How To Make a Pintoid Camera

One of the many things you can do with an Altoids tin is make a pinhole camera, or a "Pintoid" camera, that can capture scenery. Not only can this turn into an interesting hobby, but these nifty little cameras also make interesting gifts!

Step 1  

Drill a hole approx 1/4" into the nutrition info. File away any sharp edges and sand the inside of the tin. Spray paint the inside of the can flat black.

Step 2  

Pinhole making apparatus: An acupuncture needle, three porcupine quills and a sewing needle glued into a clothespin.

Step 3  

Cut some small pieces from a pie tin, or other suitable material.

Step 4  

Using a piece of cardboard as backing, turn and press while holding the clothespin in a vertical position. This creates a round groove in preparation for the next step.

Step 5  

Make a hole with an acupuncture needle.

Step 6  

Check the pinholes for roundness on a light table with a loupe. If the hole isn't perfectly round, chuck it and make a new one.

Step 7  

Using Gaffer's tape, tape the pinhole to the inside of the 1/4" drilled hole. Gaffer's tape is black, cloth-like tape. It's flat black unlike most electrical tape, which is shiny.

Step 8  

Place a piece of black tape over the outside of the pinhole as a shutter. You can also use black cardboard, especially for Multitoids, as these multiple-holed Pintoids need to have all of the holes opened and closed simultaneously.

Step 9  

In complete darkness (a darkroom or changing bag), tape a strip of film inside the Pintoid lid . The emulsion side should face the pinhole.

Step 10  

Close the tin and wrap it with black electrical tape to prevent light leaks. Electrical tape is cheaper than Gaffer's tape.

Step 11  

Exposure . Sewing-needle holes need about four seconds on a sunny day. Indoors, anywhere from 10 minutes to hours may be necessary depending on the amount of light and the desired effect. Acupuncture needles require longer exposure - generally use about one minute on a sunny day. Exposure times of one half hour to many hours aren't unusual for indoor images.

Step 12  

Processing . Load the negative strips (in complete darkness) onto plastic reels for tank processing. Continue to slide the strips onto the reel, keeping spaces between each strip. You can generally get five to seven strips onto one reel.

Step 13  

Strips of 35mm negs. These negatives are 125 speed.

Tips

• You can solder a nut onto the outside of some Pintoids as a tripod mount, but the tin is thin and flexible, so mounting the Pintoid on a tripod via rubber bands is a sturdier method.

• Acupuncture needles create smaller holes than sewing needles. They're tough and can be used over and over again with consistently good results.