EH.R: Digital cameras for archival research

[Mauricio Drelichman]

Dear John,

I've been taking digital pictures of archival documents for six years now. Below is a summary of what I found useful:

1) First and foremost, ensure that the archive allows digital photography. Not all of them do, and those who do will have different rules regarding the type of equipment allowed, the conditions under which it will be allowed, and the amount of material you will be allowed to photograph.

2) You then have to decide at which quality you will want your documents reproduced. For single page, regular-size type documents most mid-range and higher end all-in-one cameras will be perfectly fine. If you wish to fit two pages into a photograph, or to duplicate very small type or manuscript documents, it is generally necessary to employ a camera with better resolution and image quality, such as a digital SLR. When it comes to image quality, do not fall for the megapixel illusion. Sensor and lens quality are the main binding constraints on image quality. While manufacturers make the pixel count of their cameras their main marketing point, a higher pixel count only helps if you have a good (read: bigger and more expensive) sensor and a sharp lens (also bigger and more expensive).

3) You need to determine whether you will be allowed to use a tripod or a copy stand to immobilize your camera. Most archives do not allow the use of flash or lighting aids because of potential damage to the documents. You have to work with available light, which forces you to push the boundaries of your equipment. If you can use your camera on a fixed support (tripod or copy stand) and trigger the shutter with a remote cord, you will be usually fine. If you have to hold your camera in your hands you will likely need a camera with an image-stabilized lens or sensor, and with good image quality at higher ISO sensitivities. These features add to the cost of a system.

4) You need to determine if completely silent operation is required. Digital SLRs, which offer the best image quality and options for image stabilization, have mechanical shutters which produce the familiar clicking sound associated with standard film cameras. In a completely silent research room this can be annoying to other researchers. Some archives have dedicated photography rooms (e.g. the National Archives in London), but others do not. If silent operation is required you will need to get a camera with an electronic shutter, which rules out digital SLRs.

5) The type of equipment also depends on the volume of work. Almost any camera can be useful in grabbing the occasional picture; to ensure good quality, you can take two or three shots of each page and pick the best one later on. If you are dealing with several thousand images, it pays to have a set-up that can automate the process and guarantee that there will be very little variation in quality across images.

The final cost of your system will depend on all the above factors.  If this is a one-time job in which you will be capturing a few hundred images at the most, you most likely will be fine with a good all-in-one (also called "point-and-shoot") camera in the $500 - $700 range including accessories. If you are looking for a versatile system that can handle almost anything situation and process thousands of images in a single sitting, you are probably looking at  
a digital SLR system; depending on your requirements, the cost would range in the $1,500 - $2,500 including a professional-grade lens and other accessories.

I would be happy to help you narrow down your choices once you have identified your requirements. This might be best done off-list, but hopefully the above points will be useful to other scholars as well.

Best,

Mauricio

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Mauricio Drelichman
Assistant Professor of Economics
The University of British Columbia
997-1873 East Mall
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6T 1Z1
http://mauricio.econ.ubc.ca/