Camra for high detailed Motherboard images

4Qman

4Qman

4Qman

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Hello fellow OCUK members.

Ok here we go

I require a Camera to take very hi quality and detailed images of Motherboards and the small resistors and tracks.

What would be best suited please. Nothing over £300 would be great as it will be used for this now and then.

thanks and will look forward for a reply.

David
 
My suggestion is:
- virtually any decent D-SLR s/h. Won't matter that much about it's AF or high ISO ability
- Fixed 50mm lens, they're cheap, simple and give high quality images. If you bought a s/h Nikon, I believe you could use a non autofocus 50mm, reducing the cost even more.
- An extension tube to allow macro work. A real macro lens would be better, but they're a lot more expensive
- Decent tripod to hold it steady for you work
 
I would suggest you expect to take more than one picture to build a collage if you want very fine detail. The sensor size is only so big, and you can only fit so much info into each pixel, if you put the whole MB on there you arent going to have exceptionally fine detail of the tracks and such.
And don't be fooled by compact cameras with 400836092Megapixels, they have smaller sensors than the DSLR's so don't actually give higher quality, or more detail.
 
It's not digital but you could use a medium format film camera like a Mamiya, you can get them well under your budget on the internet auction site. You really can't beat the detail a MF camera will give you for that budget.
If you only intend on taking a few images of motherboards then you can get the film scanned by a comapny as it would work out cheaper than buying a film scanner yourself, but obviously if you intend do a lot then a MF capable film scanner would probably be better in terms of cost and take less time.
 
thanks for info guys. I knew this was the right place to ask ;)

i found a FinePix S9600 Refurbished for £190:confused:

Dam so many?

Could i have say the best recommended camra for no more than £300 all in please. i really am that unsure.:(
 
You wouldn't be likely to get a mamiya/blad or similar, with glass for less than £300 in decent condition.
 
Dfhaii said:
You wouldn't be likely to get a mamiya/blad or similar, with glass for less than £300 in decent condition.
Click to expand...
I can't link for obvious reasons but there have been a few Mamiya 645 supers sold with lens(es) in the £200-£300 range if you have a quick search :)
 
4Qman said:
I require a Camera to take very hi quality and detailed images of Motherboards and the small resistors and tracks.
Click to expand...

How close do you want to get?

Close:

close.jpg





Or very close:

very-close.jpg


In case it isn't obvious, the bottom photo is two of the legs of a 0027PR like the one dominating the top photo.

The top one you can do with any macro lens and we can surely do that within your budget. The bottom one is a little more tricky. When you are working that close, you really want 500 quid's worth of solid, geared tripod and head before you even think about the camera and lens...

The top image is full frame at about 1x. The bottom one is a 100% crop at 5x. And yes, I made a mistake. The detail in the bottom picture is from outside the frame of the top picture.

Andrew
 
i once done a shot like that 2nd pic....

wasnt using a camera tho.... a scanner LOL 300mb picture of a Geforce 2.... looks better than the card itself :D
 
Gaffer said:
How close do you want to get?

Close:[SNIP]


Or very close:[SNIP]

In case it isn't obvious, the bottom photo is two of the legs of a 0027PR like the one dominating the top photo.

The top one you can do with any macro lens and we can surely do that within your budget. The bottom one is a little more tricky. When you are working that close, you really want 500 quid's worth of solid, geared tripod and head before you even think about the camera and lens...

The top image is full frame at about 1x. The bottom one is a 100% crop at 5x. And yes, I made a mistake. The detail in the bottom picture is from outside the frame of the top picture.

Andrew
Click to expand...

how long was the exposure with the MP-E at 5x??? isn't the max aperture something silly like f/96?
 
Aod said:
how long was the exposure with the MP-E at 5x???
Click to expand...
The Exif was lost in PP:

# Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 3/10 second = 1/3.33333 second = 0.3 second
# Lens F-Number/F-Stop = 5/1 = F5
# Exposure Program = aperture priority (3)
# ISO Speed Ratings = 100
# Focal Length = 65/1 mm = 65 mm

It was, however illuminated by a halogen desk lamp just a few cm away.

isn't the max aperture something silly like f/96?
Click to expand...

No. And Yes.

The actual apeture is something normal like f16. But since you push the lens so far away, the effective aperture can reach something silly like f/96. Since the depth of field at 5x is stupidly small, you might think that you want to use f/96 but no - at that size of hole, you suffer from diffraction effects that make the image soft - that is why I opened out to f5.

"Stupidly small" depth of field means that when you are trying to photograph the detail on a banknote, you need to decide whether to focus on the paper, or the ink.

Andrew
 
I Find the Canon G7 really good at taking small pics, always use one when i have to take pics of components at work.
 
Ok Col i am looking ;)

Gaffer the top photo is all i require. To be honest i am AMAZED at the 2nd picture and the detail :eek:

Thanks everyone who has put there thoughts in, i am getting a better idea now.

So if the Top picture is all i require whats a ideal purchase please.
 
Col_M said:
I can't link for obvious reasons but there have been a few Mamiya 645 supers sold with lens(es) in the £200-£300 range if you have a quick search :)
Click to expand...

U mean one of these

41ca_12.jpg

Comes with the following, 120 film back with insert, 80mm Mamiya-Sekor 1:2.8 Lens, mamiya 645 prism finder, and all instruction manuals.
 
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You could do this with almost any £70 6MP+ digi-cam... spending over £200 for such a menial photographical task would be absolute madness.

And to all the people suggesting film cameras... seriously... why...
 
4Qman said:
Gaffer the top photo is all i require. To be honest i am AMAZED at the 2nd picture and the detail :eek:
Click to expand...

*smile*

Good. That makes it easy. It wasn't clear what you meant by "very hi quality and detailed". I guess you want a picture of "what it looks like" rather than "we need to check the quality of the soldering on things we can't even see properly".

I've got a Sony T3. It is a couple of years out of date now but I'm sure that the newer models do the same. It is only a little larger and thicker than a credit card and has a cool "magnifying glass" mode that might do the trick for you. Take a circuit board to the shop and give it a try.

If you want to take the SLR route, the cheapest DSLR, with a nifty fifty and a set of extension tubes should do the trick and should be within budget. The DSLR route gives you more flexibility to do other stuff in the future.

I would recommend finding a small, independant camera shop. Go along with a circuit board and get the owner (as opposed to the Saturday assistant) to show you how to take the sort of picture you want.

And if all you want is one (set of) pics, try asking me. [email protected]

Andrew
 
4Qman said:
U mean one of these
Click to expand...
Yeah something like that, just check the specs on the lens and that the minimum focus distance will allow you to get a motherboard to fill the frame.

Also do some reading up on Medium format cameras, equipment etc before you buy to make sure you get something that will do for your purpose as MF is not really something that I know loads about :)
 
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