Photographing a ballplayer decapitation scene, Tiquisate culture, circa AD 400-550, Escuintla area, Guatemala, courtesy of the Museo Popol Vuh, Universidad Francisco Marroquin. Photography by Nicholas Hellmuth, FLAAR Photo Archive.

Rollout photography system.

Gateway to abundant information on technology and results of how to do digital photography. Includes reviews and recommendations on what equipment is best.

This is the rollout setup. Better Light adaptation of the Dicomed Field Pro, both developed by Michael Collette.

The turntable is on one tripod (a Ries wooden tripod with no extensions to the legs; you need a rigid tripod, with legs that cannot collapse).

Cables connect everything together. This prototype uses SCSI. Two processors are involved, the Dicomed processor and a host computer, in this case a Macintosh PowerBook 3400c maxed out with RAM.

Linhof camera, though it is best to avoid 4x5 cameras with L-shaped supports--they sag from the weight of the digital insert. We now use Wisner when in remote areas on expedition and recommend an Arca-Swiss for studio work.

If you need information specifically on a black-and-white laser printer that can economically print a rollout of a Maya vase at photo-realistic museum-exhibit quality (in B+W), the GCC laser can do it, indeed can render a print of a rollout of a Maya vase enlarged up to 35 inches long (at 800 or 600 dpi for that length), 13 inches tall. With this enlargement you can exhibit the rollouts as well as study every pertinent detail of the brush strokes or phonetic details of the hieroglyphic inscriptions. Contact for information on GCC: Craig Bradford, e-mail cbradford@gcctech.com telephone (800) 422-7777, ext 8659 (if you get voice mail send an e-mail).

Review posted March 18, 1999.
Updated March 14, 1999.