Flatpack pinhole camera gets back to photography basics

Pinhole cameras – that use a pin hole rather than a lens – have been around since the beginning of photography and could be, to coin a popular phrase, a form of "vintage" innovation. A recent Kickstarter project aims to bring this established photographic methodology back to today's users in the form of an assemble-it-yourself cardboard pinhole camera.

The Pop-Up Pinhole project enables a pinhole camera, dubbed the Videre, to be constructed entirely from thick, printed and die-cut recycled card.The medium-format camera's relatively large negative size helps produce good image quality, although the placement of the pinhole is very important.

A curved film plane is used to provide a consistent exposure to the edges of the negative and compensate for light fall-off. Of course, the images are only viewable after the film has been developed, which combined with a limited number of exposures per roll of film encourages a more considered approach to taking a snap.

London-based creator Kelly Angood describes the camera as "anti-tech" and all about getting back to the basics of photography, although she admits to being asked how many mega-pixels the camera has. The project aims to minimize environmental impact by using recycled card and vegetable-based ink.

Given the Videre's estimated delivery date of November, Kelly has also made a 35mm pinhole camera available to download and print from the project blog, for those that can't wait for a low-cost introduction to photography.

The Pop-Up Pinhole project has already exceeded its funding goal at the time of writing, although the campaign is still active. The current price for the 120 Videre kit, that contains a flat pack camera, instructions and spare medium format spool, is £30 (US $46). You can see the project story in the short video below.

Source: Kickstarter