Multi-Zoom Pinhole Camera

You don’t have to have a fancy camera to be a photographer, as many creatives over the years have shown us through use of the pinhole camera. This simple device consisting of a tiny aperture and no lens can capture the simple moments in life. In this instructable, you’ll learn how to make one that lets you take a photo utilizing three different zoom, or focal lengths.

• Laser cutter
• X-ACTO knife/box cutter
• Adobe Illustrator
• Cardboard (size 24x24 inches)
• Hot glue gun and sticks
• Black electrical tape
• Tinfoil
• Scissors
• Black Paint
• Paint brush
• Thumb tack
• Black and White photo paper
• Photo Developer
• Stop Bath
• Fixer
• Water bath

Using Adobe Illustrator, create a template to outline the design of your box, or download one from the internet. The whole set should include 4 sides of the box, a base, lid, a relatively large hole with a piece to cover it when not in use, and 12 L-shaped pieces to hold the photo paper in place at the tops and bottoms of each focal length positioning (3 positions, 4 pieces each).

You should also utilize various colors within the design to indicate where the laser should cut vs. etch. For example, in the design above, the lines that should be cut are in black, the ones that are etched more deeply are in blue, and the ones that are thinly etched are in red.

Upload your Adobe Illustrator file into the laser cutting software and scale it to your desired size. If following the template above exactly, the set of pieces should be 19.5 X 15.5 inches. You can scale it up or down as you may desire, just ensure that your cardboard piece can account for the size. You may also use wood if desired.

Insert your piece of cardboard into the machine and input the settings for the various pieces of the design that will be cut. For example, the black lines on cardboard require a Power (P) 100 and Speed (S)60. The blue lines require P80/S100 and the red ones require P20/S100. Depending on your size or chosen material, these may vary. Once you have all of your settings inputted, ensure that your cardboard is aligned properly in the laser cutter and press start. Once the cut is finished, pop the individual pieces out of the cardboard. Use your X-ACTO knife or box cutter to go over any edges that may not easily separate.

If using a template from the internet, it is likely that the design will be cut with ridges along the edges meant to interlock. While this may help with light tightness, ours did not line up properly and were therefore scrapped in the final product of our camera.

Lay all of the pieces that you cut out on a table and match them together with the other pieces they will connect to. Using a hot glue gun, glue the edges of each piece to one another until the box shape is created. It is important that the final camera is light tight, which can be ensured by placing extra thick lines of hot glue along the inside seams of the box. The L-shaped cutouts should be placed on either side of the indentions that will hold the photo paper, and on both sides of the box, totaling 4 pieces per indention. This should be done on both the top and bottom pieces.

Cut a 2x2 inch square of aluminum foil and place it on the inside of the box over the circle cutout at the front of the camera. Attach it using electrical tape. Using a thumb tack, poke a small hole through the center of the aluminum foil.

If you haven’t done so already, place thick lines of hot glue along all interior seams of the box. Then, using your black paint and paint brush, paint all interior surfaces of the box and lid. Place black electrical tape over all of the interior seams of the box to ensure no light can seep through. It will also be helpful to place black electrical tape over the interior side of the larger circle cutout that will cover the pinhole while it is not in use.

Ensuring that the camera is light tight is a vital part of the pinhole camera process, as any light leaks will ruin your photo paper and prevent you from developing any photos. You can test the security of the camera by placing a flashlight within the box and taking it into a fully dark room to see if there are any areas where the light shines through.

Congrats! You have successfully learned how to build your very own camera that allows you take photos using multiple Zooms. Continue onto the next step to discover how to take and develop the photos using your new creation.

Once your camera is built, you must load your photo paper into it and decide on a subject. It is important to load the paper in the dark room so there is no risk of exposing it to light. Decide what focal length you want to utilize and place your paper into the corresponding slot. Ones where the photo paper is further away from the pinhole (or at the back of the camera) will appear more zoomed in. Next, head outside and pick a subject matter you want to capture. Natural light from the outdoors creates much more desirable exposure times compared to indoor spaces.

Hold your camera very still and remove the covering from the pinhole. After your desired amount of time has passed, quickly replace the covering over the hole and bring your camera inside. The exposure times will vary depending on a variety of factors, including distance of the paper to the pinhole within the camera, and the strength of the sun. For example, our first attempt used a 15 second exposure time when it was very sunny and the paper was in the slot furthest away from the pinhole. When we moved the paper one slot closer to the pinhole but in the same weather conditions, the exposure time was only 5 seconds. It may take some trial and error to determine the perfect exposure time for your conditions.

Once you have captured your subject, bring your camera and photo paper into the dark room. Be sure not to open the lid until you are in the darkroom, as to not risk exposing the photo paper to any light leaks. Next, place your photo paper in the Developer for the designated amount of time (about 2 minutes). At this point, you should start to see your image appear on the paper. Move it to the Stop Bath to stop development and leave it in there for the designated amount of time (about 30 seconds). Then, move it to the Fixer and let it sit for the designated amount of time (about 2 minutes). Finish the process with a water wash for at least 5 minutes before bringing the photo paper out into the light.

Once the process is complete, place your image on a drying rack and wait for it to dry. At this point, it is safe outside of the dark room. This is a good opportunity to evaluate any additional changes that may need to be made to exposure times and to compare the difference in results for the various focal lengths. As you can see above, the images (going from left to right) become more zoomed out as the photo paper was moved closer to the pinhole. All of the images will also print inverted in their color schemes.

Great work building your camera and taking photos with it! You've now created a simple device that allows you to capture our big world from multiple viewpoints.