I've mounted a Pinwide wide angle pinhole cap on my Olympus E-PL1 micro four thirds camera and have been shooting crazy shots. The first thing I noticed about my behavior when I'm using the Pinwide is that all bets are off. It's like it challenges you to be creative.
Since we are dealing with a pinhole for our light transmission to the sensor, I found myself using ISO 1600 to get decent handheld shutter speeds. In broad daylight, most of my shots were between 1/15 and 1/60th of a second. You get some image noise at ISO 1600 with the E-PL1, and that seemed to contribute to the overall texture of the shot.
One of the reasons I like using Olympus bodies for this type of work is that the stabilization is built into the body, not the lens. So I still have IS with a pinhole cap.
One of the attributes that jumps out at you when looking at these images, is the natural vignetting that comes with pinhole photography. Plus there's substantial depth of field, and, for lack of a better way of saying it, just pure color. It's much easier to understand pinhole photography by looking at it, rather than trying to explain it.
As for the Pinwide cap itself, I found it well designed and high quality. It snaps securely into place on the camera and seems quite durable. There's a tiny glass element on the backside of the adapter that protects your sensor from dust entering through the pinhole. So you can leave it on the camera without worry. When it's time to put it away, it includes a cute little tin for storage that reads, "Designed in Chicago, manufactured in the USA."
During the shooting process, I found it easier to compose the image with the accessory Olympus VF-2 Electronic Viewfinder rather than on the LCD, especially in bright light.
You can order the Pinwide directly from the Wanderlust site for $39.99. It's a great way to bring out the creative artist in you.
