Natural light, lake core samples, and $2000. Help, please!

GrantH

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Hey everyone, i'm here for a friend this round.

A friend of mine is in his geology masters program and is currently receiving a grant for $2000 dollars for a camera and such to record core samples taken from the bottom of certain lakes/ponds/island shores, whatever. I don't have location details. Really doesn't matter I guess. Anyways, these core samples are drab colored; grey, brown, some yellows and reds but a lot of dull colors. He wants to get as much detail as possible and overall he wants to make a panoramic type photo out of each core.

My suggestions were a Canon T2i (or Nikon equivalent) and an 85mm prime. There are of course the 50/1.4 prime, but the 85 may suit him better as he needs as little distortion as possible because he plans stitching photos. Is that sound advice?

He said they have to take the photos mid day which I advised waiting later to take the photos but the cores dry out and get less photogenic as they do. Mid-day shooting is a must. As of now I told him that holding a white sheet to reduce harshness of the sun (large light modifier of sorts?) and that might help a little if he has the extra hands, but that's grasping for ideas I think.

Can anyone give me more ideas/opinions on how to photograph these in broad daylight that can produce a more realistic photo color-wise?
 
I would go for the 50mm on a crop body, you won't get much distortion on it and it also has a much shorter Minimum Focus distance. 1.5' as opposed to almost 3'

He can shoot midday, remember this is scientific not art but he should as you thought use a white scrim over the cores so that he has tonal light (flat) light rather then textural light (Contrasty)

And when he shoot the panoramas, make sure he keeps the tripod square to the subject and move it down the core, don't swivel the head
 
I mentioned to him to get kind of track slide system to slide the camera mount on. He's looking into that as he has a few dollars to spare. I would think a cheap white "canopy" angled to the sun, a T2i, and a 50mm as you mentioned would do well. Any other opinions?
 
I would go for pretty much any body that fit the budget, and a 60mm macro. As far as the shooting goes, WB is key to getting the colours accurate. I would ensure that I included enough money for a tool such as an Expo Disc to get the WB perfect. A couple of big diffusion panels are an excellent idea, but I'm not sure I'd use paper. White nylon on a PVC sprinkler-pipe frame works well. Also important will be ensuring that the monitor is calibrated when processing the files. A colourometer such as the Spyder 3 is a must.
 
Agreed. A 60mm macro lens will be your best bet. Was thinking it before I read tirediron's post. He also brings up a good point as far as the white balance and calibration go.

How big are these core samples? The slider rail to put the camera on might be a good Idea. I'd look into an IGUS for a good combo of quality and price. My best friend uses one for time lapses and video work and it works really well.
 
He said they would like to capture around 15 inches per photo, he said it in centimeters but I forgot what it was. 20? lol

So roughly 15" per photo; I'd guess ~3 photos total. These are not pros, which is going to present a problem when post-editing/processing comes into play. They ARE Geologists though, so I am certain they can use the WB meter. I will link him to this thread directly for him to get the info first hand.

So far we're looking at...

T2i for ~ 600 body only
60mm Macro ~ 380
IGUS 47" Slider ~ 150
White balance meter or lens filter
Light modifier of sorts, be it a sheet or other suitable material on some kind of stand/rig.

Easily under the 2000 dollar limit, and some very very good equipment.
 
Yep, $2000 is no problem for that. I would reconsider the slider however, unless that is you don't have the luxury of storage racks for the cores. Even if you don't, it might pay to make a shallow v-shaped tray the right size for the cores and then mount that on a slider; it could easily be rigged up from some wood and a few skateboard wheels.
 
KmH said:
There are 2.4 cm per inch.

Therefore a macro lens is a must. I'd get as many photos as I could to get the most details.
 
KmH said:
There are 2.4 cm per inch.

Therefore a macro lens is a must. I'd get as many photos as I could to get the most details.
Actually he is just giving a conversion figure. They want to shoot 15" sections so a 60mm lens on a crop camera 4 foot away from the subject would have a field width of about 15"
 
Rephargotohp said:
Actually he is just giving a conversion figure. They want to shoot 15" sections so a 60mm lens on a crop camera 4 foot away from the subject would have a field width of about 15"

Read the OP. he wants to do a panorama. I'd shoot as close as I could to get as many images to stitch as possible.
 
Destin said:
Read the OP. he wants to do a panorama. I'd shoot as close as I could to get as many images to stitch as possible.

I'm reading it as each core sample will be 15 inches but maybe I'm wrong. Depending on the diameter of them, I'd want to get in tighter than 15 inches. I'd want to fill the frame with nothing but the core for each individual image to obtain the most detail.

Also, op, make sure they shoot in manual mode to keep the exposure the same for each photo, or else the stitching won't look right.
 
Each core sample is at most 3-4 feet long. They want to shoot each frame with 15 inches of core in it roughly. The detail isn't so much that it has to be amazing, but they are using a 5 megapixel P&S at the moment. Anything is an improvement, and i'm guessing (100% guessing) the least amount of stitching the better. The cores will show/tell weather events for the past however many years that the core can extract. They are able to tell frost seasons, hurricane events, acid rain events, and an other abnormal weather event that takes place by looking at the layers they extract. Photos need to be as clear and well made as possible, but the science comes from physically working with the sample.
 

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