EJMcD

Great minds think alike.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

This is something you can practice and experiment at home, before the trip. Don't underestimate the value of first hand experience. You have a full month to get to know your camera and how far you can push it in different situations - pull out your camera and start experimenting now!

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

1. The D500 does not offer "Auto" Shooting. I suggest using Program mode and Matrix metering for photographing art, but pay attention to the exposure values indicated in the viewfinder to make sure nothing unreasonable is happening.

2. Make certain that Flicker Reduction is enabled. (It's near the end of the Shooting Menu.) The 50Hz power in Europe will eat your lunch otherwise, even with incandescent bulbs.

3. You can easily use an ISO of 1250 or even 1600 and have plenty of dynamic range left. If you need to go to 2,000 to get reasonable exposure values, feel comfortable doing so. Do not use Auto ISO, and do not use Auto White Balance. Setting to an approximately correct value will usually give you much better results than relying on Auto in venues like this. Be prepared for incandescent, fluorescent, or LED lighting. If LED, I suggest setting to a Kelvin temperature, even if you do it by trial and error. Just don't underexpose your images. If you are saving JPEGs, switch to "Vivid" in Picture Control. If you can figure out how, increase contrast and sharpness beyond the factory defaults.

4. Because of the size and shape of the painting, I'd consider doing a two or three shot panorama if you have a way to put it together. Otherwise, you are going to be asking your D500 to deliver a ton of detail from its 21MP sensor. You may need to increase ISO beyond this, depending on how much lighting is on the painting. 2500 should be usable, but 3200 will probably start costing you some image quality.

If you told us what lens you expect to be using, I missed it. I do this sort of thing all the time with my D500, often using my 24-120mm f/4 Nikkor, and I do not understand why so many think that the camera is not capable of it. I suggest that you practice by taking photographs of pictures hanging on the wall of your home so that you can learn exactly what you can and cannot do successfully. This isn't nearly as difficult as everyone tries to make it if you gain even a slight understanding of your camera controls and practice a little bit at home where there is no pressure.

Once you give it a try, come back if you have specific questions.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

I've know people to get away with using a Platypod in locations that otherwise disallowed tripods.

https://www.platypod.com

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I just noticed that there is a sentence in #4 that belongs with #3. Too late to edit, but you'll see and can figure it out.

MDI Mainer

My older iPhone 6 consistently takes better photos of art hanging on museum walls than my full-frame Sony. My guess is that newer models would do even better.

In a museum with other visitors milling about there is not typically much time to fiddle with camera settings and still get a clear shot of the art work. So for me "point and shoot" works best in this context -- both experientially and photographically.

Also I think that taking a panorama is largely a waste of time and effort. Better to get an overall shot, and then really close up, detailed images of the parts of the work that most interest you. This is the mode you see used effectively in professionally produced art books -- where the photographer has had no other visitors to contend with, use of a tripod and control over lighting -- advantages you will not have!

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Takes me about 10 seconds to shoot a three shot panorama hand-held with my D500.

MDI Mainer

And then what do you do with it, make a six-foot print? Display it on a six-foot screen? These are shots for non-commercial, personal enjoyment (unless perhaps the OP is an art history teacher).

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Sometimes. The point is that The Last Supper is a very wide painting compared to its height. It fits poorly on a 3:2 scrern or piece of paper.

EJMcD

But what would he place it on to be at the exact height of a wall hanging??

Grey Ghost

Just buy some picture cards and immerse yourself in the experience. They will be much better than the photos you will shoot.

jcboy3

Do everyone a favor and get a camera that can shoot silently, rather than slap a mirror and mechanical shutter with every shot.

Get one with excellent in body stabilization, so you can shoot at low shutter speeds and low ISO.

And use lenses with large apertures as well, since you don't need deep DOF for paintings (f/2.8-4 FF equivalent is good).

Learn to do custom white balance, or use a color profiler, to get correct color.

And learn to do keystone correction in post processing.

rdemarco52 Loc: Wantagh, NY

I've been to Italy twice and taken many photographs. I find it best to set the camera on auto because i want to see things not only through the camera, and because I cannot keep up with a tour if I am constantly adjusting the settings.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Ava'sPapa Loc: Cheshire, Ct.

Different strokes for different folks...I've been to Italy twice. 1st time I took my Nikon DSLR with a couple of lenses and the second time I took my Nikon A900 P&S. The second time was MUCH more enjoyable. No hassles with equipment. Just one little camera either in my hand or in my windbreaker pocket. Usually moving fairly quickly to keep up with the tour. The A900 offers full manual control if you so desire, but doesn't have RAW. 20 mp, 24-480mm equivalent. It also has a panoramic mode for that "The Last Supper" shot in Milan that you're going to want. There are a plethora of point and shoot or bridge cameras on the market to fill the bill. I was happy with the results. BTW, I never used the flash...anywhere. The last two are examples of photos taken in a museum without a flash or a tripod. We're taking our family to the Dominican Republic in three weeks. I'll be taking my Olympus TG-5 for underwater shots and either my Sony RX10 MK IV or the Nikon A900 (old but reliable). The R6, D500 and X-T4 and tripod will be safely tucked away in the closet. You're going to love Italy, Ray.