Pinhole camera
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The pinhole camera is a manual, lensless, often handmade camera. It literally takes long-exposure photos through a pinhole that projects an inverted image into a darkened box. Pinhole cameras serve many purposes, from purely artistic to the scientific.
History
Records of images being made with a pinhole go back as far as the fifth century B.C. Pinhole imagery was used during the Renaissance in the 15th century for astronomy, art and even to tell time; the study of pinhole photography includes a wealth of history from throughout the ages.
Art
A common reason pinhole cameras are used today is artistic. Pinhole cameras create a distinctive, ethereal look favored by some artists, and making the cameras has become an art in itself.
Experimentation
When learning about the photographic process, making and using a pinhole camera gives the photographer a close-up look at how pictures are made simply using light. Experimentation is both fun and helps to provide an understanding of how all different kinds of cameras work.
Science
The pinhole camera has long been used in astronomy, and it remains useful in scientific applications today, including nuclear physics. Pinhole cameras were used to photograph various rays from the sun throughout the 20th century.
Fun and Entertainment
Giant pinhole cameras that can be occupied have been made out of rooms, cathedrals and even an empty military aircraft hangar (the source of the "world's largest pinhole camera image). Large pinhole cameras, such as San Francisco's Camera Obscura, continue to be tourist attractions around the world.
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