Where is the effective 'pinhole' in an SLR camera?
Asked 10/26/2013
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In diagrams of cameras, light is often shown passing through a tiny hole and forming an upside-down image. In a modern SLR, where is that effective 'pinhole' located? I don't mean the shutter curtains, and I don't think it's simply the aperture blades. Is it inside the lens, or is it only a simplified illustration? How does this relate to the camera obscura idea of image formation?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
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I assume you're referring to the centre of projection otherwise known as the "no parallax point" and frequently erroneously referred to as the "nodal point".
It is the point you need to know to use the pinhole projection model.
It's important to note that it's not the point where the light rays actually cross, it's the point where the lens behaves as if they cross. It's thus a virtual point that's usually somewhere inside the lens but can be in front of the lens.
When focussed to infinity the point will lie at distance in front of the sensor plane equal to the lens's true focal length (the stated focal length is probably rounded). It's rarely stated in the datasheet for a lens, but you can determine it experimentally, by following the instructions that come with "VR" tripod heads:
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
12y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
In a modern SLR, there usually is no literal pinhole. The diagram is a simplification of how a lens forms an image.
The closest concept is the lens’s centre of projection, often discussed alongside the entrance pupil or sometimes incorrectly called the nodal point/no-parallax point. It is the point the lens behaves as if light rays pass through when using the pinhole-camera model.
That point is typically somewhere inside the lens, though depending on the optical design it can effectively be elsewhere, even in front of the lens. It is a virtual point, not a tiny physical hole.
The aperture is different: it is the adjustable opening in the lens that controls how much light enters and affects depth of field. A very small aperture can make the system behave more like a pinhole, but it is not the same thing as the simplified 'orifice' shown in basic diagrams.
So: in old camera obscura systems, the hole was real; in modern SLRs, the lens replaces that pinhole and the 'pinhole point' is an optical model rather than a physical part.
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