Photographing PCB'S

[David]

Hi all,
Just a quick question... Does anyone know of some optimal settings/conditions for photographing PCBs? I would like to take some good quality photos of a board but can't find the best way to light them etc!

Cheers,
Dave

[wd5gnr]

If the board has no parts on it, place it on a flatbed scanner.

[TheDirty]

Use a tripod and a remote trigger so you can extend the shutter length.  Try lighting it in different ways to avoid glare and strong shadows.

If you want to do something fancy then google 'diy lightbox'

[armandas]

The only condition you need is light. Get lots of that, if you can. If you have to use the flash, taking pictures from further away and using optical zoom will help to avoid overexposure.

The other thing you need is practice

[Mechatrommer]

condition 1: you have a tripod
setup the camera on tripod and perpendicular facing to the pcb. set to lower ISO, smaller aperture (higher f value), trigger using timer, if you have image stabilization function, turn it OFF... and snap!

condition 2: you dont have a tripod (handheld)
set to highest (acceptable quality) ISO, largest aperture (lowest f value), trigger one shot, if you have image stabilization function, turn it ON... and snap! snap several times until u get the sharpest picture

for both condition:
arrange so that majority of lights comes from the 45 degree front of the PCB (not from the back), zoom to longest focal length is preferable to lessen distortion, as long as it will not create undesirable blur image. fill your image with pcb as much as you can to get highest resolution of it. set exposure compensation (EV) to +ve to brighten shadow area. edit in image editing software if necessary to get the best output. shooting indoor is much preferable rather than directly below the sun.

for condition 1, if you have an external flash. you can set your camera to longer shutter speed (say 1-2 seconds), set your flash to manual mode in your hand. while the camera is taking picture, you can move your flash around pcb very quickly while pressing test button many times to create multiple lighting effect

condition1 is much preferable than condition 2. so.... get a descent tripod!
getting more lighting equipments is more preferable, but the money will tell how much u gonna need
or else... u need to know how to harness the light around you.
or even several DIY incandescent bulbs will do (with white balance set correctly)

[EEVblog]

Lighting is everything.
A $100 point'n'shoot in great light can take better shots than a $5000 camera and top of the range macro lens in poor light!
The easiest solution is to take it outside on an overcast day (direct sun can be harsh)
The best solution is to get a "soft box" from ebay. They only cost like $30 or something and cast a nice even light across the entire product. You can build them yourself too.
Like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120528240299

Dave.

[Kiriakos-GR]

There is no an easy answer ...  I am an fanatic hobbyist photographer ... and I had become as such,
from the moment that I got one  semi-professional camera .

I took the learning curve to explore it fully .

The PCB as photographic subject its very tricky .

Involves Macro settings and Lens , plus external  Digital flash , plus extension flash cable.

Here is how I started to build by extension cable  ,
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=524.0
by splitting in half the original Olympus cable ( 60$ ),
and the next move are to build the extension it self ,
plus one box with switches on it  , that will disable the TTL commands , and force the Flash unit to operate in Manual mode.

Then I will be able to have the light source set correctly  ( Flash unit + braked 500$ ) ,
and with the special  High quality  Macro lens ( 200 $ )  , I will be able to get the perfect shot even for SMT PCB's .

And because my friend @shafri is watching   ..
I will use  dual tripods ...  One Mini SliK ( Japan )  2.5 Kilos ability.  
And another  normal sized one ( Japan ) , for the camera it self .

My advice to any one who are interested about getting it to Macro photography ..
Get the proper camera first !!

  

  

[Mechatrommer]

There is no an easy answer ...  I am an fanatic hobbyist photographer ... and I had become as such,
from the moment... The PCB as photographic subject its very tricky .
Involves Macro settings and Lens , plus external  Digital flash , plus extension flash cable.
Then I will be able to have the light source set correctly  ( Flash unit + braked 500$ ) ,
and with the special  High quality  Macro lens ( 200 $ )  , I will be able to get the perfect shot even for SMD PCB's .

And because my friend @shafri is watching    ..
I will use  dual tripods ...  One Mini SliK ( Japan )  2.5 Kilos ability. 
And another  normal sized one ( Japan ) , for the camera it self .

My advice to any one who are interested about getting it to Macro photography ..
Get the proper camera first !!

yo brother! Kiriakos-GR! i'm here listening, and i'm...... waaaatching youuuuu hahaha!



ok, i just setup a simple 30 minutes or so "PCB Photographing" just to share some idea, it consist:

1) A Camera
2) A Tripod
3) A Flash
4) The Circuit

Auxiliary:
1) My Son's Studying Table
2) Couples of Books
3) A White A4 Paper

The PCB is taken in complete darkness, manual focus, manual mode, no cable, just one shot shutter trigger, several times of flash burst at 1/64 setting from various angles. The key point here, is the lighting, the more source and the more distributed the light, the more preferable the image will be, just as armandas and dave pointed out. and the lesser the dark area will be. I think in the PCB Photographing, the idea to show all possible components, tracks holes etc, without too much rendered in the dark area. just as in most photography discipline, not too much difference there i think. its just in the case of PCB, we should watch out a little bit for glare and reflection as well, coz that will put some area out of sight.

a.jpg = the circuit after PP, cropped and resampled
b.jpg = the setup (dont mind the background pls)
c.jpg = original cropped
d.jpg = original cropped PP to sharpen and brighten

[Kiriakos-GR]

yo brother! Kiriakos-GR! i'm here listening, and i'm...... waaaatching youuuuu hahaha!

Nice basic setup ...  but with the addition of the Macro lens and flash with about 40 output deviations,
I could possibly tell how fresh is the silicone in the chip too ..  

[Kiriakos-GR]

Well , what I am trying to say , other than lightly teasing  @shafri ..

Are that with all this big lens and even with the additional Macro, the on board flash unit,
cannot function any more , because the lens system gets in the way.

Finding solutions so to get your external flash to do the job, its just necessary.    

[alm]

The importance of using an external flash in my opinion is getting the light off-axis, so you don't get ugly reflections. Anything else can be improvised, a bed sheet (or white shirt) can work as make-shift softbox. Lack of power levels can be fixed by getting the flash farther away and adding more layers of cloth between it and your subject (has the added advantage of making the light softer). For more details than you ever wanted to know, see the Strobist website.

You can't do this with the internal flash, in that case I'd rather use ambient light, eg. overcast sunlight or room lights. You'll definitely need a tripod for the latter (slow shutter speeds), but it's helpful in any case to focus and compose properly.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Well , other than some one, who is getting some pictures of PCB's ,
there is and the Macro world fanatics  ,
those are justified to get Strobes , or what ever, it will make their tasks easier.

There is no Ant in this planet , that good looking , that I will pay an strobe for it ..     

 

[Zad]

I'm not sure which country you are in. Here in the UK, Maplin sell this portable light box for £10 http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=38260

Im sure other countries will have something similar, even if it is only via Ebay.

[TheDirty]

I guess the level of help here really depends on what quality the OP is looking for.  Usable pictures to show off work or something to put on a sales page.

I just use a cheap chinese remote flash trigger for remote flash.  I modified it with an external 433Mhz antenna to increase the range and reliability.
http://www.higginstribe.com/temp/20080409-cactus-mod-004.jpg

... but really, I don't do anything special to take pictures of PCB's since they aren't for commercial sales or anything and I don't get any personal satisfaction getting the perfect PCB photo.  As long as it's all fairly clear and no glares is all I care about.  I don't even colour correct or post.   I think I've used a flash and umbrella once or twice with them, but really for PCB's, they are static scenes, there's no problem using available light.  I've only done a couple macro shots.
http://www.higginstribe.com/uc/msp430/rf-node/20091104-msp430-close-001.jpg
http://www.higginstribe.com/uc/z8e/w5100/20090402-PCB-003.jpg

[Kiriakos-GR]

The cheap Chinese remote flash triggers are not TTL,
another factor are the cameras brand, and compatibility.

And the major than all , to own the damn expensive digital flash unit, that are compatible with your camera,
and its loaded with all the settings that you will ever need , for TTL or manual .

The latest and greatest flash units and cameras , includes remote control systems, and also the latest digital flash units comes ready to operate as remote controlled , and even have dual channels , so to use two flash units at the same time.

The point are the cost ...  I was waiting 10 years to see my Olympus digital flash to drop from 400EUR ,
to 110 EUR as Used (plus shipping)  , so to get one.  

[Kiriakos-GR]

I'm not sure which country you are in. Here in the UK, Maplin sell this portable light box for £10 http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=38260

Im sure other countries will have something similar, even if it is only via Ebay.

The soft box  are good for small objects , not for PCB's . 
The PCB needs direct light .

[David]

I'm not sure which country you are in. Here in the UK, Maplin sell this portable light box for £10 http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=38260

Im sure other countries will have something similar, even if it is only via Ebay.

I spotted this today, will be purchasing one tomorrow! Thanks for all the replies. I don't require "professional" photo's, just good enough for a large poster (white background) and other similar things. I will post my results in due course.

Dave

[TheDirty]

The cheap Chinese remote flash triggers are not TTL,
another factor are the cameras brand, and compatibility.

I have expensive Sigma flashes with TTL that I never use anymore.  I'm not a photojournalist and all my pictures are under semi controlled environments.  My most used flashes are Sunpak 383's which are $80.  I have three with the chinese remotes and all three will trigger.

Strobist is a good site/blog for lighting advice on the cheap.
http://strobist.blogspot.com/

[EEVblog]

These examples were done outside on an overcast afternoon with a cheap Macro lens on my Olympus E510
http://www.eevblog.com/images/Fluke28jacks2.jpg
http://www.eevblog.com/images/Fluke28pcbbottom1.jpg
http://www.eevblog.com/images/Fluke28pcbtop1.jpg

The standard lens is capable of similar results with a lot less bokeh.
And there really is not much difference from my point'n'shoot in macro mode either.
You just need nice even light

Dave.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Well the true Macro lens offers magnification plus  clear center and surroundings ..

Any camera with standard lens , at macro , can go only for a clear center , the surroundings will be blurred.
The depth of field in Macro are always limited , but the uniform and sharp coverage its totally dependent on the Good macro Lens .  

Sharpness does not cames with lots of mega pixels in the image file ..

My camera its only 2.1MP , and every single pixel offers an crispy detail with the proper lens on it.
(with converters as  Wide - Tele - Macro )

Thats the truth and only the truth ... so help me God    

Still , the ones who does not need perfection , and they are happy with their  results , its the lucky ones.
They do not have to spent much cash,  and only very few, will find out that their pictures are average.  

[TheDirty]

These examples were done outside on an overcast afternoon with a cheap Macro lens on my Olympus E510
http://www.eevblog.com/images/Fluke28jacks2.jpg
http://www.eevblog.com/images/Fluke28pcbbottom1.jpg
http://www.eevblog.com/images/Fluke28pcbtop1.jpg

The standard lens is capable of similar results with a lot less bokeh.
And there really is not much difference from my point'n'shoot in macro mode either.
You just need nice even light

Dave.

Very nice.  Cloudy days are definitely a good time for this.  Like having a 1000 mile softbox.

[Mechatrommer]

These examples were done outside on an overcast afternoon with a cheap Macro lens on my Olympus E510

Very nice.  Cloudy days are definitely a good time for this.  Like having a 1000 mile softbox.

during a very bright shiny day, placing yourself and the PCB in the shade area will give you somewhat good ambient lighting, esp when the surronding such as wall, floor or ceiling (or even your shirt and trouser) are white or bright colored. if that dont give you much lighting, then you can place the PCB under the sun, and block it with semi transparent white material, such as shirt, linen, paper etc. to add more ummph, you can "diffuse reflect" the sunlight from the sides using white mounting boards or other matte (non shiny) materials.

[EEVblog]

I really don't know why everyone is talking about external TTL flashes, that's all just too expensive and complicated IMO. Fine if you've got the gear and the experience, but otherwise just take the unit outside on a sunny or overcast day and you'll get excellent light and good results with almost any camera.
If you need to shoot indoors then get a big cheap soft box and a lamp.

AFAIK, professionals who photograph products use soft boxes and consistent studio lighting, not flashes. Happy to be corrected though!

Dave.

[alm]

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend someone to buy an expensive flash just to photograph a few PCB's. A flash just gives you more control and allows you to work faster. You also have to be more aware of light, reflections and shadows to light something yourself, just using some pleasing ambient light is easier. The key for PCB's is soft light, and you don't want (much) light close to the lens axis, since this will create direct reflections (obscures things like markings on IC's). Using a built-in flash is basically the worst you can do (except for total darkness).

If you're going to use improvised tools, I'd skip the softbox and just use any old white piece of cloth. It's easier to improvise light modifiers than light sources in my opinion. The mentioned Strobist website contains plenty of articles about DIY light modifiers. Incandescent lights produce very little light compared to flashes. A reasonable hotshoe flash might discharge about 50-75J within 1ms (not sure about the efficiency of the flash tube). A basic studio flash will be between 100-300J or so. A 100W incandescent light will produce only 100mJ in that same time (with worse efficiency), so you need much longer shutter speeds (not a problem with a sturdy tripod and static subject).

Note that a softbox is a (often square) diffusion panel that attaches to the front of a light, those white tents you can put a product in are called light tents. They are useful because they don't require much skill or thought to use (the position of the light isn't very critical).

Good studio flashes will be quite consistent, but I guess you meant continuous light . Continuous light is gaining in popularity, mainly because camera's get more sensitive and they're also useful for doing video. But studio flashes are definitely more popular, since they just produce more light in a smaller package (useful if you want to overpower the sun). Continuous lights make it easier to preview reflections and shadows, although studio flashes have a modeling lamp that allows this to some degree. Light tents are a bit of a shotgun approach, so depending on the required look, a photographer might choose to light something with just softboxes or umbrella's.

[Kiriakos-GR]

The creation of TTL Camera Flash Technology is meant for two type of person:
1) A professional .
2) A person who do not want to learn much .

Wow...  hold your horses Boss ...  

Well my ( our ) Flash unit , in order to deliver precision, it haves one scalability from 1GN to 40GN ,
equals to 40 deferent output levels ..

Imagine one car with 40 options in the Gear box ...  the proper use of the correct gear at every speed,
makes the car to move fast , with lots of safety ,  and with the minimum waste of fuels. ( aka best economy )

The great part in this conversation are , that all the options and possibilities are all ready presented.

What looks as fanny , is the ones who promote the Manual use of Oscilloscopes , and consider the use of the TTL flashes, as "complex" in manual mode ..  

Still I have one explanation ,  the  true semi professional cameras, has one large learning curve ,
some people find this boring , some others a pleasure to do.
Photography its an art - an hobby - and a full job , if you chose to master it,
the results in your pictures will shine too.

And if there is an "bottom line"  about the  "Auto - Manual" , it would be , that the user it must understand how the camera works ,  so to be able to correct it , if the Auto-pilot stars acting weird ..  
  
Thats an sample of macro work, I had become an hacker in the Olympus gear ..