Time For Some Pinhole Shooting - ePHOTOzine's Peter Black Reviews the Ilford Obscura 4x5 Pinhole Camera

Image Source: http://www.filmsnotdead.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/20130311-094504-pm.jpg

 

 

I just read a review of a new product from Ilford - a 4x5 film pinhole camera called the Obscura.

 

(Click Here) to read the review on ePHOTOzine.

 

Here's what I learned from the review: 1) Ilford appears to be in the film game for the long haul, which I love, and 2) the Obscura requires film loading in a changing bag, as it doesn't use a normal 4x5 film holder. Wow. That doesn't seem very smart.

 

I have one that I bought used, but I'm pretty sure it's from, you guessed it, pinholecameras.com.

 

(Click Here) to see their website.

 

I'm quite happy with mine, but don't use it often enough. Do I hear inspiration coming on? Maybe.

 

I have also made a cardboard pinhole camera that uses 35mm film. This one is a kit. See the Amazon link below if you're interested in one of those. It's not exactly the same as mine, so I can't say how easy or hard it is to build. Mine was tougher than expected to get right, but it does work and was a fun project.

 

From My Cardboard 35mm Film Pinhole Camera

 

The result above is what you can expect from a 35mm format or smaller pinhole - funky, blurry, potentially fun.

 

I find that my 4x5 pinhole yields reasonably sharp images. Actually, it would be hard to tell a 4x5 pinhole image from one made with an old inexpensive lens. You can decide whether that's a plus or minus. Sometimes funky, blurry, is good.

 

I think I'll load mine up this weekend.

 

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