New subject: Altairs

28 Jan 1999

...
  Does anyone have any suggestions for ways to
photograph parts of my
 collection? All i have is a basic 35mm camera and a polaroid...

 Should i use high speed 35mm film becasue of low light conditions indoors,
...
  or is a slower speed more important? Or is it
important to have a white
 background for contrast.. Or should i try placing things on a flat bed
 scanner, etc..

 Any suggestions are appreciated. I want to photograph some of my rarer
 items (Teraks, Sun 1, if you saw that Burroughs core memory that just
 sold on ebay I have one of those too plus a foot long chunk of wire-wrapped
...
  boards from that computer, etc). 

I think Tony and Jim have said most of what I would say, but:

Use the longest focal length you can while still getting the required
magnification and fitting within the room.  A macro lens is very useful
here, or, failing that, extension tubes  (but if you don't have
through-the-lens metering, remember to correct the f-number for the
increased distance between lens and film).

The slower 35mm films are pretty good with a decent lens, but if you can
get the required magnification with the polaroid, it may be worth
considering since it is likely to be a less grainy process, and a larger
film area (i.e. lower resolution per inch <= same resolution across whole
picture)

I have little experience with lighting computer stuff, but I imagine (say)
a board full of chips might require several light sources to avoid the
chips casting strange shadows.

Philip.

photographing olf computers/parts