The most primitive type of camera there is.

  1. Take a light-sealed box.
  2. Poke a hole in the center of one end, and cover it up.
  3. On the opposite face of the hole, lay some photographic paper flat the back.
  4. Point your box, hole-first, at something that doesn't move.
  5. Uncover the hole.
  6. Wait about a minute or so.
  7. Cover the hole.
  8. Go back to your darkroom and develop your film.

Assuming you got your exposure time right, you should have a picture of your object, with an extremely high depth-of-field.
The camera type that Ansel Adams used was basically a pinhole, except that his 'pinhole' was actually a very expensive single lens.

These can also be used without film to safely view a solar eclipse or other strong light source you don't want to view directly, and don't need a detailed image of. Simply take an index card and punch a small hole, and then use it to direct light from the sun to a piece of white paper.

A pinhole camera, however, does not do well for filmlessly viewing weak light sources such as a person or other object, simply because it works by blocking the vast majority of the light.

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