Shooting chromes for artwork reproduction

[Uri A]

Hi people,

I have been offered a job shooting artwork for reproduction/archival purposes by a local gallery. I have offered them the cheapy digi option, or the 4x5 chrome & scan option (figuring that scanning chromes will result in a huge file and accurate colour rendition) I used to shoot this stuff on E100G waaaaay back in the 90's, but just checking in with the here & now:

(1) For chromes, what current emulsion would you use for purely color correct rendition under (decent studio calibrated) flash light, to capture maximum detail in all areas of the original? E100G is under the death warrant at B&H - would you shoot Provia 100? I haven't shot a chrome in 8 years, but back in my day it seemed pretty green & cool....
(2) back in the day, we used to make sure our 2 heads were flashing the same colour temp to make sure we weren't getting any gremlins in the color at scanning stage. For reasons that escape me, color temp meters (which I would've assumed went the way of the scrimshaw artist's carving tools) are still fetching $600+ on eBay. Does anybody have a method for checking the equality (and accuracy) of one's 2 heads short of splurging this amount of cash???

Your help is (as always) is appreciated!

[jb7]

I would assume that you could easily check that the two heads were outputting the same temperature (and power) using a DSLR, though I don't know how you could accurately determine the actual temperature or filtration. However, I would imagine that it should be possible, though it would have to be run in conjunction with clip tests.

[jb7]

I suppose it would also be necessary to attach the DSLR to your view camera, so that you were using the same lens...

[Uri A]

Thanks, jb7: fair point!

You're right that I should be able to use a DSLR to verify the color output/rendition of the 2 strobes by studying the histogram of the 2 images, flashing 1 head at a time against a neutral background (correct me if I am wrong - PLEASE!). I would think that this would work equally well assessing 2 shots from the DSLR with lens as mounting it to the 4x5 (for which I don't have the facility).

[jb7]

Yes, a grey card would be ideal, though any neutral tone should work.
For non-imaging purposes, you might be able to bodge something together, to make a lighting test exposure-
Something involving reversing rings or extension tubes and a sheet something with a hole in it springs to mind...

[Uri A]

Something involving reversing rings or extension tubes and a sheet something with a hole in it springs to mind...

Whaaa?

[linhofbiker]

I have shot 4X5 Fuji 64T with tungsten lights (at night) to copy water color paintings for 20+ years. The paintings are a maximum of 30x40 inches. The lens I use is a 135mm Componon-S in a compur shutter. The results are used as a record and can be scanned to make giclee prints of the original painting. I always shoot at 1/2 sec at f/22 since the same setup is used each time (if it is a small painting some adjustment is made for bellows extension)

[jb7]

To make up something like this, although you can buy an adapter on ebay to suit your setup-

[vinny]

To make up something like this, although you can buy an adapter on ebay to suit your setup-

Not sure how shooting through the same lens (let's say 135mm) on a 24mm x 36mm sensor is going to show any more than a fraction of the same field of view (135mm on 4x5 film) which would likely only show a fraction of the color information of the original. Yes a different lens may render color/contrast differently but you might as well shoot with the dslr instead of going through all that trouble.

[jb7]

Not sure how shooting through the same lens (let's say 135mm) on a 24mm x 36mm sensor is going to show any more than a fraction of the same field of view (135mm on 4x5 film) which would likely only show a fraction of the color information of the original. Yes a different lens may render color/contrast differently but you might as well shoot with the dslr instead of going through all that trouble.

For me, it would be no trouble at all. The purpose is not to photograph the scene, but to determine colour matching and intensity between two light sources. The transmission differences between the two lenses might be negligible, or a lot, but measuring through the taking lens would remove that variable.