I've had a Ricoh digital camera for some years and have had some success in photographing old photos and film reader screens and books in the library. It focuses well close up. However there is a problem with curvature. I believe this is to do with the quality of the lens but not sure. I've also found it a hit and miss affair - I think mainly due to camera shake. It's hard to hold the camera steady enough. When photographing bits of microfilms I was always pleased to be able to return to the library and retake some - though others were crystal clear and most were readable. I've just bought a new digital camera - Canon Powershot S70 - and am still experimenting though managed some great shots at my brother's birthday party on the weekend, even in the dark. With it I can check immediately whether I've captured a clear image of a page or part of a page as you can zoom in when you view your shot. This is some help though I'm thinking of investing in a small tripod. I've got as far as discovering they exist - now to locate one. I bought my camera online after reading reviews but I want to physically see the tripod. My main problem in photographing photographs is the light reflecting on the surface of the photo or the camera being mirrored on the surface of a glossy photo. Does anyone know a solution to this? Cheers, Cathy At 06:48 7/03/2005, you wrote: >From: Evelyn Hendricks [mailto:[email protected]] >Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 3:01 PM > >Subject: Re: [SP] digital cameras, scanners, software, techniques, etc. > >My husband also has a Sony camera that uses the 3 1/2 inch disks. He >photgraphed a page from a deed book for me. It was legible, but the >curvature of the open page was very noticible in the end result. I tried >using it to copy some material at the library. I found it very difficutl >to >hold the camera steady enough to do that. That may be just me however. >My >hands get so shaky sometimes that I can't even type. >Somewhere on the net I saw instructions for making a support to hold the >camera while you copy pages from books, etc. There were three or four of >them listed. I will see if I can find it and let you know. >He has copied old photographs that belonged to other people. These turn >out >very well. He also copied the family information in my grandfather's >Bible. >There ws not as much curvature in that as there was in the deed. >My son has a camera that uses a memory stick. I am anxious to see how it >works at copying, etc. >Evelyn

> My main problem in photographing photographs is the light reflecting > on the surface of the photo or the camera being mirrored on the surface of > a > glossy photo. Does anyone know a solution to this? Try turning the flash off and using two light sources, one from each side angled at about 45 degrees to the subject. Experiment with the camera settings, etc.. It's not like you're wasting a roll of 35mm film :-) John Zillwood [email protected]

Hi I have been sent, by e-mail a number of digital photos of wills and conveyacing instruments which are sonewhat lengthy and quite difficult to read. What would be the best way to be able ro read them and perhaps print them onto hard copy. With thanks Garry