Wanderlust Pinwide Pinhole Cap Review

Features
Performance
Verdict

The Pinwide is a wide-angle pinhole cap that replaces the lens on a Micro 4/3 camera from Olympus or Panasonic to convert it into a pinhole camera.


 

Wanderlust Pinwide: Features

The Pinwide is a plastic cap reminiscent of Bakelite with a tiny (looks like brass) plate in the centre with a pinhole in the middle.

The pinhole plate is set in a recessed part of the cap so it's positioned inside the camera body closer to the sensor. This gives a wide angle lens effect equivalent to 11mm (22mm in 35mm format). Normal pinhole plates (converted body caps etc.) are less wide (around 50mm in 35mm format).

The outer ring is notched to make it look a little more interesting when on the camera. It's supplied in an attractive metal tin like an old cine reel storage can.

Wanderlust Pinwide: Performance

I tried the Pinwide on my Olympus EP2. Although plastic it fits snugly and makes the body really slim to carry around.



It darkens the viewfinder and gives the usual vignette around the edge that you'd expect from a pinhole lens, and because it's recessed this vignette is even more realistic to the box camera style pinholes of yesteryear.

The metering was fooled and shots were coming out grossly underexposed so I found adjusting the exposure compensation to +3 gave most consistent results.

Also with a pinhole camera there's no control over depth of field...the aperture is the pinhole and that's the equivalent of about f/128. So depth of field is enormous - in fact I found stuff would be in focus from inches to infinity. Not great if you want subtle subject placement, but fine for the wacky pinhole effect.

With such a small aperture a tripod or support is essential even in good light shutter speeds are into seconds. In low light you're probably going to reach the limits of the shutter speed range.

While I was out using it the view became obstructed and I realised I must have had a speck of dust cover the hole. I gave it a blow and the problem was resolved.

Shooting into the sun was interesting...rainbow coloured flare dominates (read obliterates) the photo. If it's in a small part of the frame it can be made to look like one of those awful creative effects filters of the 80s, but for most cases it's better to avoid direct sun in shots.

Incredible close focus is possible with the Pinwide. The camera was an inch away from the cat's nose!		A shot of goggles on the patio. The pinwide wide-angle vignette works well here.
Glass vases in a window, softness is quite welcome.		While on a landscape softness isn't quite as welcome!
Combine the lens with some in camera art filter gives interesting results. Here rope was placed on the patio and the Olympus EP2's cross processing mode was selected.		And here the grain mode was selected to take this shadow on an old metal dustbin. Harsh contrast, heavy vignette and grain all go together to form a creative snap.

Flowers against a blue sky. It was with these shots that I realised how dusty the EP2's sensor was. The pinwide creates results that show up the dust bunnies! Notice also the unusual colour patterns caused by the pinwide. One thing's for sure, you will either love or hate the results.

Wanderlust Pinwide: Verdict

Using the Pinwide was frustrating at times - especially when the results looked like badly underexposed and out of focus rubbish. But it was also exciting at other times when the subject content, light and distance came together.

You do need to work hard to get a shot that suits this technique, and when you do you'll soon realise the value of the gadget. It's one for the more artistic and technically less bothered photographer. At the price of a filter it's got to be worth a go!

At the price of a filter the Wanderlust Pinwide has got to be worth a go!

 

Wanderlust Pinwide: Pros

Super wide angle
More realistic pinhole effect
Well made
Attractive case
Incredible focus range
Creative effects

Wanderlust Pinwide: Cons

No control over depth of field
Difficult to get a good shot
Easy to get hole clogged up
Causes camera to underexpose (manual override needed)

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL

 

The Wanderlust Pinwide is available from Wanderlust for $39.99