This was one of those “boy scientist” days where we moved benches and setup the lab.  The image at the top of this blog shows a faux scroll and the new color checker.  I was in the scroll vault today and saw some of the samples we will be capturing.  The Scrolls are deteriorating and electronic imaging is a must.  The inclusion of the color checker in the image allows us to build a correction for each image.  During the course of the days, the color of the illumination drifts a bit.  Set up of the camera is done with manual exposure control using a light meter.  White balance is applied in the Capture One software.  As you can see, the scrolls are typically fragments and they are not easy to read.  This image is from a reproduction of scroll that simulates a typical size and condition.  Many of the scroll images will require substantial  post image processing to make the data readable.  In the testing we are doing this week we are also doing sub samples of multi spectral visible and IR imaging.  

Here is an example of an authentic set of scroll fragments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next image shows the comparison of images in full color and data extraction at 650 and 950 nm center wavelengths

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note that characters are visible in the right hand image.