Out with the old and in with the new!

Over the Spring, I began researching relatively affordable copy stand setup options with the goal of improving our outdated and slightly MacGyver’d existing setup while also increasing the size of objects that could be photographed with the new setup. Here’s a list of the equipment we ended up purchasing:

• Kaiser 47.2″ Calibrated Counterbalanced Column – which was slightly cheaper prior to the recent inflation bump
• Kaiser Wall Mount for All RI Copy System Columns – which allows the column to be mounted to the wall
• Kaiser RA-1 Camera Arm 4″ Deep – which extends the camera 4″ further from the column

Once all of the column components arrived I set out to determine the maximum size object I could image with our current DSLR and our most used lens, in order to determine what size table I should get. Now, since I am not a math wizard, I did this the only way that made sense to my brain…I set the assembled column on against the wall, on the floor, with our camera mounted and used blue tape on the wall to create a grid of minimum and maximum size objects at various focal lengths…

This gave me pretty good idea of the general size I needed for a table. But I also wanted the table to have locking casters, sit at 27″ high (max), and have a shelf underneath for storage. Sadly, finding a table online that matched the size and other criteria was nearly impossible. Luckily for us, the UC Carpenters are the best and can make nearly anything you throw at them! And voila, after a couple months the UC Carpenters (a huge thanks to Tom!) had constructed a custom table and mounted the new copy stand column!

Today marked my first day using the new setup. I kicked things off by imaging a silk fabric piece from the Engineering library that would not fit on our old copy stand. Before our new setup, this would have meant shooting the delicate silk piece on the floor, using an inverted tripod. It’s a setup that I have used many times for oversized objects, and one that I strongly dislike for conservation photography, as it magnifies potential errors in handling. But luckily, I shouldn’t have to resort to the inverted tripod on the floor setup anytime soon!

Jessica Ebert [UCL] – Sr. Conservation & Photographic Documentation Specialist