I just got an email from Wanderlust (the creators of the Pinwide cap for Micro Four Thirds):
Press release:
“Wanderlust Cameras is proud to announce the general availability of Pinwide, the world’s widest digital pinhole. Designed specifically for Micro Four Thirds cameras, the impressive 11mm focal length (22mm equivalent) finally brings real wide-angle pinhole photography into the digital era.
Wanderlust’s Pinwide is a true Kickstarter success story, with 100% of the US-based tooling and manufacturing costs funded by preorders from Kickstarter backers. After shipping over 600 preorders, Wanderlust Cameras is excited to invite everyone to join in the fun!
About Pinwide
Lens mount: Micro Four Thirds. With the exception of the Panasonic AF100, Pinwide
is compatible with all Micro Four Thirds cameras.
Aperture: ƒ/96 ~ ƒ/128
Field of view: ~ 80°
Focal length: 11mm (22mm equivalent)
Materials: Precision injection molded polycarbonate with a scientific-grade metal
aperture
Designed and manufactured in the United States
Software: Specialized Pinwide processing software arriving May 2011 allows fine-tuning
Price: $39.99, shipping today at http://wanderlustcameras.com”
There are more pinwide caps for sale on eBay (mostly made by asian companies):
– Skink Pinhole Pancake Pro Lens Kit for Olympus PEN on [shoplink 21696 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
– Pinhole Cap Lens for m43 on [shoplink 21697 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
– Skink Pinhole Pancake Creative Kit for Four Thirds on [shoplink 21698 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
33 Responses
ah cool, will be ordering mine today 😀
I bet the depth of field of this on m43 can’t compare with a pinhole cap on full-frame, or even APS-C. I’ll pass.
i thought infinite DOF was the point
I hope you’re kidding. Pinhole photography by its very nature has infinite depth of field. It doesn’t matter if you’re using full frame, APS-C or m43.
Any effects of diffraction?
Focal length = 22mm
f/96 – f/128
Hole diameter ~ 0.2mm
hmm, it’s good business to sell a pin hole for 40 dollars
40 dollars isn’t exactly a kings ransom, plus I will get consistent results and will be able to quickly change lenses unlike a home made contraption…
The depth of field is effectively infinite. You would probably get a sharper image with a larger sensor; but the images are a lot of fun. I did a mini-review here:
http://www.pattayadays.com/2011/04/a-holy-day/
Yet another “lens” we can stick on the front of our M4/3 cameras; great!
I’m new to this pinhole stuff. But @ f/96? Won’t that makes it hard to take good images? What should we do to tackle this very small aperture?
Slow shutter speeds and a tripod. It being hard is sort of the point.
Just ordered mine
Reza – I bet you’re right, but I know and understand the limitations of my machine.
I don’t have the funds (nor the inclination) to go down the FF nor the APS-C route. I’ve decided on 4/3 and m4/3, and I’m very very happy with it. Why would you buy into a system then bemoan its limitations?? Be creative with what’s available.
Behold!! Plastic cup with hole in it for only $40. Let the dust come in to your precious sensor!!
dust finds it hard pressed to stay on a four thirds sensor or a micro four thirds sensor, haven’t you heard?
Sure, why to have cup on it at all right.
occasionally I do shoot with the lens held close to the bayonet fitting for macro shooting, dust is not something I lose sleep over…
They should update it to include a lens cap… for the lens cap.
The thing is just a hole? No glass to protect the sensor?
Getting dust on the sensor would be a worry for me!
So, what’s the big deal about a pinhole?
When I want wide angle, I reach for my 7-14mm… 😉
Takes neat looking photos.
+1
I would also be concerned about sensor dust.
but …its just a pinhole? It doesn’t have a fan mounted in it to blow microscopic dust on you sensor…. WOW. I have my issues….but I am not sitting around thinking about this nonsense!!!!! Let’s take pictures!!!!!! 🙂
“a scientific-grade metal aperture”
So its got a piece of ordinary aluminium with a hole drilled through it then.
nice package
and the slimmest pancake i have ever seen 🙂
I received my Pinwide last week (because I backed the project on Kickstarter).
It’s a cool toy, but don’t expect sharpness (this is an area where bigger sensors holdf an advantage).
At an equivalent focal lenght of 22mm, it’s also the cheapest wide angle you can get on M4/3, by far.
As per the comment about pinholes on full frame sensors: all full frame sensors have mirrors, so the widest achievable focal lenght for FF is around 50mm, which is much tighter than 22mm.
(Besides, you still can not get a sharp picture with pinholes on full frame, it only starts looking nice at medium format size or bigger.)
Regardless of the size of the sensor, I was pleasantly surprised by the results. The Pinwide beats all my previous attempts at pinholes on bigger sensors.
Now, I’ll need to clean my sensor (the dust was already there, the pinhole only showed it all too clearly).
michel v says: “all full frame sensors have mirrors”.
Not quite – the Leica M9 doesn’t.
Why is it not compatible with the AF-AG100? Perhaps due to the built in ND filters of that machine.
This pinhole extends a bit into the lens mount and may interfere with the ND filter mechanism?
probably won’t be compatible with the GH3 then 🙁 would also like to see a Four Thirds version
f96! wonder how much exposure time needs to snal a still?
In good light, about half a second at ISO 100.
If you want to see some sample images using the Pinwide:
Sensor dust is not a big issue: the hole is very, very small and you are more likely to get dust in changing lenses. One bonus is the extreme Aperture makes spotting any existing dust on your sensor very easy!
Sample Image:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyleanstey/5601957500/
More are available in a set on my Flickr
at last! glad to see that it’s getting its release 🙂
Nice marketing
I ordered mine last week; I can’t wait for it to arrive!