Wildcatter asked for a description of how I made the photos of the cartridge heads I posted on June 7.
I'm flattered and will oblige, but it's really not complex.
I have a Pentax Optio E10 from 2006. In the digital era, this qualifies it for an old-age pension.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/06010306pentax_e10.asp
(It came from Cameraland http://www.cameralandny.com. They qualify as firearms-friendly,
and sponsor a hunting optics forum on another site.)
The camera goes on a tripod. I find it almost impossible to make good closeup images without one.
Mine's an old Sears tripod that I inherited.
For lighting I use a couple of old reflector lights with 100-watt bulbs installed. (I hope this
link works: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/sf/1-14-clamp%20light.jpg)
I set up the cases, position the camera, turn it on, set the camera to "macro" mode, turn off the
flash, and turn on the lights. Then I mess with the lights until the image looks ok on the view
screen. Then I press the shutter button half-way, which this camera causes it to focus as
best it can. If the image looks sharp, then I press the shutter release. The photo usually comes out
ok. Then I extract the photo from the camera's memory and put it in web storage.
The camera is set at its highest resolution, which gives a big picture. Usually I crop the photo using
the Windows Paint program. The photos with the 100-watt incandescent lights usually have a slightly
reddish cast. If necessary I've removed it with Photoshop.
Here's a photo I just took with another camera that shows the Pentax in position to photograph the
case head of a .45 Win Mag.
Here's the photo that resulted. You can see the corrosion spots, the red primer sealant on the
case and primer, and a slight mark from the ejector-groove from the pressure. It was a factory round.
If this isn't sufficiently clear, please ask questions and I'll try to answer them. I'm pretty sure I've
omitted something.
--Bob