u/hexpshuz

Hello! I am quite new to photography in general, and I'd like to experiment with a pinhole camera but:
- I can't buy photographic paper or chemicals right now;
- I'd prefer not to develop the photos at home as of now;
- Don't want to try it with regular film too (for now).

I saw somewhere that it's possible to do pinhole cameras but with digital instead, but I am not sure how because all tutorials I see are traditional pinhole cameras, developing the negatives at home.
I was wondering if it's possible to modify a 10-20$ cheap no brand digital camera/toy camera I can get at eletronic stores, or get and modify a 10-20$ old second hand digital camera from the 2000s, or even modify one of my spare Kodak Charmera clones from Aliexpress (G6 Thumb Camera), and try pinhole photography that way?

Any ideas?

Everything I see on the internet involves doing the development at home (which I totally understand but I can't do it at this point in my life) or using normal film and develop it at a film store (which I won't have access to right now, I wish I could experiment with outside pinhole cameras with tin cans and normal paper too, but of course it's impossible), so I'd like to know if there's anything else I could experiment with, using a cheap camera or modifying one, or point me to a tutorial?

thanks

Sharing some pictures I took on the second day having this camera. All SOOC

Day 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/toycameras/comments/1v3bvjm/day_1_with_a_charmera/

Sharing some pictures I took on the first day I got my Charmera. I only have it for 3 days, but I might post some more later. Have been fun. All SOOC

Day 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/toycameras/comments/1v3c3rx/day_2_with_a_charmera/

Sharing the best pictures I took on the first day I got my Charmera. I only have it for 3 days, but I might post some more later. Have been fun. All SOOC

I'd like to have a lens that I could zoom with the Charmera and the knockoffs I will be ordering on AliExpress.

I don't need anything extraordinary, I guess, but something I could zoom at least a bit. Or is it only possible with a telescope like lenses?

So, if you know any cheap lens kit or cheap lens that I can zoom with, please let me know. I am still a noob at photography in general, so I don't even know how to search for this. I'll be modding the Charmera and the clones eventually, but for now I ordered a cheap phone lens adaptor from AliExpress (that includes a fisheye and macro lens that we can clip directly, but apparently no zoom one).

Thank you!

Ps: also, do you have any recommendation/mod for black & white photography with these cheap cameras? Or even a cheap (less or around 50€) digital camera/toy camera that would take cool b&w photos? (No need to be as small as toy cameras, I wouldn't mind a normal sized digital one, as long as it can take cool b&w). Let me know!

Can someone that already opened their shell, show a video on how to do it safely? I can't find any video showing the process on this. I want open it and not risking snapping something, and not leaving a mark on the shell with a sharp object, but seeing someone doing it would actually help a lot!

Thanks!

I was wondering if anyone here has one of these? I couldn't find any post regarding this specific "model". I wanted to see some sample shots, and know if this info on the aliexpress store is somewhat reliable?

Also, I would like to know which filters does this model have and how would it compare to:
- G6 Thumb Camera (1984)
- Flip Camera / (Mage Camera?) / LK030 (1982)
- S168/S158 Life Camera
- PocketSnap Camera
- Y6000 Camera
- G10 Lipstick Camera

One of the main reasons that I want to try this one is the 4:3 aspect ratio option, (which I've seen somewhere that the Mage Camera supposedly have too, but I couldn't confirm, I've only seen a youtube video that shown a "Mage Camera" with 4:3 ratio. I can post the link here if you want to check it) but mainly I'd like to see shots from people that ordered it, so I can decide which one of these will I try next.

I wish there was a post/document/video comparing all of these models (with test shots too), but at least I couldn't find one.

Thank you!

PS: I am also a bit confused because this "M9" model has different shell art compared to the Flip Camera / Mage camera / LK030, but still has the 1982 number there, so I don't know if it's literally the same model?

PS2: Maybe if some of you have the models I mentioned, could post in the comments the models you got and a brief description with a few shots/videos of your specific model? Maybe would be useful for people interested in these specific models to consult.