Pinhole Leicas

[Oddmund Garvik <garvik@i-t.fr>]

At 19:57 25/02/1997 -0500, Dan Cardish wrote:
>At 03:57 PM 25-02-97 -0800, Oddmund wrote:
<snip>
>
>Why don't you develop a web page and post some of these pin-hole pictures?
>There was a thread a few days ago (yes, we don't always talk about you ;-) )
>about buying pinhole lenses for M-Leicas.  I thought it was crazy, but then
>what do I know?
>
<snip>

It is a very good idea and it is one of my projects. A general page with
interesting (?) links and pictures. But my family is growing again, and I am
rather poor (financially...), so in the meantime I have got to collect
funds, i.e. work with other things. 

Our Swedish ex(?) LUG member, Hans Pahlen, still has a nice web page at: 
          
          http://www.komvux.mark.se/hp635.htm 

An old friend of mine from the university days in Bergen, Norway in the
beginning of the seventies, Jon Grepstad, is a passionate large format and
pinhole camera builder. You will find his very interesting web page at:

          http://home.sn.no/~gjon/

Pinhole pictures has a special "glow", at least when you see good original
prints. I have never really thought about a pinhole Leica M before, but why
not! As you know I have got rid of my M-leicas, so it's too late for me. I
got an old 4x5 in. wood camera much cheaper, even with some necessary repair. 

I use a simple table with best aperture diameter, equivalent f-stop,
exposure factor (f/64) for focal lengths from f/85 10mm up to f/855 1000mm.
The only problem is that my table doesn't include the exposure time
variations due to the law of reciprocity (Schwarzschild factor). I will need
to adjust it.    

I am using a hand hold meter preselecting f/64 as reference. Any good meter
can handle that. If for instance shutter speed is determined to be 1/30 s at
f/64 and the pinhole diameter is 0,35 mm (corresponding to a f/256 90mm
lens), I multiply the indicated shutter speed with the f/64 exposure factor
(here 16): 1/30 x 16 = 1/2 s approximatively. Easy, but not for action pictures.

I have done some landscapes around here, and I will try to make some
portraits this way. Chinon is a famous wine district, and I should like to
"collect" some of the old wine growers before they disappear, old techniques
and tools. A purely documentary project.           

If any of you would like to make a pinhole-M, give me a hint. It is easy to
do, no lens, no problem. You can even use a Coke can for the purpose. This
way the Coca Cola could serve an intelligent purpose for once...

Regards

Oddmund

Chinon, France

PS: I *never* drink Coke and wine bottles are transparent. I might have to
buy another Leica! A new approach to the beloved philosophy!