Pinhole and Body Cap Lens List

Recently I bought the smallest digital Interchangeable Camera System from Craigslist. It´s called Q and it is made by Pentax (now Ricoh). The Pentax Q System consists of several Interchangeable Lenses and one of them is particularity interesting because it is very very slim, just 6.9 mm. It is the Pentax Q 07 Body Cap Lens aka the “Mount Shield Lens”. Body Cap Lenses have no focus mechanism and typically no aperture to choose from. What you gain from this minimalistic Zen-Design is the opportunity for real Snapshot Photography! This lens is by far not the only model around. Read on and compare available Body Cap Lenses and Pinhole Lens Caps for interchangeable Camera mounts…

There are two different types of fixed distance (lens) designs:

  • Body Cap Lens has usually a plastic lens element integrated.
    • Advantages
      • Light and durable
      • Cheap
      • Fixed Focus
      • Quick and fun to use
    • Drawbacks
      • Less sharp compared to glass lenses
      • No aperture control (with exceptions)
      • Resulting images look often soft in the corners
  • Pinhole Lens Cap has no lens element at all, there is only a tiny hole in a cap.
    • Advantages
      • The lightest possible (lens)
      • Cheaper
      • Fixed Focus
      • Huge Depth of Field
    • Drawbacks
      • Very long exposure times! (Hand held shooting not recommended)
      • Almost no preview (live-view) possible because it´s too dark
      • Resulting images look overall soft, very soft!
Lens or Pinhole?ManufacturerModel NameField of View (Full Frame equiv.)Aperture f/stopPictureInfos and ReviewsAvailable mounts
PinholeYouYou name it01mm f/0dyi-pinhole-lenscap-110

Make Your Own
Do It Yourself
Tutorial on WikiHow
All
PinholeSkink PinholePancake Pro and Classic45mmf/150skinkpinhole-lens-leica

Shop
Canon
Fourthirds
Fujifilm
Hasselblad
Leica
mFT (m4/3)
M42 (screw mount)
Nikon
Olympus
Panasonic
Pentax
Sigma
Sony
PinholeHolgaHPL 299120 Pinhole Lens 38mmf/125Hands on Video ReviewCanon
mFT (m4/3)
Nikon
PinholePinholeressourceDigital Pinhole No Dust Cap48mmf/166pinholeressource-nodustcap

Shop
Canon
Nikon
PinholeDaystar Laser Inc.Pinhole Cap43mmf/180

Shop
Canon EF / FD
Leica M / R
mFT (m4/3)
Minolta SR/MD
Nikon F
Olympus OM
Pentax K
Sony/Minolta A
LensLoreoLens in a CAP 9002MD 35mmf/5.6-64

Shop
Hands on Video ReviewCanon EOS / FD
Minolta MD
M42 (screw mount)
Nikon N (F)
Olympus OM
Pentax K
Sony/Minolta AF
PinholeWanderlust CamerasPinwide Digital Pinhole Cap22mmf/96m4/3
LensOlympusFisheye Body Cap Lens18mm (Fisheye)f/8

Shop
Hands on ReviewmFT (m4/3)
PinholeSLR MagicPin Hole Lens24mmf/128

Shop
Hands on ReviewmFT (m4/3)
LensOlympusBody Cap Lens30mmf/8

Shop
Hands on Video ReviewmFT (m4/3)
LensPentaxQ 07 Mount Shield Lens53mmf/9

Shop
Pentax K

If you notice that a information about a lens is missing, please let me know in a comment below!

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