Pinhole Camera - A Camera Without Lens
The Pinhole camera is the elementary camera that doesn’t have a lens, however it comes with a small aperture, and has a light-proof box with a small hole on one side. The light from the object goes through the aperture and it projects the inverted image on the opposite end of the box, which is known as camera obscura effect.
Ibn Al-Haytham, an Arab scholar, was one of the first persons to demonstrate how we see, and for that purpose Al-Haytham came up with camera obscura, which is the predecessor to pinhole camera. He provided a demonstration on how light is able to project the image on a flat surface. Some of the materials that you require in the making of the pinhole camera includes aluminum foil, tape, paper clip or pin, and two pieces of the white cardstock.
Principle of pinhole camera
The principle of pinhole camera, also referred as camera obscura, is as follows.
The image that is formed by the pinhole camera displays rectilinear light propagation which means pinhole cameras work on the theory that light moves in the straight line.
When the window or shutter is opened, the light illuminates thus forming the image on the film or photographic paper, which is placed on the back side of the camera.
Construction of pinhole camera
If you want to construct the pinhole camera then you must follow these steps.
1) Cut a square hole at the center of one of the pieces of the white cardstock. Next you must tape a foil on the hole.
Now cut a square-shaped aluminum foil and then tape it on the cardstock hole.
Make a hole on the foil and use a pin or paper clip for prodding the hole in aluminum foil.
Now place a second piece of the cardstock on the turf and hold it with the aluminum foil facing up above it.
Next view projected image appearing on cardstock below with the sun behind your back.
The farther the camera is held, the bigger the projected image becomes.
To have the projection more outlined, you can place the bottom piece of the cardstock in the area covered by shadow while the other piece is held in sunlight. You can explore by making different holes in the foil, thereby making distinct patterns, shapes and designs.
Uses of pinhole camera
The pinhole camera is utilized for projecting the specific image on the translucent surface and this facilitates the safe as well as real-time observation of the solar eclipse.
These cameras can be used for surveillance since they are hard to detect.
The pinhole camera can be used for observing reflected images of glittery objects like the sun.
Most of the applications make use of pinhole camera models for the study of sun’s movement over a lengthy period of time. This process is called solargraphy.
FAQs on Pinhole Camera
1. What is the purpose of using pinhole cameras?
The pinhole cameras can trace images on a film or paper for achieving accurate copy. The hole size decides image sharpness that is created on the scene. If the hole size is increased, more light will enter the hole and thus disturb the image formation and you would get a blurred image. This is why it is better to make a small hole. The smaller aperture helps in forming a sharp image on screen.
2. Why is the pinhole camera image inverted?
The pinhole camera image is upside-down because light rays that come from the bottom and top of the object intersect at the pinhole. These light rays converge by passing through the tiny hole. Hence you get the upside-down image in the pinhole camera because the straight propagation or recti-lineaar propagation of light happens via the hole of the pinhole camera. This is the explanation behind the physics involved in the image getting inverted in the pinhole camera.
3. What are the advantages of a pinhole camera?
One of the biggest advantages of the pinhole camera is the size. Since the pinhole doesn’t need a lens, it is available in a wide range of sizes, that includes discreet and small. The flexibility of shape and size gives the modern pinhole camera its USP - surveillance activities and discreet recordings. Since these cameras can be covert, they are hard to detect and thus are widely used for discreetly capturing images, audio, and video.
4. Is the study of pinhole cameras an important concept in physics?
Yes, the pinhole camera is an important topic or concept in physics. This is because it has various applications of the laws of physics that are significant and helps the students understand the functioning of numerous aspects related to physics.If you want to learn comprehensively about everything related to pinhole camera then you can do it by downloading the learning resource from Vedantu website or app for free.
5. How can I download the study note on Pinhole camera from Vedantu?
If you want to deep dive and learn about the pinhole camera in detail then you can do so by downloading the learning resource on the subject provided by Vedantu. The pinhole camera concept and its documentation can be downloaded for free in the form of PDF file. You just need to visit here and then click on the “Download PDF” option. This will download the PDF file on your device for offline use.
