Discovering the Mania MFZ 4×5: A Modern Take on Pinhole Photography

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Pinhole photography sits at a fascinating intersection of simplicity and creativity. No glass, no lens, no electronics — just a tiny hole letting light spill onto film. The results are unpredictable, dreamy, and often beautifully imperfect.

I recently got sent the Mania MFZ 4×5 inch basic package, a handmade modular camera system created by German photographer and craftsman Ralph Man. 


The Camera at a Glance

The Mania MFZ is built primarily from wood, it has a solid, artisanal feel, with magnetic front panels and modular parts that click together with satisfying precision.

The 4×5 basic package is designed for large-format sheet film photography, but the wider MFZ ecosystem supports medium formats too (6×6, 6×12, and 6×17). Even in its simplest form, the 4×5 body gives you:

  • Compatibility with standard 4×5 film holders (as well as certain instant film backs).

  • Variable focal length options thanks to its modular design.

  • A neat little exposure calculator stick, which takes some of the guesswork out of pinhole metering.

  • Handmade construction, carefully sealed against the light leaks that plague many pinhole builds.

It’s a blend of old-world craft and modular thinking, which makes it stand out in the world of pinhole cameras.





Shooting with the MFZ

Working with the Mania MFZ is a pleasure, as with all pinhole photography it's about slowing down. Everything — from setting the camera on a tripod, letting the intermediate frames snap satisfyingly inplace, loading a film holder, to carefully uncovering the pinhole — its a beautiful process.

The frames, front panel and film holder are all held in places by some very strong magnets.

There’s no viewfinder, of course, so composition relies on lining up some little dots and intuition, experience, and a little bit of imagination.


Sample Images











The TSP Panoramic Front Panel

One of the more distinctive features of the Mania MFZ system is its interchangeable front panel design. You can swap between a standard single pinhole, a shift panel, or the innovative TSP panoramic panel — each unlocking new creative possibilities.

The TSP (Twin Shot Panorama) front panel for the 4×5 format is especially fascinating. Instead of a single exposure across the whole sheet, the TSP creates two adjacent images, positioned side by side on the same piece of film. The center point of the overall image sits right on the border between the two exposures, allowing them to align almost seamlessly.

The result is a panoramic composition that blends the subtle distortions and vignetting unique to pinhole photography with a wide, cinematic field of view. It’s a clever way to double the width of your scene while maintaining that soft, ethereal pinhole look.

Beyond its technical novelty, the TSP panel encourages experimentation — from architectural symmetry to landscapes that stretch across both exposures. It’s a feature that perfectly represents the spirit of the MFZ: modular, creative, and designed to push the boundaries of what pinhole photography can be.

Mania with the TSP from panel




Final Thoughts


The Mania MFZ 4×5 is beautifully designed and exceptionally well built — clearly a product made with passion, precision, and skill. It’s a pleasure to use: simple, functional, and thoughtfully engineered for photographers who value both craft and creativity.


There’s very little to dislike about this camera. The ability to change focal lengths and swap front panels — from standard to shift or panoramic (TSP) — gives it an impressive level of versatility that most pinhole systems can’t match.
That said, with its modular nature and multiple components, I did find myself occasionally worrying about misplacing smaller parts. It’s a system that rewards careful handling and organization — but that’s a small price to pay for what it offers in return.



Is it practical? Not in the way modern digital cameras are. But that’s never been the point. The MFZ is about process, presence, and the joy of making images slowly.

For experienced pinhole photographers, it feels like a natural evolution — offering more control and creative freedom without losing the simplicity that makes the medium so special. And for newcomers, it’s a reminder that photography doesn’t always need to be sharp, fast, or instant to be powerful. Sometimes, the beauty lies in the waiting.


Available to buy at https://maniapinhole.com/



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