoy using into a pinhole camera whenever the mood strikes.

My Hasselblad CCB pinhole exposure conversion factors can be found here.

Over the years I have used pinhole cameras in several formats and configurations, bought a few, sold a few, and eventually settled on the simple tools that best fit the way I photograph.

That seems particularly appropriate for pinhole photography. At its heart, there really is not much to it: a tiny opening, a light tight box, film, and time. Yet from something so simple can come photographs that look and feel unlike anything I would make with a lens.

I do not photograph with pinholes all the time, nor would I want to. I enjoy returning to them occasionally because they slow me down and bring me back to the most basic parts of photography: light, exposure, composition, and a willingness to let go of a little control.

Sometimes that little hole is enough.