This is my first post as I just joined, despite having been reading about Michael's work for years.
Background: I am exclusively an amateur, having mostly used film SLR and DSLR with limited to no experience in professional lighting and large-format photography.
I have a requirement to do some large format scanning for digitally preserving some historic documents - mostly maps and some art work that a client wants captured at a fairly high resolution. Some of the works are fragile and won't be available to be moved off-site or for using in a large flatbed scanner..... so this leaves large format digital photography.
Question: Are there any companies or individuals in Atlantic Canada that have the equipment to do this type of work for me?
If not, I've examined the equipment rental options available and was trying to price out the insurance requirements for a PhaseOne P25 or PowerPhase FX with a Sinar 4x5 and appropriate lenses (thinking 300-400mm would work best), monitor calibration tools, several high W halogens, copy stand and camera frame/mount, etc.
Does anyone have recommendations before I proceed too far along this latter path? Since I'm "fairly" certain this equipment isn't readily available in Atlantic Canada, I'm prepared to go with the rental option, but given my limited experience, will I encounter many problems in the "learning curve"? If all goes well, I'd consider purchasing this type of equipment, but thought I'd gather some opinions first.