Pringles Pinhole (sort of..)

essjayyell · Jan 19, 2006

I cut a pringles tube about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom, then put the lid on the open end of the smaller piece. I taped this smaller piece to the end of the longer piece so the lid is basically inside the tube, about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom. I poked a small hole in the bottom of the tube.

The lid is supposed to act as a kind of screen which the image is projected onto, but it didnt quite work out that way for me. Everything is being projected onto the inside of the tube. I stuck the lens of my camera into the tube, pointed it at various things and took some photos.

Here's what I ended up with. I thought it looked pretty interesting.

df3photo · Jan 19, 2006

Thats interesting... I wonder what went wrong... kinda neat that it projected on the sides... now it you had it on the screen and the sides that might be neat...
good luck figuring it out... sounds like something i may have to try....

woodsac · Jan 19, 2006

I still like the effect.

I read about this technique somewhere. I think they lined the inside of the can with black paper. It forced all the light to project at the end, where you wanted it. Might be worth a try before you toss it?

essjayyell · Jan 20, 2006

I just sprayed the inside with matt black paint. It made it a lot easier to see the image but it's still being projected onto the sides. it might have something to do with the little circle/bump thing on the centre of the lid itself.

The image on the screen is a bit clearer in these-

I might make one out of a square box and see how it goes. I need to get a polaroid back so i can do it properly

LaFoto · Jan 20, 2006

Even though your experiment might not quite have come out in the way you had wanted it to come out, I still am all fascinated by the effect you achieved, the "see-through" Pringles tube... it really gives the impression as if the wall of the tube was a gauze of sorts, while in fact what we see is a projection! Waaaaayyyyyy cool effect!

essjayyell · Jan 20, 2006

Thanks! I'm happy how it turned out, even if it wasn't what I was expecting.

Here are some photos of the thing

I also wrapped it in black tape, just to be sure that it was completely dark inside the tube.

terri · Jan 20, 2006

Awesome!

I can't wait to see the next round of images from this.

Rob · Jan 20, 2006

Yeah - what Terri said! I wonder if there's a clever way of sharpening that projection up a bit... hmm... might have to try it!

Rob

markc · Jan 20, 2006

You are getting that result because of the size of the hole. The bigger the hole, the longer the focus length. A big hole pushes the film plane way back, making the image circle rather big. In your case, it's so big that it's washing onto the sides of the canister.

A lot of the pinhole cameras I'm familiar with use thin brass or aluminum sheet that a very small hole is either tapped or drilled through using the tip of a small needle or very small drill bit.

For the canister pihole cameras, I usually see a brass pinhole taped to the curved side, and the film is held opposite. The end is just for access.

Google has some great links.

ChopstickHero · Jan 20, 2006

interesting effects....

Fate · Jan 20, 2006

Once you pop, you just cant stop

sorry.... i may give that a go this weekend... + it means i can eat a whole thing of pringals for a reason other than being a slob

essjayyell · Jan 20, 2006

Thanks everyone.

Markc- thanks for the tip, I thought it might have something to do with the size of the hole. It is fairly big.

madambaster · Jan 26, 2006

very cool. i really like the third picture from your first post.
it kind of reminds of that guy who used a pringles can to make a macro lens.
http://www.photocritic.org/2005/macro-photography-on-a-budget/

photo gal · Jan 26, 2006

terri said:
Awesome! I can't wait to see the next round of images from this.

I second that! : )

mysteryscribe · Feb 3, 2006

Probably the easist way to make a pin hole is to go to good will, buy a plastic colorpak or one of those other crappers for a buck. take the lens off... cement a piece of roof flashing or somethng similar to it, then make your hole. I never had any luck with paper or foil as lens boards. The hole has to be really small to get by without a lens, but you guys knew that.