photographing olf computers/parts - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

29 Jan 1999

On Jan 29,  9:58, Philip.Belben(a)pgen.com wrote:
...
  Subject: Re: photographing olf computers/parts 
...
  Use the longest focal length you can 
That's sound advice.

...
  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) 
Actually, modern 35mm film is likely to be better.  Don't use too slow a
film; for technical reasons, the slower the film, the more contrasty it's
likely to be.  Too much contrast loses detail.

...
  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. 
Mechanic/electrical artefacts tend to have a lot of reflections, and it's
usually better to use one main (preferably diffuse) light source with a big
reflector on the other side of the subject, to fil in the shadows.  A big
white board, or a bedsheet will do admirably.  If you do want highlights
off the shiny parts, you can always add a small light once you have the
main lighting adjusted.

If you're using artificial light, even for colour negatives, you'll get
better results if you use a colour correction filter on the camera.

-- 

Pete						Peter Turnbull
						Dept. of Computer Science
						University of York