Camera wanted for photographing paintings

[Bartlebooth]

Hi,

Probably a bit of a stretch but I was wondering if anyone has a full frame camera for sale-preferably Canon but Nikon considered.
I need to use a copy stand to make digital negs of work and I'm looking for a professional or semi-pro camera but doesn't have to be new.
Also wondering if anyone can suggest reputable camera dealers in London if I do have to buy new. Not interested in Jessops as I personally find them overpriced and overrated.
Currently have a few cameras in my collection, analogue and digital, none of which are up to task (for me).
Thanks

[Tyto]

Hi
London camera exchange might be worth a look, they sell quite a lot of used gear. I have dealt with them in the past and everything went well.

http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/

[Bartlebooth]

Hi
London camera exchange might be worth a look, they sell quite a lot of used gear. I have dealt with them in the past and everything went well.

http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/

Hi Tyto,

Thanks, I know LCE and have had a look

[CanvasChris]

Check out Facebook groups... https://www.facebook.com/groups/second.hand.photo.gear/

theres a few on there.

[Bartlebooth]

Check out Facebook groups... https://www.facebook.com/groups/second.hand.photo.gear/

theres a few on there.

Thanks Chris. I'm a little hesitant about 2nd hand as shutter actuations on pro cameras are generally unacceptably high but I'll take a look.
The days of an honest "one careful lady owner" are long gone.
Thanks again.

[raymond]

For what it's worth, I am a full time photographer and buy tones of equipment every year. I would recommend giving these a look, they have the best prices by a mile, and the service is exelaint. Several of my professional buddy's use them, every one of them rates them highly.


http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk

[CanvasChris]

True... Most on there are Pro togs so generally have looked after them well as it's their business.

If you want to buy new, another place then is DigitalRev online. Although based in Hong Kong their prices include import duties so my be worth a look.

I got my Sony A9, for exactly the same reason as you, although from WexPhotographic when they had a promotion.

One word of advice... lens. kit lenses aren't upto much so prepare to spend another hefty wedge for some decent glass.

Shoot Raw and use a ColourChecker Passport to create a camera profile. You can then do lens corrections and apply the profile in Camera Raw before sending it to your preferred editing program.. Photoshop for me. You then start with the best chance of getting the colours right. Don't forget a good output profile to end up with the 'perfect' print.

[chris62]

Why don't you buy a decent scanner

[Bartlebooth]

For what it's worth, I am a full time photographer and buy tones of equipment every year. I would recommend giving these a look, they have the best prices by a mile, and the service is exelaint. Several of my professional buddy's use them, every one of them rates them highly.


http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk

Thanks for the link-prices seem good.

[Bartlebooth]

True... Most on there are Pro togs so generally have looked after them well as it's their business.

If you want to buy new, another place then is DigitalRev online. Although based in Hong Kong their prices include import duties so my be worth a look.

I got my Sony A9, for exactly the same reason as you, although from WexPhotographic when they had a promotion.

One word of advice... lens. kit lenses aren't upto much so prepare to spend another hefty wedge for some decent glass.

Shoot Raw and use a ColourChecker Passport to create a camera profile. You can then do lens corrections and apply the profile in Camera Raw before sending it to your preferred editing program.. Photoshop for me. You then start with the best chance of getting the colours right. Don't forget a good output profile to end up with the 'perfect' print.

Thanks Chris,

Yup, I always shoot Raw and dump them into Lightroom then Photoshop even though I'm getting more and more disillusioned (pissed off) with Adobe and Apple's built in obsolescence and proprietary dictatorship. Had to buy new Macbook Pro (running dumbed down OS Yosemite) and software even though Creative Suite 3 was perfectly functional. Superfluous upgrades anonymous.

[Bartlebooth]

Why don't you buy a decent scanner

Hi Chris, I do have a scanner but also need a new one- funnily enough the kit list never seems to end. A lot of the paintings are very big, quite a few around 180x120. I spent a long time converting some of my thousands of negs into DNG's but would like to do them ALL AGAIN with a much higher quality scanner. Some day.

[Bartlebooth]

True... Most on there are Pro togs so generally have looked after them well as it's their business.

If you want to buy new, another place then is DigitalRev online. Although based in Hong Kong their prices include import duties so my be worth a look.

I got my Sony A9, for exactly the same reason as you, although from WexPhotographic when they had a promotion.

One word of advice... lens. kit lenses aren't upto much so prepare to spend another hefty wedge for some decent glass.

Shoot Raw and use a ColourChecker Passport to create a camera profile. You can then do lens corrections and apply the profile in Camera Raw before sending it to your preferred editing program.. Photoshop for me. You then start with the best chance of getting the colours right. Don't forget a good output profile to end up with the 'perfect' print.

Hi Chris,

Have you used DigitalRev? Saw the prices for Canon 5d MIII and a couple of nice 'L' lenses and was impressed (to say the least) but VERY dubious as it seems hit and miss from the reviews I've read. Then you may also get hit by Customs making it a costly exercise.

[CanvasChris]

No, never used them. They've been around for many years and I'm sure their prices can include all import duties so best dropping them an email.

[The Crofter]

I have had to do a few large pictures. Simplest way is to treat as a panorama, take multiple shots with overlap and stitch in CC. I use a D200 but have a very good Nikkon 105mm lens with very little edge distortion. Full frame is not really necessary but good glass is vital + tripod. If you have a lower spec lens then shoot vertical and crop top and bottom of image to remove edge distortion before stitching. Each segment will be at say 2/3rds of the camera resolution so you end up with a file suitable for large format printing if required. I setup the picture vertically on an easel and illuminate with 2x continuous lights at approx 45 degrees. The picture is slid horizontally for each shot and camera panned down for each row. Probably shooting from about 2-3m away. If you are doing this on a regular basis then think about something that is fixed to a wall and maybe adjustable in height instead of panning the camera.

[Graysalchemy]

Most of the stuff I photograph is for cataloging but I have done repro work for printing. I use a d7000 with a 50mm 1.8 lense in natural light. I profile each shot with a colour card. The other thing I find vital is a black back drop behind the camera and also cover the camera and tripod. You can easily photograph framed art behind glass this way.

[JFeig]

For serious copy work I would buy an old 4x5 view camera with pans and tilts (to correct parallax) and attach a DSLR to the back. The best of both worlds. There are commercial adapter backs, or DIY.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ_Wt_YKHSw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x5-Large-Forma ... 255ad39cfb

[Bartlebooth]

I have had to do a few large pictures. Simplest way is to treat as a panorama, take multiple shots with overlap and stitch in CC. I use a D200 but have a very good Nikkon 105mm lens with very little edge distortion. Full frame is not really necessary but good glass is vital + tripod. If you have a lower spec lens then shoot vertical and crop top and bottom of image to remove edge distortion before stitching. Each segment will be at say 2/3rds of the camera resolution so you end up with a file suitable for large format printing if required. I setup the picture vertically on an easel and illuminate with 2x continuous lights at approx 45 degrees. The picture is slid horizontally for each shot and camera panned down for each row. Probably shooting from about 2-3m away. If you are doing this on a regular basis then think about something that is fixed to a wall and maybe adjustable in height instead of panning the camera.

Thanks

[Bartlebooth]

Most of the stuff I photograph is for cataloging but I have done repro work for printing. I use a d7000 with a 50mm 1.8 lense in natural light. I profile each shot with a colour card. The other thing I find vital is a black back drop behind the camera and also cover the camera and tripod. You can easily photograph framed art behind glass this way.

Yup, reflective surfaces are a blight sometimes so agree with limiting surface incidence. Thanks for the reply.

[Bartlebooth]

For serious copy work I would buy an old 4x5 view camera with pans and tilts (to correct parallax) and attach a DSLR to the back. The best of both worlds. There are commercial adapter backs, or DIY.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ_Wt_YKHSw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x5-Large-Forma ... 255ad39cfb

Thanks

[Whitewater Gallery]

I started photographing my wife's artwork with a Canon 20D, and then a 1D Mk III and now a 1Dx. Up close the 1Dx is a world apart from the other camera's but we still have prints produced by all 3 on the wall and no one has ever commented that they notice any difference. I must get a passport checker but do have one of the cubes (black,white and grey) which works really well. Yes I would agree good glass, though I use a 50mm 1.8 which is not a fortune and correct distortion in Photoshop.