Photography Part Three: Manuscripts

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 …or, strange things I've found on fleabay.

Jings & crivens! A bonus post with limited reach, I'd imagine. But for those of us in the know... genius.

Whenever I'm really fed up, or ill (I'm talking poorly-blanket™ level of illness) I scour a certain online auction site for obscure photographic items. Just a challenge.

One such occasion, afforded by a broken rib and prescription strength pain killers, saw me embarking upon the challenge. Armed with a late 1970s/early 1980s Pentax catalogue a hunt began for the obscure and rare. First target a 'copipod'. 

What on earth is a 'copipod' I hear you ask. It's sort of a desktop tripod that was designed for photography of documents. Completely pointless in the age of flatbed scanners and photocopiers. But in the 1970s this was cutting edge, and immediately brings to mind cold war spies taking pictures of classified documents.

Not sure why anyone would want an archive image of the current Rockingham Castle guidebook...

Only it wasn't really a challenge. Within seconds I had found a UK photography shop that had 4 brand new, sealed, in box copipods. Slightly deflated I continued my quest for a 90° mirror adapter; basically a fake lens hood that allows you to take photos at a 90° to the direction that you are pointing your camera - yes again, a device that would suggest I harbour a secret desire of being involved in espionage*. (I found that too. Didn't buy it, a ridiculous item, and also very expensive. All the fun has gone out of this game now.) 

The concept of the copipod clearly struck a train of thought, and I wondered if such a device would be ideal for photographing manuscripts. For £25 (or 5 northern pints of beer/ 3 pints of beer at London prices), I thought it rude not to give it a try.

Such a brilliantly engineered device. Four adjustable legs screw into a mount holder. A 49mm adapter screws into a lens thread, then the whole thing clips together, with a thumb screw holding the lens adapter in place. All housed in a heavy duty PVC leatherette case.

Now my old 35mm camera weighs considerably less than my digital SLRs, and I wondered how it would cope. Absolutely fine. Even my modern macro lenses are still a 49mm filter thread. A 40.5mm step up ring allows my tiny mirrorless camera (Pentax Q) to be used too.

Once set up, a remote trigger is required, so no movement is created.

This wasn't just a weird thing made by Pentax, Leica also made one. So clearly not completely left field.

Absolutely brilliant. Now to get it approved by British Library/National Archive security staff.

* I don't, I'd probably end up in Slough House with a Mr Jackson Lamb as my boss.


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