a box, room, or device with a small hole that lets light through and shows an image on an opposite surface

A leaf with a tiny hole is perhaps the most primitive form of pinhole camera, also called a camera obscura. 带小孔的叶子也许是针孔相机（或称 "暗箱"）最原始的形式。

the effect by which light shining through a small hole can show an image on an opposite surface

There has long been an argument about whether Vermeer used the camera obscura to create his paintings. 长期以来，维米尔是否使用过暗箱进行绘画创作一直存在争议。

the camera obscura effect 暗箱效应