EH.R: Re: Digital cameras for archival research

[A. Leticia Arroyo Abad]

I am using a Canon SD700IS. I have visited around 8-10 archives in Latin America and Europe that implied very different working conditions. 

In most Latin America, digital cameras are allowed (if anyone needs info on the requirements, red tape, etc, please contact me). 

My camera is:

(i)  small and compact (archival work in Latin America means that you need something that you can carry around without drawing too much attention).

(ii) has more resolution than I need (I take pictures of 19th century documents in very deteriorated conditions).

(iii) a 4x optical zoom that is quite nice (sometimes is very difficult to distinguish a "5" from a "9").

Some recommended accesories: tripod, extra batteries, and an extra SD card. Talking to an archivist I learned that the flash does not really damage documents (consider that photocopying is generally an option and the photocopier light is much more powerful). The real enemy of old document is our oily hands. 

Hope it helps

Leticia

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A. Leticia Arroyo Abad, PhD candidate
Department of Economics, University of California, Davis 
Research Fellow, Center for Inter-American Studies and 
Programs, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico
http://www.econ.ucdavis.edu/graduate/alarroyo