How To: Taking Pictures of PCBs

[Julio Franco]

I've started to develop a strange pleasure for taking pictures of PCBs and I wanted to share my experience. Sure, you can take pictures of PCBs with your smartphone and get nice results. However, if you want repeatable quality and acceptable color, you don't need to break the bank but you will need a bit more gear.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1462-taking-photos-of-printed-circuit-boards/

 

[Uncle Al]

One item not mentioned that comes from the old days of film photography involves buying a mounting ring (for removable lenses) so you can reverse the lens and shoot through the front with the back pointed at the subject. It acts like a simple macro-lens and the results are astounding. It even works for large format camera's with the same great results. If you cannot find a mounting ring I have used a small bit of large paper towel tube, just enough to keep the camera lens off the body. Also achieved by a clear or A1 sky filter and hand hold it. Takes a bit of practice, but the results are worth the effort ....

 

[mbrowne5061]

One item not mentioned that comes from the old days of film photography involves buying a mounting ring (for removable lenses) so you can reverse the lens and shoot through the front with the back pointed at the subject. It acts like a simple macro-lens and the results are astounding. It even works for large format camera's with the same great results. If you cannot find a mounting ring I have used a small bit of large paper towel tube, just enough to keep the camera lens off the body. Also achieved by a clear or A1 sky filter and hand hold it. Takes a bit of practice, but the results are worth the effort ....

Unfortunately, those days are likely done, now that most new lenses have CPUs on board that the camera needs to talk to - and can only talk to when mounted correctly.

 

[Uncle Al]

LOL ..... My mistake. For those that no clue about f/stops, shutter speeds or manual focus .... don't bother even trying .... for the rest of you, it works fine but you had to make your own adjustments manually which for these fully automatic camera's means you adjust focus by moving the camera closer or further from the subject and exposure by increasing or decreasing your light source. And for everyone else, don't be afraid to experiment .... that's the key to new discovery!

 

[m-tec]

If you have problems metering or getting correct white balance, buy a grey card. It is calibrated to give a camera the correct exposure regardless of how bright or dark it is. Plus it will calibrate your white balance to the correct setting as well. It only costs about £5 to £10. All you do is place it where your pcb would go and take the meter reading. check this out
https://www.digitalphotomentor.com/how-to-use-a-gray-card-for-custom-white-balance-and-metering/

 

[roj23]

Sorry for being noob... I just want to know how you setup the photography using light box? Do you take picture from top or take picture at the front side.