CS 194 Project 2

Authors: Anoop Baliga, Ani Surumpudi, Larry Zhou

Overview

In this lab, we created a pinhole camera. This was an extremely interesting project that taught us how to utilize basic materials and create a fairly clear image of the world around us.

Camera Set Up

We used a standard shoebox with 2 holes in it. One hole was for the camera, while the other hole was for the light to enter. In addition to this we had a black paper with 3 different pinhole sizes. In order to easily and quickly alter the pinhole size, for each camera take we would rotate the black paper on the shoebox pinhole. The camera we happened to use was the Nikon D5000 model. This was an optimal camera as we could control the shutter speed and apeture of the images itself. After playing around with the settings for a while, we determined that a shutter speed of 10 seconds, with an F value of 8.0, and ISO of 3200 was the optimal setting to take these photos (for the most part!).

Optimal Pinhole Sizes

We used a .1 mm pinhole, 3 mm pinhole, and 5 mm pinhole as outlined theb spec requirements. Let’s name this as small, medium, and large. Overall we found that the medium pinhole performed the best when it came to the clarity of the photos. The large pinhole let too much light in and either made the image blurry or very white. The small pinhole didn’t let enough light in and as a result the image was slightly dark. The medium pinhole was just right and provided a clear image. Please see below for our 2 chosen locations taken with 3 different pinhole sizes.

Evans

Below are images from the large pinhole size, medium pinhole size, and small pinhole size in that order. As shown below, the middle picture/pinhole size produces the clearest image.

Doe Library

Below are images from the large pinhole size, medium pinhole size, and small pinhole size in that order. As shown below, the middle picture/pinhole size produces the clearest image.

4 Extra Images

The four extra photos we took were of Haas step, 2222 Piedmont Avenue House across from Memorial Stadium, the Campanile and North Gate Circle.

Challenges and Key Learnings

There were plently of challenges during the project. The first one was ensuring that the shoebox we used was completely devoid of light seeping in. The second challenge was getting camera settings to align properly. The third major challenge was capturing the image correctly based on the light source.