Anyone near San Jose, California before March 23? (Star Wars Exhibit)

[dragnink]

Hey guys,

I've been working on a CAD model of the studio-scale (18") AT-AT walker from Star Wars. I have a machinist that'll be cnc'ing my files when I'm done. I'm hoping to get it as accurate as possible to the original filming model, with working pistons, compressible feet, animated joints (by hand--these were stop-motion puppets), just like the walkers used in the movie. I was even able to get some advice from the original makers of these props, Jon Berg and Tom St. Amand who used to work at Industrial Light & Magic.

This has always sort of been a dream of mine, and I think a series of good photos of at least one foot and leg for the purposes of photogrammetry would help me out to get my CAD files more accurate.

So I was wondering, does anyone here within reach of the Tech Museum in San Jose have a mid-high end SLR with an equivalent 50mm full frame lens (or less) and would be willing to go to the exhibit and take all the photos I need? In return, I'll happily pay your entrance fee to the exhibit. These exhibits don't have the best lighting, so an SLR with good low light performance, good megapixel count and a steady hand will be required to get the shots I need. I have some background with photography, so I think 1/30 of a second would be ok for the shutter speed.

I had a friend take some photos for me when the exhibit was in Indiana, but his camera had a low megapixel count and the pictures were kind of blurry and grainy. I processed a test with 123D Catch. It was a big help, but I could use more.. the geometry did not fair so well and I don't trust the dimensional accuracy of the results. To make things worse the model sits on a black reflective acrylic base.

The picture makes the scan look better than it turned out, only about 180 degrees of one feet came out looking somewhat accurate.

Thanks,
Matt