Photo people: cheap camera for book pages?

[Mr Downtown]

We always think of holding the camera and shooting down, or ways to mount the camera on a tripod--but see if this wouldn't work better:

Set the camera on a stack of two or three books, pointing horizontally, in a well-lighted area. Carefully open the book to be photographed, resting the cover face down on the table, letting the flyleaf and bastard-title pages fall gently open, also. Now the title page is exposed, and both book and camera are stabilized for the shutter to be pressed. On to the next!

I used to do copystand work this way from books I couldn't check out, in places I couldn't carry a copystand into.

[Phy]

Why not just pop each book title page on your copy machine?
It'll be lots cheaper and always in focus!

[Gutenberg]

OK, I asked a friend who works at our city library. They use a very high-tech system involving a page (apprentice librarian), a librarian, any old digital camera someone brings from home, and a chair.

Step 1: Page places book on table, open to title page.
Step 2: Librarian kneels on chair.
Step 3: Librarian shoots page (title page, not apprentice librarian).

So that's it! Preservation recordation at cash-strapped urban libraries in the 21st Century. Hope this helps.

[mjgkramer]

Although it's not what is to be done in this project, I recently used my Canon 20D to photograph a page in a book that I wanted to OCR. Worked like a champ. Much easier to do and less damaging to the book than using a scanner.

[RAMd®d]

and less damaging to the book than using a scanner

That's the first thing that I thought of at te mention of scanner.

Most digial cameras, including the Canon line have a close focus and/or macro setting that maks photographing books a snap. Literally. Use the flash as fll-in, and play with the adjustment a litt.e and you're there.