ONDU Pinhole Cameras Take Photo Art Back to Basics

In the age of digital photography, where we can easily take snaps of everything around us with our phones, whenever we want to, we often forget what it was like to use mechanical film cameras and have to develop our photos. We forget how important it was to wait for the perfect shot, since now we can just take dozens of photos and keep only the ones we like.

But a Slovenian artist is trying to take the art of photography back to its roots, with a series of wooden pinhole cameras. The ONDU pinhole cameras don’t use any electronics and are designed to last you a lifetime and even longer.

Unlike regular cameras, pinhole cameras do not use any lenses. The images are produced through the cameras’ pin-sized holes: in order to expose the film, the user has to only move the shutter up. Because of the high aperture, the pinhole camera can produce impressive photo effects other lens based cameras cannot.

Elvis Halilović and his brother have been working on wooden pinhole camera designs for seven years, during which they were able to take pictures as large as 3 x 4 meters and as small so as to fit inside someone’s mouth.

Halilović created six different wooden pinhole camera models, which can work with all sorts of film, from 35mm to 4×5 inch or even larger paper. His cameras have a unique design: they are all handmade and there are no screws visible anywhere. The cameras are actually held together by strong magnets.

The Slovenian artist said the main reason why he decided to make the pinhole cameras of wood is because he wanted them to be long-lasting. While most objects today become obsolete really fast and are replaced by next-generation models, Halilović wanted his pinhole cameras to be fully functional and durable enough to be passed on for generations.

The ONDU pinhole cameras are now on Kickstarter, where they have already exceeded their $10,000 crowdfunding goal by over $60,000. For different pledges, backers can get various ONDU models, from $60 for the ONDU 135 Pocket Pinhole to $200 for the ONDU Sliding Box Pinhole. The Slovenian brothers want to use the funds to improve the designs and get bulk order parts.

[Images via ONDU]