Taking pictures using a film reader

[Ginger]

I love my FZ15 for travel and now want to use it for recording items being viewed on a film reader. I have taken several and they print out with a pretty dark background, though the text is very readable. I used the party mode, but I did not want to use the flash--maybe should have tried it. Any suggestions?

[emalvick]

I love my FZ15 for travel and now want to use it for recording items being viewed on a film reader. I have taken several and they print out with a pretty dark background, though the text is very readable. I used the party mode, but I did not want to use the flash--maybe should have tried it. Any suggestions?

I'm a little confused... So when you say film reader, are you taking pictures of negatives on a light table? or microfilm, or something like that?

I would guess you don't want a flash.

Then you mention that they print with a dark background... Do they have a dark background on the monitor? It could be just the printer or printing process if it is only the prints that are coming out dark.

However, if the actual image on the screen is dark, your solution will probably require going to manual mode and doing one or all of the following until you get an exposure that comes out as you'd like:

1. reduce the aperture setting (f-stop), probably to 2.8
2. slow down the shutter speed...
3. increase the iso setting.

All three will help you get brighter images. #3 is something you may only want to do if the shutter speed is getting too slow to hold the camera steady. Although, a tripod could be useful in that situation.

I hope this helps, but please clarify what your trying to do, so that more help can be provided.

Erik

[Ginger]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am looking at microfilm of books which actually were a little greyed. ( It was published in 1882.) What I viewed on the camera's monitor seemed to be lighter than what I viewed on iphoto. I will try your suggestions.

[emalvick]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am looking at microfilm of books which actually were a little greyed. ( It was published in 1882.) What I viewed on the camera's monitor seemed to be lighter than what I viewed on iphoto. I will try your suggestions.

I'm not sure how things have been working, but if the book is just text or just black and white (not much grayscale or photos), then you may want to post-process the photos by converting them to a straight black and white (or even using black and white mode on the camera). You may also want to increase the contrast in post processing. That is what I have done in scanning books, articles, etc. I don't think you can count on a camera or scanner alone to get the perfect shot as the white will almost always turn out with some gray.

Converting to straight black and white will make a smaller file memory-wise, which can be useful too for printing, emailing, etc.

Erik

[Ginger]

Thanks Erik, I will try the black & white setting. That seems logical. :)