Topic: using a mirror inside a pinhole camera...

[astrobeck]

Because I'm overly curious and never seem to find answers to some of my crazy ideas....

I wanted to make a positive print with the Harman Direct Positive paper in a pinhole camera.
And you're probably thinking well that's what that photo paper was made for Becky, what's wrong with you.
 
True it makes a positive, but it is still a flipped image, so what is right is left and what's left is right and if you have printed matter in the image it will be backwards until you flip it in photo-shop.

 I wanted it to come out as I see it and not flipped and reversed as it actually does when you develop the paper right out of the camera.

 My solution was to put a mirror inside the pinhole where the photo paper would normally be and then put the photo paper on the pinhole side.
 
This introduces a couple of issues.
 
One is keeping the mirror stuck to the inside back of the pinhole camera, and also since the pinhole would be blocked by putting the photo paper on the inside where the pinhole is, I had to use two pieces of photo paper to take care of NOT blocking the pinhole.

 I found some nice sticky things made by 3m to stick the mirror in the camera with and then used two pieces of photo paper placed right above and just below the pinhole opposite the mirror.

This also introduced another issue of the focal length being double since the light traveling inside the pinhole camera had to go twice the distance to reach the paper.
Once to the mirror and then back to the photo paper.

Long story short is...it's a lot of work to just get the writing correct without flipping it in photoshop to be like it really is.

Here's the result...and I still had to stitch it together, so I can't avoid photoshop...
However, I might do one more with just a tiny hole in the photo paper to let the light through to the mirror....
This is just a test shot, and the weird squigglies in the middle of the photo are probably defects in the mirror or weird reflections...

[SLVR]

Interesting idea! First thing that came to mind would have been to put a mirror angled left or right within the box and load the paper on the side of the camera? (think olympus pen F) Im wondering how this would work. You could use one piece of paper.

[JoeV]

Very interesting, Becky. I would also assume that a mirror in the back, angled 45 degrees, would project an image to paper mounted on the side of the camera. Front surfaced mirror, of course.

This reminds me of a pinhead camera project (using a front surfaced mirror the size of a pinhole to project an image into a side mounted camera) that I never was able to get working without light leaks. I'll have to post something on this someday, if I every get it working.

~Joe

(Edit: Pinhead, not pinspeck)

[Francois]

They had a similar problem with the Polaroid SX-70. The solution is to have the paper flat at the bottom and have a mirror at 45° across the camera.
The mirror doesn't cut the light and you get a right sided image on the paper. The only drawback is that if you use a regular mirror, you will get a slight ghost image. This is why the SX-70 uses a front plate mirror.

[astrobeck]

I may dink around with it a bit more, but at the moment it's not high on my list of things to dink with....

Right now I have a water heater that is not heating water.....

The joys of owing a home...
:-)

[Sandeha Lynch]

Pinhole in your paper?

[Ezzie]

I like the idea.

45 degree mirror maybe? Complicates fabrication of course

[astrobeck]

Pinhole in your paper?

Yes, that will be my next attack...when I get to it.
Hot water in the house again!
 

[Francois]

I like the idea.

45 degree mirror maybe? Complicates fabrication of course

Well, yes and no.
You can just make a square box and shove the mirror in before closing it up. You just have to remember Pythagoras' principle to calculate the size of the mirror so that it fits snug.