Homebrew PCBs

On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 18:43:49 +0200, curt_rxr <cwrxr@...> wrote:

> Hi All,
> I tried to take a pic of my LPC2138 dip header board with my PHD (
> Push Here Dummy ) film camera.  It is uploaded into the Photos section
> in the PCB EDM folder and is labeled Oops!  You can tell why!!!
> Any advice as to digital cameras for this sort of work?  What sort
> optics are needed for closeups?  Is digital "zoom" worth while?
> Help!
> Curt


You would want a camera with macro mode.
When i bought mine i made the mistake to first buy a very small camera  
with mechanic fault, assuming i can fix it. Didn't work out. Then i bought  
a minolta dimage S304, which is much larger, and i'm happy with it. It  
isn't cutting edge but it does all i need pretty well. the AF on macro is  
a bit bad though but manual is ok for that.
If you don't really need a small camera there are many advantages of  
larger cameras, the mechanics for the lens are much more sturdy and they  
can use AA NiMHs and not some special rechargeable. Also, you can actually  
hold them better.

You don't need much in terms of resolution when the optics are ok, 3MP  
should be more than you wish to upload anywhere. Those cameras can be  
bought secondhand for a reasonable price from people that always want to  
have the latest model.
I looked for optical zoom, often you will not get macro mode without  
optical zoom anyway. i don't use the digital zoom.

Many cameras have auto mode (which allows dummies to press the button) and  
a manual mode where you can set all the stuff you don't even want to know  
about.

There are good reviews on the web which often also show the macro  
performance, so always read reviews before you buy.


I found for small stuff my scanner works very good too. The picture is  
sharp to over a centimeter above the glass. So for PCBs (even populated)  
it is often ok.

ST