A new pinhole camera which allows you to shoot onto 4×5 photographic paper and develop the print inside the camera has been funded on Kickstarter in less than four hours.
The new Pinsta Instant Camera Micro Darkroom and Negative Enlarger has been created by British photographer and inventor Oliver New. The camera can take pictures and be used to develop the resulting images.
“Pinsta is a camera which can shoot directly onto positive 4×5 inch photographic paper. It develops internally, and can be used on the go, wherever you are and whenever you like for creating and sharing real analogue prints!” says New on the camera’s Kickstarter page.
The camera is also a mini enlarger, New says. “Simply load your negatives into the internal enlargement slide and you can enlarge them onto 4×5 inch paper. You can even create prints with fun and creative frames and overlays using Pinsta’s ingenious internal slide system.”
He says the camera can be used to produce prints at home or out and about.
The cameras are available for as little as £155 ($213/€183). Pinsta was seeking funding of £20,000 ($27,500/€23,660) which was reached in only three and a half hours, New says. At time of writing the campaign had raised nearly £29,000 and was poised to meet its first stretch goal, which adds a laser-cut keyring.
The camera is loaded with photographic paper in a dark bag and typically captures an exposure in around two minutes in sunny weather, New says. The prints are then developed by attaching syringes with developing liquid and inserting and then extracting the developer. “When you are developing the camera body is your darkroom and your camera back becomes your developing tray,” the Kickstarter page says.
“Developing of black and white paper is a simple process so you can’t really get it wrong. Develop for one minute, fix for 30 seconds to four minutes (depending on the paper) and add water to wash before revealing your amazing photographic print. A set of syringes will develop around 4-5 shots depending on which photographic paper you are using. The syringes are then replenished with your own chemistry once it is exhausted.”
(Examples of images shot or enlarged with the camera)
Enlarging negatives involves placing the desired negative inbetween the shutter and the photographic paper. “You then rotate the shutter disc to position the diffuser spot over the pinhole. Illuminating this spot with a bright light source transposes your negative onto the photographic paper inside. Your enlargement is then developed as if you had taken a photo.”
The Kickstarter campaign runs until 18 November.
Pinsta says: “We have lots of plans for Pinsta and our hope is that it becomes a mainstay in the photography world. We see Pinsta not only as great fun for the hobbyist and an excellent tool for artistic creators but also as a brilliant learning tool. Our hope is that Pinsta cameras will be used all over the world in education and in recreational photography workshops alike.”
Add-on products in the future could include film backs for 35mm or 120 film, a wide0-angle back, and an associated phone app to work out exposure.
You can see more demonstrations of the Pinsta camera on the Pinsta YouTube channel.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
I love the fact that it can be used as a enlarger as well – it reminds of some the early daylight enlargers I’ve heard about! Even though it the enlargements are 4 x5, it would still be good for making small prints.