Best Digital Camera for Digitizing Large Newspapers

Dear Donia,
What type of digital camera should I use to digitize old newspapers?

digital camera

 

Q. Dear Donia,

I am a librarian in British Columbia. I would like to digitize some of our old newspapers and was told that purchasing a digital camera may be the best solution. Most of our newspapers are broadsheets and thus are quite large. Is there any document camera you may recommend? Thanks, James
 

A. Dear James,

The best camera to look for is a digital SLR. Beyond that, find a camera that is sturdy and can shoot in camera RAW. Nikon tends to be the preferred brand. Within that, get the best camera that you can afford. Be sure to take into account you will need to get software such as Lightroom to manage your photographs and a copy stand and lights at a minimum for the best quality images.

There is a lot to consider when digitizing so take a look at these two handy links from the Library of Congress geared toward helping institutions digitize their collections:

Preservation Guidelines for Digitizing Library Materials
Recommended Formats Statement

Another resource that may be helpful is Anna E. Bulow and Jess Ahmon, Preparing Collections for Digitization (London: Facet Publishing, 2011). 

Hope all this helps.