Pinhole cameras, or pinhole cameras in English, are analog cameras that work without batteries

and without any type of automation, and that do not even have a lens.

Although we are now accustomed to digital cameras, and we can take as many photos as we want
and then erase them, photography, in its origin, was a very simple procedure that you can
replicate in your own home.

Household pinhole camera

The only essential thing to make a pinhole camera, believe it or not, is an opaque box and a piece
of material sensitive to light (film or photographic paper, mainly). The lens is supplanted by a small
hole in the box called pinhole or pinhole, from which this type of camera gets its name.

These cameras, which are not so well known but are very appreciated by amateur photographers
and artists, are far from offering sharp and perfect images, but in return they give particular and
unrepeatable effects with a charm of their own that many photographers with professional
cameras would envy.

Photo taken with homemade pinhole camera

Encourage yourself to make your own camera, and take your own pictures with it!
A matches box

- A new 35mm photo reel

- An empty roll of 35mm with a little film (1cm minimum) outstanding

- Pieces of thin cardboard, the same as the box of the new reel can go well

- An ice cream stick

- Insulating tape (it is very important that it be black)

- Normal adhesive tape

- A needle of sewing as fine as possible

- A cutter

- A black indelible marker

- A rule

General procedure

Household pinhole camera

1. Separate both parts of the matchbox, and in principle stay only with the drawer. With a ruler,
locate your exact center, and draw a square of 24 x 24 millimeters around it.
That will be the surface of the negative that will be exposed to light, meaning that with these
measurements, our camera will take square photos. The conventional format is 24 x 36 millimeters, and you
can also do so.

2. Retake the outside of the matchbox. Find its center, and draw around it a square one centimeter on each
side. Cut it out

On the outside of the matchbox we look for the center of the box in the same way we did with the box. We
draw in it a central square

Household pinhole camera - pinhole

3. Now you must make your "pinhole" or "pinhole", the extremely small hole through which the light will
pass. You need a black and opaque cardboard (be careful with the common cards, which are often
translucent), and you should place it on a relatively soft surface (like other cardboard or paper), to pierce it
with great care with a fine needle in the center. The hole should be as thin as possible.

Pinhole homemade photo camera - pinhole

The light must be seen through the hole.

homemade pinhole camera - matchbox

4. Take the outer part of the matchbox, and adjust the perforated opaque cardboard in it so that the hole is
just in the center of the box, that is, in the center of the opening that we made earlier. Stick it with adhesive
tape and make sure that all the joints are perfectly covered so that light can not pass through them. That is
absolutely important, because a single ray of light will ruin the photo. To blind it to light, paint the box inside
with a black marker.

Una caja de cerillas

- Un carrete fotográfico nuevo de 35mm

- Un rollo vacío de 35mm con un poco de película (1cm como mínimo) sobresaliente

- Trozos de cartón delgado, el mismo de la caja del nuevo carrete puede ir bien

- Un palito de helado

- Cinta aislante (es muy importante que sea negra)

- Cinta adhesiva normal

- Una aguja de coser lo más fina posible

- Tijeras

- Un cúter
- Un rotulador indeleble negro

- Una regla

Procedimiento general

Cámara de fotos estenopeica casera

1. Separa ambas partes de la caja de cerillas, y en principio quédate sólo con el cajón. Con un regla, ubica su
centro exacto, y dibuja un cuadrado de 24 x 24 milímetros en torno a él.

Esa será la superficie del negativo que quedará expuesta a la luz, es decir que con estas medidas, nuestra
cámara tomará fotos cuadradas. El formato convencional es de 24 x 36 milímetros, y también puedes
hacerlo así.

2. Vuelve a tomar la parte exterior de la caja de cerillas. Busca su centro, y dibuja al rededor de él un
cuadrado de un centímetro de lado. Recórtalo.

En la parte exterior de la caja de cerillas buscamos el centro de la caja del mismo modo que hicimos con el
cajón. Dibujamos en él un cuadrado central

Cámara de fotos estenopeica casera - estenopo

3. Ahora deberás hacer tu "estenopo" o "pinhole", el orificio extremadamente pequeño por el que pasará la
luz. Necesitas un cartón negro y opaco (cuidado con las cartulinas comunes, que muchas veces son
traslúcidas), y deberás colocarlo sobre alguna superficie relativamente blanda (como otro cartón o papeles),
para perforarlo con mucho cuidado con una aguja fina en el centro. El orificio debe ser lo más fino posible.

Cámara de fotos estenopeica casera - pinhole

Debe verse la luz a través del orificio.

cámara de fotos estenopeica casera - caja de cerillas

4. Retoma la parte exterior de la caja de cerillas, y ajusta en ella el cartón opaco perforado para que el
orificio quede justo en el centro de la caja, es decir en el centro de la abertura que realizamos
anteriormente. Pégalo con cinta adhesiva y asegúrate de que todas las juntas queden perfectamente
cubiertas para que la luz no pueda pasar por ellas. Eso es absolutamente importante, porque un sólo rayo de
luz arruinará la foto. Para cegarla a la luz del todo, pinta la caja por dentro con rotulador negro.