Tech Directions - December 2007 - (Page 21)

Actual pinhole camera shot Pinhole Cameras For Science, Art, and Fun! By Clare Button cbutton@wcnet.net A PINHOLE camera is a camera without a lens. A tiny hole replaces the lens, and light is allowed to come in for short amount of time by means of a hand-operated shutter. The pinhole allows only a very narrow beam of light to enter, which reduces confusion due to scattered light on the film. This results in an image that is focused, reversed, and upside down. (See Fig. 1.) Because there is no lens, the depth of field that remains in focus is virtually infinite. That is, every image in the photo will have the same amount of focus. Having students make their own pinhole camera, take photographs, and develop their own picture gives them an excellent—and engaging—educational experience. have built is a rewarding experience in itself. You’ll find excellent supplemental procedures and illustrations at http://users.rcn.com/stewoody. Basically, a pinhole camera is a box with a tiny hole at one end and photographic paper at the other. These instructions are for a camera built with an oatmeal box, but you can use any light-tight box. Other than the materials list, you will need access to a small room or closet that you can make absolutely The Pinhole Camera Activity We make pinhole cameras in my physics class to understand the properties and nature of light. The students make measurements and use optic equations to determine f/stop and exposure time. Students could develop an in-depth investigation and record data by varying focal length and size or number of pinholes. After using their camera, my students better understand the function of a lens in the eye and other optical devices. Students can produce many interesting, unusual, and beautiful effects with a pinhole camera that they couldn’t produce with a camera that has a lens. The act of making and developing images with a camera they Clare Button is a physics teacher, Bay City (TX) High School. Fig. 1—Principle of a pinhole camera: The hole is so small, light from only one direction from each spot hits the film. dark or an actual photographic darkroom. For a darkroom, my students used a closet that three people could work in. I duct taped around the edges of the door, and put a blanket at the bottom. During darkroom use, put a www.techdirections.com COMMUNICATION 21 http://users.rcn.com/stewoody http://www.techdirections.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech Directions - December 2007

Tech Directions - December 2007 Technically Speaking Contents Direct from Washington The News Report Technology Today Technology's Past Mastering Computers Is This Op-Amp Any Good? Lab-Built Checker Removes All Doubt Here Comes the Sun! Residential Solar Systems Add Up to Savings Pinhole Cameras—For Science, Art, and Fun! Poster Project Maps Out Design Process Gifts for Geeks E-gallery More than Fun

Tech Directions - December 2007

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