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-   -   Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins? (http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=284958)

Silver Storm 07-22-2008 01:19 PM
Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
I am VARY bad at it.

MystryBox 07-22-2008 01:23 PM
Re: Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
Your spelling is good though :)

MorganTheGoat 07-22-2008 03:21 PM
Re: Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
Check out the pic of TomD's set up in this thread. Scroll down a bit. http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=273738
This helped me figure it out. My set up is trace paper taped over a few lights with a fairly cheap camera. Low tech and proud. :wink:The secret is diffuse indirect light.

Saul Mine 07-22-2008 05:51 PM
Re: Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
There are two approaches:
1. Buy expensive equipment and spend the time to figure out how to make it work the way it's supposed to.
2. Buy cheap equipment and spend the time to figure out how to make it work at all.

Taking the second approach, the first thing you learn is that your camera is unfocusable and you have to hold a magnifying glass in front of it to get a decent focus. That is a nuisance, so you get a toilet paper roll and tape the whole shebang together. Then you grow a brain and get a piece of plastic water pipe for the job. At some point you figure out that the inside of the tube needs to be painted black.

Your cheap camera probably does not have a tripod mount, so you glue a nut to it for that purpose. Then you learn that a tripod is not really the way to do the job. What you need is the elevator from an enlarger. These sell on Ebay for $30 to $150. You want a beefy mechanism with a crank on it, and that describes a Bessler unit, usually priced about $100 or so. You mount the camera pointing down and adjust the height to focus the shot, using different magnifying glasses to get the size you want. A 10X loupe is about right for small coins, a 2X glass will do for larger stuff.

You lay the coin on some sort of a spacer that holds it an inch or so above the background. That means you poke a hole in cardboard and glue a piece of pencil into it.

Next you need lighting. Lighting is a bit of a problem, especially when your camera is only an inch away from the coin. Some people use a light tent, a thing like an umbrella around the camera, but that only works for larger subjects when you have space between the camera and the subject. For closeup work you use smaller lamps, two of them, one on each side of the lens. You can also get ring lights. I know nothing about those. I suggest you use two flashlight bulbs to start. Or maybe you would like to fashion a small tent and use larger lamps farther away. Experiment.

For larger coins, ingots, medallions, etc, you can work outside in open shade, getting all your light from the north sky. Setting the coin on a fence post works well, especially if there is an attractive bush in the background. The background will be out of focus, so you could use a poster or other backdrop if you prefer. You will still need the light tent to diffuse the light and block annoying reflections.

Yes, getting a good picture really is that big a job.

TomD 07-22-2008 06:08 PM
Re: Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saul Mine (Post 1204476)
There are two approaches:
1. Buy expensive equipment and spend the time to figure out how to make it work the way it's supposed to.
2. Buy cheap equipment and spend the time to figure out how to make it work at all.

Taking the second approach, the first thing you learn is that your camera is unfocusable and you have to hold a magnifying glass in front of it to get a decent focus. That is a nuisance, so you get a toilet paper roll and tape the whole shebang together. Then you grow a brain and get a piece of plastic water pipe for the job. At some point you figure out that the inside of the tube needs to be painted black.

Your cheap camera probably does not have a tripod mount, so you glue a nut to it for that purpose. Then you learn that a tripod is not really the way to do the job. What you need is the elevator from an enlarger. These sell on Ebay for $30 to $150. You want a beefy mechanism with a crank on it, and that describes a Bessler unit, usually priced about $100 or so. You mount the camera pointing down and adjust the height to focus the shot, using different magnifying glasses to get the size you want. A 10X loupe is about right for small coins, a 2X glass will do for larger stuff.

You lay the coin on some sort of a spacer that holds it an inch or so above the background. That means you poke a hole in cardboard and glue a piece of pencil into it.

Next you need lighting. Lighting is a bit of a problem, especially when your camera is only an inch away from the coin. Some people use a light tent, a thing like an umbrella around the camera, but that only works for larger subjects when you have space between the camera and the subject. For closeup work you use smaller lamps, two of them, one on each side of the lens. You can also get ring lights. I know nothing about those. I suggest you use two flashlight bulbs to start. Or maybe you would like to fashion a small tent and use larger lamps farther away. Experiment.

For larger coins, ingots, medallions, etc, you can work outside in open shade, getting all your light from the north sky. Setting the coin on a fence post works well, especially if there is an attractive bush in the background. The background will be out of focus, so you could use a poster or other backdrop if you prefer. You will still need the light tent to diffuse the light and block annoying reflections.

Yes, getting a good picture really is that big a job.
That was one of the best replies that I've seen in a while. :wink::D

Honestly, the picture of a light tent in the link posted by Morgan the goat contains all the starter info that you need. It isn't easy, you will have to be familiar with photography and be willing to experiment.

It also helps if you have some nice coins to shoot.

Side to Morgan-note the color.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...deagleobv2.jpg

Atahualpa 07-22-2008 06:13 PM
Re: Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
This setup will work for cheap.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=8144814

MorganTheGoat 07-22-2008 07:08 PM
Re: Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TomD (Post 1204497)

Side to Morgan-note the color.
Simply amazing... very nice shot!

Saul Mine 07-22-2008 08:30 PM
Re: Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atahualpa (Post 1204505)
That's ok for vases and small statues, but too big for coins.

All the knowledge in the world
The enlarger setup. (Half way down the page.)
Interesting lighting trick.

budfox 07-22-2008 08:36 PM
Re: Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MystryBox (Post 1204089)
Your spelling is good though :)
That wasn't vary nice..................

argentos 07-22-2008 10:12 PM
Re: Can any of you guys tell me how to take good photos of coins?
 
I cannot be arsed to take good photos.

A scan with a stack of smaller coins and a large piece of dark cloth on the back of the coin suffices for most purposes.........






................. especially the bit where it says Gold 999.9 :wavey:


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