On Jun 15, 2007, at 8:37 PM, Paul wrote: > I will like to buy a copy stand to use with my > Pentax K100D. I intend to use to take pictures of > rocks, fossils, concretions, artifacts, toy > trains, and similar objects for illustrations in > popular and professional publications and personal > satisfaction.
For three dimensional table-top work, a copy stand is often very inconvenient to use. A good tripod with a flexible head/column arrangement and something like the EZCube does an easier and better job. Copy stands are best at doing flat art copy work That said: > 1. Can anyone tell me what specific features to be > concerned about most in a copy stand to be used for > taking such photographs? Rigidity and alignment. > 2. What is the advantage, if any, of having a copy > stand with counter balancing? Managing very heavy camera/copy equipment stably. > 3. Does anyone has any recommendations for copy > stands, including lights, in the 150 to 450 dollar > range? > 4. Does anyone has any recommendations for copy > stands, including lights, in the 450 to 650 dollar > range? I bought an inexpensive but rigid copystand for $80 as a one-off from the local camera shop. I use a pair of Paterson EFlash panels on cheap light stands (altogether, about $100 each), and a Nikon SB30 ($45 used) with its IR shield up, to do the lighting. A middle-size EZCube cost me $120. My lens kit for doing copy/macro/tabletop work is a Pentax-A 50mm f/2.8 Macro lens and a Rear Converter-A 2x-S, purchased for $130 and $90 each. That nets two focal lengths, lighting tent, copy stand, lights etc all for $665. I had the tripod and camera body already, of course. Sounds expensive and you could likely dispense with parts of the kit and use equipment you already have, but this simple setup has generated over $7000 worth of income in the past year so it was worth it to me. Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
