# Lensbaby announces the Obscura pinhole lens system for the RF mount



## Canon Rumors Guy (Jun 24, 2021)

> Lensbaby, the leader in award-winning creative effect camera lenses, is launching its revolutionary Obscura lens. A camera obscura, the ancestor of the photographic camera, is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. Dating back to the 4th century BCE, this experience is the earliest image projection technique known to the industry.
> Lensbaby is hosting a virtual launch party on June 21st where the newest Obscura lens will be revealed. Free tickets are available on Lensbaby’s website.
> The Lensbaby Obscura comes in two versions — a 50mm Pinhole/Zone Plate/Pinhole Sieve optic for their Optic Swap System, and a standalone 16mm Pinhole/Zone Plate/Pinhole Sieve pancake lens (though pinholes are not technically lenses) for mirrorless cameras.
> “Pinhole photography taught me to see composition, contrast, leading lines, and the shape of things in ways that led me to make some of my most powerful images,”...



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## Bennymiata (Jun 25, 2021)

Sounds like a lot of money for a small hole!


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## AlanF (Jun 25, 2021)

Bennymiata said:


> Sounds like a lot of money for a small hole!


Yes! A typical pinhole is roughly 0.3mm diameter, which works out at about $800/mm for their 16mm lens. Scaling that up to the 150mm diameter of a 600mm f/lens works out to $120,000.


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## Maximilian (Jun 25, 2021)

Bennymiata said:


> Sounds like a lot of money for a small hole!


Shocking true.
I bought something similar for about 30 € for EF mount. (Rising Pinhole)


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## AJ (Jun 25, 2021)

A pinhole lens should cost about the same as an extension tube, i.e. about $50.


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## Antono Refa (Jun 25, 2021)

AJ said:


> A pinhole lens should cost about the same as an extension tube, i.e. about $50.


EF pinholes are backordered, so I guess the price has more to do with COVID-19 crisis and lack of competition than real manufacturing costs.


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## AJ (Jun 28, 2021)

I wonder if it's possible to make a pinhole zoom? I'm thinking it'd be pretty straightforward.


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## AlanF (Jun 28, 2021)

Going into more detail, Lensbaby aren't just marketing a simple pinhole. They also have a zone plate, which is a primitive Fresnel lens like in the DO technology, and also a variant with a large pinhole surrounded by rings of smaller ones. These have much more effective aperture than a simple pinhole.


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## Ozarker (Aug 7, 2021)

Maximilian said:


> Shocking true.
> I bought something similar for about 30 € for EF mount. (Rising Pinhole)


Same here.


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## privatebydesign (Aug 7, 2021)

You can make your own ‘pinhole’ lens for $5 max. Take a body cap, drill a hole in it in the center, cover the hole with foil tape then stick a pin in it. Done.

If you want a different focal length then use extension tubes with it.

if you want it to be sharper make one with a smaller hole but you are going to have to make your exposure longer.


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