Marcy's Pintoid How-to

Welcome to Marcy's Pintoid how-to page!

Everyone's asking "How can a make a Pintoid for myself?" Here's how I do it:

(Please excuse my lack of fingernail polish. The day I posted this page, I was taking a break from the rigors of feminine upkeep.)

Get your self a really good supply of empty Altoids containers in many flavors, shapes and sizes.

Drill a hole approx 1/4" into the nutrition info. File away any sharp edges and sand the inside of the tin. Spray paint the inside of the can flat black.

I've soldered a nut onto the outside of some of my Pintoids as a tripod mount. I've found that the tin is thin and flexible, so mounting the Pintoid on a tripod via rubber bands is a sturdier method.

The Hole:

Pinhole making apparatus: An acupuncture needle, three porcupine quills and a sewing needle glued into a clothespin.

Cut some small pieces from a pie tin, or other suitable material.

Using a piece of cardboard as backing, turn and press while holding the clothespin in a vertical position.

Making a hole with an acupuncture needle. I've found that acupuncture needles create smaller holes than sewing needles. They're tough and can be used over and over again with consistently good results.

I check the pinholes for roundness on a light table with a loupe. If the hole isn't perfectly round, I chuck it and make a new one.

Comparing an acupuncture hole (center) to a sewing needle hole (right). That's Barbie's foot on the left - no reason.

Putting it all together:

Using Gaffer's tape, tape the pinhole to the inside of the 1/4" drilled hole. Gaffer's tape is black, cloth-like tape. It's flat black unlike most electrical tape, which is shiny.

Place a piece of black tape over the outside of the pinhole as a shutter. I also use black cardboard, especially for Multitoids, as these multiple-holed Pintoids need to have all of the holes opened and closed simultaneously.

In complete darkness (a darkroom or changing bag), tape a strip of film inside the Pintoid lid. The emulsion side should face the pinhole.

Close the tin and wrap it with black electrical tape to prevent light leaks. Electrical tape is cheaper than Gaffer's tape.

Exposure tips:

I've found that sewing-needle holes need about four seconds on a sunny day. Indoors anywhere from 10 minutes to hours may be necessary depending on the amount of light and the desired effect.

Acupuncture needles require longer exposure. I generally use about one minute on a sunny day. Exposure times of one half hour to many hours aren't unusual for indoor images.

Processing:

I load the negative strips (in complete darkness) onto plastic reels for tank processing.

Continue to slide the strips onto the reel, keeping spaces between each strip. I can generally get five to seven strips onto one reel.

Strips of 35mm negs. Though these negatives are 125 speed, I now use 400 speed (HP-5).

If you still don't feel like making your own Pintoid, you can easily purchase a Pintoid camera right this very second! Click here to find out more!

Back to the Great Pintoid Adventure.

Pintoid Sours

You might want to visit the Argholes as well.

Junk Store Cameras·

Each image on this site is protected by copyright. Permission to use any image on this site for any purpose whatsoever must be obtained in advance in writing to avoid possible violation of federal law on copyright. Any unauthorized use constitutes an infringement.