Photo with my new (from Ebay) 8x10 pinhole camera

 Well, I had a chance to use the pinhole camera that I purchased a week ago from Ebay. It is not a new camera, it looks as if it has been used, and it was missing a few items. I talked about it, the fact that it was missing the dowel at the back (the "tightener") that holds the film holder flush with the back of the camera, and of course, the shutter, there was no shutter, only the outline where something had been located.

I had a film holder with a blank sheet of Arista 200 film, saved from my miserable trip to the university on Nov. 1st, when I took my printed 8x10 camera and it fell off the tripod, splinter with a sound of crashing glass. I used that frame today. What could I photograph? I did not want to go anywhere special, I just needed to confirm that the camera works. So I went in the back yard and aimed it at a flower tree that my mom calls "el obelisco". Not too many flowers, though.

This time, I thought, since the pinhole is larger than for my other camera, I would try a shorter exposure. I set it for 30 seconds. It was probably more than enough. For the other box pinhole camera I had bought, I would have needed at least two minutes. I think I have a handle on exposure times, based on the result I obtained.

The problem, though, is that the square shutter I made out of construction paper vignettes it heavily. Only a small box view is obtained, not the full frame of the negative. So, I know, the shutter will not work. I will tape on a cover from now on, but also, think about another shutter design. Maybe I will attach a UV ring filter and then, a lens cap to open or close exposure.

I am very, very, very pleased. The photo is so much sharper than what I was obtaining with the other 8x10 camera from Greece. This one is better, sharper and exposure times that are much shorter. I can't wait to use it on other compositions. Also, the box depth is about 85mm. That means, I have the possibility that I could take out the pinhole, add a helicoid and fit in my 121mm lens, if it still works! I still have to see if the lens still works, though. 

For now, I have four 8x10 film holder and about 30 sheets of 8x10 film. I think I will order the 20th Century Camera 8x10 reel, and the Patterson tank, so that I can process two sheets at a time. And I will give this camera a run. I might even attach a red filter to darken the sky, although I think that would take me back to the exposure times I needed for my old 8x10 camera.