Using the camera

The Matchbox Pinhole camera has an f number of about f90. There's no need to be very accurate about exposure times when using colour print film, use the following as a rough guide when using ISO100 or 200 film.

Outside, sunshine: 1 or 2 seconds

Outside, cloudy conditions: 5 seconds

Indoors, normal room lighting: 5 - 10 minutes

When the film can't be wound on any more it's time to unload the film. You can just cut the box open, but if you are careful you can reuse the camera many times. If you are reusing the camera, carefully push back the tape to find the end of the clicker plastic, grasp with a pair of pliers, and remove the clicker. This prevents the clicker tearing the film as it is rewound. Seal the tape back down again, and wind the film back into the original canister. Remove the tape carefully from around this and cut off the film, leaving enough sticking out of the camera to splice your next roll.

The film can be developed by any normal photo lab. It might be a good idea to tell them that the frame spacing might be a bit irregular when you drop the film off - if the staff are helpful they might take a little more care when printing.

Don't worry too much about exposure times, experiment with the first roll and see what happens - you'll be surprised how forgiving film is! Most important of all, have fun !

More pinhole photography related reading.......

Other photography pages

Vivitar Ultra Wide And Slim Repair