Objects for scale

Joe Duxbury

Joe Duxbury

Member
What do you cave photographers like to use to give a close-up shot some scale? A karabiner? An AA battery? Is there consensus as to what looks best?
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

Well-known member
Don't know about photographs, but for surveys, if your discovery is sufficiently impressive, then to scale 747 jumbo jet outlines are a popular choice.
 
yrammy

yrammy

Member
why not buy inexpensive measure strip as used in archaeology. https://www.geologysuperstore.com/product/field-scale-card/
 
ChrisJC

ChrisJC

Well-known member
We generally use whatever is available, which is either a full size human being if it's a large object, or a hand / finger if it's smaller. It's definitely not photogenic!, but it is a good record.

Chris.
 
ZombieCake

ZombieCake

Well-known member
Past Horizons also has some useful photo scales and other stuff.  I'm that sad (or maybe optimistic) I keep the credit card photo scale in my wallet!

https://www.pasthorizonstools.com/category_s/1831.htm
 
A

ALEXW

Member
To be useful a scale object has to be a known and fixed size. Mars bars get smaller every year, shrinkflation.
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
For larger objects a ranging rod is usually good, but they're very expensive. I bought 2m of 16mm white pvc pipe and a roll of red insulating tape from B&Q, and got three ranging rods (1m and 2 X 0.5m) out of it for about ?3.50. Smaller ones would be even easier. They weigh nothing, are waterproof and very strong. A 20cm one would take about five mins to make and mere pence in cost. That said, the field scale card yrammy suggested would probably be even better.
 
Graigwen

Graigwen

Active member
In the good old days of cave photography, in other words when hardly anyone did it, a standard flash bulb was often used.

(There is an example of this in one of the 60s photos I recently put on the trashed Aggie thread.)

.
 
The Old Ruminator

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
I hardly ever use an object for scale with macro now. It tends to destroy the artistic merit in my view. Straws are useful as they have a fairly fixed circumference size other than that nothing. For larger views obviously a person but not a posed grinning twerp if possible. Getting a human subject to look right is quite difficult. Sadly not everyone makes a good subject either. Stance and expression are areas where care has to be taken.
 
Cantclimbtom

Cantclimbtom

Well-known member
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132156209176?hash=item1ec51fb818:g:7RwAAOSwpkFY7Oxk

It has the added advantage of making the formations look slightly larger and more impressive compared to someone of average height. And again... the miniature to make things look HUGE
 
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