OpenOlympiad
Concept 5 of 9Foundation
Video

Pinhole camera

A box with a small hole in one side and a translucent screen on the opposite side. Light from an object passes through the hole in straight lines and forms an INVERTED (upside-down) image on the screen.

Why inverted? Light from the top of the object travels DOWN through the hole, hitting the bottom of the screen — and vice versa.

Smaller hole → sharper but dimmer image. Larger hole → brighter but blurrier.

Example
Make a pinhole camera with a shoe box and tissue paper screen. Point it at a bright window and see an inverted image of the view.
ObjectImage
💡 Tip:The world's oldest camera is a pinhole camera — no lens needed, just a hole.
Prefer a video? Open YouTube search for “pinhole camera class 6

🎯 Try it!

5 questions to check what you just read.

0 / 5
  1. Q1.Pinhole camera forms an image that is:
  2. Q2.Smaller pinhole gives:
  3. Q3.Image forms on the:
  4. Q4.Pinhole cameras work because:
  5. Q5.Making the hole bigger makes the image: