[dms]

-- There is a Canadian company making variable aperture pinhole lens (Pinhole Pro: Professional Pinhole Lens For DSLR & SLR Camera).
-- They have reached their money goal, and are making number of mounts including Pentax K. Price is about $70 for people who pledge.
-- Last 4 days of the program.

---

Last edited by dms; 05-30-2017 at 07:24 PM.

[Adam]

Link?

[Mr Bassie]

Pinhole Pro: Professional Pinhole Lens For DSLR & SLR Camera by Thingyfy ? Kickstarter

---------- Post added 05-30-17 at 11:15 PM ----------

Price is $50 usd

[dms]

I did a few calculations using an earlier comment in this (Kickstarter) project, and find the pinhole diameters are likely pretty well thought out**--although I should caution that I don't do pinhole photography (yet) but used a reliable (IMO) reference in the following. It was a comment I left in that project--as follows.

Using Phillip Reed's earlier comment (calculations) I obtain the following for Pentax K (easily adjusted for other cameras). Following specific numbers w/ Pentax K extension tubes, and using Blaker in “Field Photography” [1976] page 352. He quotes result from Kingslake “Lenses in Photography” [1963] as follows:
Optimum diameter [mm] = 0.032 SQRT [Focal Length (mm)]
And using Pentax K Extension Tubes (12mm, 19 mm, 26 mm) it would seem three optimal choices are as follows:

1) lens w/o extension (Focal Length = 50 mm) Optimal Pinhole D ~ 0.25 mm and ~ f/223
2) lens w/ 26 mm extension (F.L. = 76 mm) Optimal Pinhole D ~ 0.30 mm and ~ f/280
3) lens w/ 57 mm extension (F.L. = 107 mm) Optimal Pinhole D ~ 0.35 mm and ~ f/340

_____
** They are: 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.5, 0.8 mm

[Na Horuk]

Im not sure I understand. Can you adjust the aperture on the fly? Or do you have to dismount the lens, take it apart, change the inner plates?

[dms]

Internally it has a disk with holes of varying size. The center of this disk is offset, so as you turn the aperture ring, it moves a different hole under the larger center opening of the "lens" assembly. Probably similar in design to a lens with several filters built in.

So yes, on the fly, like a screw mount lens set to manual.

[angerdan]

Anyone here who got the Pinhole Pro?

[Lord Lucan]

I would imagine that while interesting, most people will find there is only so far you can go with a pinhole lens. They only seem to be offering one focal length; it would have been better if they had a helicoid type variable length lens. A set of K-mount extension tubes with masking tape over the end, make your own pin-hole, might be a cheaper and more versatile way to go. The size of the pin-hole is not critical (just a prick will do) as you will be caught between diffraction error with a small hole on the one hand, and lack of focus with a larger hole on the other; but you can experiment. If you don't feel you have exhausted the experiment then you can always buy this Pinhole-Pro afterwards.

[dms]

-- Yes I have one, I have not had the chance to use it--so my comments are only about the construction. It seems they thought heavy and large make it good. Seems like huge overkill. Very large and very heavy. And I gather it will not mount on the K-1, which is a big deal as for pinhole lens one wants as large sensor as possible.
--I would not recommend it, and doubt I will use it.
--I have a multi-hole Finney Field Cameras one--that is far better construction, except it is 75mm FL, and I was interested in wider field.

[Na Horuk]

And I gather it will not mount on the K-1, which is a big deal as for pinhole lens one wants as large sensor as possible. --I would not recommend it, and doubt I will use it.

Well come on, at least do a test shot with each of the settings before you toss it in the garbage

[Macario]

with the K-3

[travelswsage]

Very nice shot Macario! Definitely inspiring.


I did support the original one on Kickstarter (this is the second campaign for a wider angle one) -- I only received a replacement a few weeks ago for their originally shipped one but have not had a chance to get outside and test it. Maybe this weekend ...


Just an fyi -- from the first campaign the originally shipped lenses did not mount on the K-1 -- similar to the Sigma problem where the mount did not take the K-1s prism into account. Thingyfy handled the issue professionally and redesigned the mount so that the newer version does mount on the K-1 and shipped the second when it was ready without an extra fee.

[Lord Lucan]

-- from the first campaign the originally shipped lenses did not mount on the K-1 -- similar to the Sigma problem where the mount did not take the K-1s prism into account. Thingyfy handled the issue professionally

How the heck did they manage to design a pinhole lens that was so large as to foul part of the camera body? You cannot get a much smaller physical requirement than a pinhole lens, diameter-wise anyway. Some of those FF lenses for the K1 are bigger than baked bean cans, but they still fit.

As for handling professionally, I would not call making a lens without taking all likely use situations into acccount very "professional". The word "incompetence" springs to my mind instead.

[dms]

How the heck did they manage to design a pinhole lens that was so large as to foul part of the camera body? You cannot get a much smaller physical requirement than a pinhole lens, diameter-wise anyway. Some of those FF lenses for the K1 are bigger than baked bean cans, but they still fit.

As for handling professionally, I would not call making a lens without taking all likely use situations into acccount very "professional". The word "incompetence" springs to my mind instead.

Exactly, as I indicated earlier. The idea of making a pinhole lens huge/heavy shows no sense of what is appropriate, And then to not be able to mount it on a FF Pentax--when pinhole really works best with as large a sensor/film as possible. It soured me on the product, such that I have not been interested in using it.

[travelswsage]

Wow dms, lord lucan,


Don't you guys think you are being a little harsh. This is a $50 product. I'll admit when I got the first lens and couldn't mount it I was pissed as hell -- contacted the company and they stated they had just become aware that the K-1 prism was different than all the other K-mount cameras and said they were working on a fix and would send one out shortly (and I could keep the first one which does mount on all Pentax cameras other than the K-1). If a company makes a mistake and does it's best to make it right what more could you really ask for?


As for incompetence by your logic: was Pentax incompetent in designing the K-1 and it's prism so that it was not backward compatible with all existing lenses including Sigma lenses that many Pentax users own? -- what would the alternative be -- Pentax purposely designed the K-1 to knock Sigma out of competition (& to hell with the pentax owners using Sigma)? You guys are aware that the K-1 prism and the clearance for lenses is different from all the preceding K-mount cameras so that some older lenses (Sigma) have problem mounting, right? It's really not that far a stretch to think that a smaller start-up company would have picked up one of the cheaper Pentax bodies, designed the lens for that mount, not realizing the K-1 had a different clearance. You are aware that a new lens manufacturer can pick any single Fuji, Sony, Nikon, Canon, or Olympus camera, design for it's specs and have designed for the entire body line of the manufacturer -- only Pentax has a variation in it's bodies and that is with the K-1 so as annoying as it was to receive a lens that didn't mount I do understand what happened.

Exactly, as I indicated earlier. The idea of making a pinhole lens huge/heavy shows no sense of what is appropriate, And then to not be able to mount it on a FF Pentax--when pinhole really works best with as large a sensor/film as possible. It soured me on the product, such that I have not been interested in using it.

I have no clue what you are talking about. The lens is neither huge nor heavy -- it is smaller than and weighs about the same as the extension tubes I have. Get a grip -- if you consider this lens heavy you probably should be thinking point and shoot and not K-1.


I'm not a spokesperson for this company so I don't care one way or the other whether you buy or use this product but I do think your comments overly harsh.