Coin Photography Setup

ClassicCoins

I'm currently reading Numismatic Photography by Mark Goodman and have been looking to buy a copy stand and lights. I want this purchase to be nice enough so that I will not need anything nicer for a long time, if ever. Any suggestions? Any other related coin photography recommendations that you believe are necessities would also be appreciated. Thanks!

messydesk

Buy a heavy one with a 3' or 1m mast. Don't worry about having light attachments, as portable lights (like gooseneck lamps) are more versatile. Look for a used one to save considerable money, but make sure it's stable.

As for specific brands, I use a Kaiser RS-1, others use copy stands made by Bencher, and there are others out there as well. At shows, I use a carbon fiber tripod with the mast inverted. You'll get as many opinions on lights as there are people that will respond to this thread. LED lights have improved since Mark wrote his book, so they are a more viable alternative today. As for other gear, it depends on what kind of camera you currently have, if any, and what your budget is, and then again, every response will be different.

derryb

FWIW, acceptable coin pics do not require an expensive set up. I use a 10 year old kodak point and shoot (DX7590) with close up screw-on diopter filters, a small desktop tripod and 3 Ikea Jansjo lamps.

bsshog40

I bought a mid grade copy stand off ebay about 3-4 yrs ago. It works fine and came with the lights also.

Cameonut

Here's mine. A Testrite I found at an estate sale for $10. Included the lights. I've since switched out the lights to something more flexible.

ClassicCoins

@messydesk Thanks for the info! I currently own a Nikon D80 DSLR camera.

Gluggo

@bsshog40 said:
I bought a mid grade copy stand off ebay about 3-4 yrs ago. It works fine and came with the lights also.

I have one just like your's been experminting on moving the lights around. I like how Cameonut has his set up. I might have to make more changes. Here is mine'

rmpsrpms

Do you want to do full-coin pics only or shoot variety/detail shots?

RogerB

I used to use this:

But recently switched to this:

The only disadvantage is the large working distance.

crazyhounddog

@RogerB said:
I used to use this:

But recently switched to this:

The only disadvantage is the large working distance.

We used these Brownie Instamatic's when I was a kid. All of my old family photos from when I was like 5 years old was shot with that particular type & style of camera. Brings back memories

RogerB

Brownie Hawkeye cameras used 620-size roll film. The Kodak "Instamatic" line used 126 size cartridge film, but cartridges can be reloaded with standard 35mm film.

My new camera, above, is entirely digital.

crazyhounddog

It looks digital alright and very expensive

ClassicCoins

@rmpsrpms I would like to take very high detail full coin photos. But may need the ability to take variety shots as well, although not too often.

1630Boston

rmpsrpms

Heritage's lighting technique is good, but could easily be improved.

If you go with a standard macro lens, you are limited to 1:1 magnification. This won't get you very far toward shooting variety details like dates and mintmarks. The other alternative is to go with a bellows or helicoid type system where the lens can be easily swapped from full-coin to variety shooting.

NGS428

@ClassicCoins, @rmpsrpms has great tips as usual. Superb reference he is.

I like to direct people to the $400 setup thread where rmpsrpms, myself and others discuss this setup. Not sure what you want to spend, but you will heat great results with this setup. Look at the last few pages, I updated the contents of the setup.

https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=158182

Page 32 has the latest version of the setup.

rmpsrpms

That thread is one of the most viewed on the other forum's coin photography sub-forum, and I expect 20 or more folks have put together successful setups using its advice.

NGS428

Count me in Ray, just shot this image....

messydesk

@ClassicCoins said:
@messydesk Thanks for the info! I currently own a Nikon D80 DSLR camera.

A very capable camera. I used one of these for coins from 2007 to 2014, when I bought a D610. I used the manual focus 105mm f4 AIS Micro-Nikkor (ca. 1979) for most pictures. You should be able to get this lens for no more than $200.

One thing you should do when taking photos is turn on the "exposure delay" mode. This flips up the mirror and then waits for about a half second before tripping the shutter, allowing for mirror-slap motion to dampen.

ClassicCoins

@messydesk what lens do you use on your setup?

messydesk

@ClassicCoins said:
@messydesk what lens do you use on your setup?

As the D610 is a full-frame sensor, I currently use a 200mm/f4 AF Micro Nikkor for most full-coin shots. For slab shots, I usually switch to the 105/4 I mentioned earlier and set the camera to use the APS-C crop mode so that I get a smaller file for these. I also have a 55/2.8 Micro-Nikkor that I use once in a while for large stuff.