I built a shooting rig to shoot large flat objects (artwork) laying on a 4’x8’ table. It mounts on the table and stands 32” tall. It has a digital 35mm camera mounted on an XY grid that allows it to shoot downward onto the table top. It will automatically take one photo and then move to the next position to take the next photo and so on depending on the lens used and the configuration of the software. It is controlled by an Arduino microcontroller board running a customizable code, and features an LCD screen and keypad to change settings of how many photos to take and to start the process. The taken photos will overlap and in the end you have a group of images to stitch together in Photoshop, Lightroom, or your favorite photo stitching software. You can tether the camera to a computer or use the camera’s internal storage card to hold the images. You can use whatever lighting work best for you. I am currently using a Nikon D200 with a 50mm lens on it and Capture One software on a Mac tethered to it. I have two LED lights on each end of the rig to light the “subject”. This has worked out great for my needs. Video of it in action available on request. The unit can be knocked down for transportation. It is built from Open Builds V-slot rails and stepper motors. It runs on 110V AC. BTW, I am selling it if anyone is interested.
