[BrianR]

The OP is looking for something for landscape pictures. That requires a wide angle, and pinholes can certainly offer a wide angle view.

You're in the 45mm or longer focal length range for a k-mount dslr. This isn't very wide on a 16*24mm sensor. It will also be dust-tacular. I've only tried a homemade one on my dslr, and it wasn't fun for long. It's way more fun using traditional film or paper negatives

[UncleVanya]

You're in the 45mm or longer focal length range for a k-mount dslr. This isn't very wide on a 16*24mm sensor. It will also be dust-tacular. I've only tried a homemade one on my dslr, and it wasn't fun for long. It's way more fun using traditional film or paper negatives

I have tried two - one was precision made and had a plastic cover inside the hole to try to circumvent dust. It and the one without the cover both failed miserably no matter what exposure, no matter what tripod. They have a certain charm but nothing really special. At least not on any digital I have owned. The pinhole cameras that worked for me all used very large enlarging paper as their film. An oatmeal box with a sheet in it worked well.
I think sensor size and diffraction really destroy some of the potential.

[redrockcoulee]

Didn't intend to be sarcastic.


Also didn't know that a pinhole device wouldn't work on a dslr. Really, I've seen lots of unusual light gathering methods employed, and read about using a pinholes with them. Even seen images supposedly made with them.

The OP is looking for something for landscape pictures. That requires a wide angle, and pinholes can certainly offer a wide angle view.


Just offering a very low cost solution.

I have shot both pinhole and zone plate images on my Pentax digital cameras. They work but the widest you can go is 46mm. Some sell pinholes that have some covering over the opening to keep dust off of them. Personally I prefer to use larger formats for pinholes and yes there are many beautiful landscape images created on digital cameras with a pinhole lens. Sometimes a mood is more important that a razor sharp image.

---------- Post added 01-15-17 at 12:52 PM ----------

I have tried two - one was precision made and had a plastic cover inside the hole to try to circumvent dust. It and the one without the cover both failed miserably no matter what exposure, no matter what tripod. They have a certain charm but nothing really special. At least not on any digital I have owned. The pinhole cameras that worked for me all used very large enlarging paper as their film. An oatmeal box with a sheet in it worked well.
I think sensor size and diffraction really destroy some of the potential.

Our currently largest pinhole camera is an Iams cat food container that can cover a sheet of 14X17 xray film.

[officiousbystander]

I gave my Kx and 18-55 to my 14 yo nephew for his family's big two month South America holiday. He brought back some amazing photos. As you can imagine there were hundreds and I went through all of them. What was encouraging is you could see that his photography improved dramatically from the beginning to the end of the trip. While sharpness, colour and contrast are important elements of good photography, the starting point is always going to be developing the ability to spot story telling images and capture engaging compositions. Once you're no longer describing yourself as a noob, you'll know what lens you need and you may have saved up enough money to get it. As Bryan Peterson (search YouTube) loves to say: You keep shooting.

[E-man]

While sharpness, colour and contrast are important elements of good photography, the starting point is always going to be developing the ability to spot story telling images and capture engaging compositions. Once you're no longer describing yourself as a noob, you'll know what lens you need and you may have saved up enough money to get it. As Bryan Peterson (search YouTube) loves to say: You keep shooting.

I couldn't agree more. The best lens in the world isn't going to improve your photographer's eye for composition. That's just going to take practice. When I started shooting for a newspaper back in the late '80s (I was primarily a reporter but often shot my own photos to go along with my stories), I had owned my Minolta X-570 for about 2 1/2 years but I really didn't understand how little I knew about composition until I started shooting two or three rolls of film a day--and sometimes more--and started listening to the technical advice I got from the other full time photographers. One photographer wasn't too helpful but I think he didn't really approve of writers crossing the proverbial union lines to take their own pictures. The other two were very helpful, pointing out flaws in composition, exposure, and especially in darkroom technique. I very quickly began to develop (no pun intended) a photographer's eye, eventually seeing the world as though framed in a viewfinder, even when I didn't have a camera in front of my face. It takes time and practice and getting--and listening to--feedback from other, more experienced shooters is absolutely invaluable.