Copy Stand Coin Photography Systems

rmpsrpms

I posted a while back about a new coin photo system I have been building, and have sold several systems since then. Each one has been a little different, and I've incorporated improvements based on feedback and some new ideas. I have built up a new system with all these ideas pulled together, and it has some nice features. See the pic below with the system configured with bellows and Rodenstock 75mm Apo Rodagon lens. I have modified the bellows mount to allow this lens to be used over a very wide range from full slabs all the way to 2x variety detail shots:

I also configured the same stand with a Canon 100mm Macro lens, see it here:

Let me know any questions about the system. Pricing varies depending on the configuration and lens chosen, so let me know your needs and I can work up a quote.

Gluggo

Never seen that system before.
Mine from rmpsrpms is working just fine love every bit of it! So easy to use.

savitale

Very nice setup. What advantage do you get with the bellows vs a normal macro lens? Just higher magnification or is there more to it?

Gluggo

I am a beginner photographer so I will let Rmpsrpms go into more detail but so far it’s been very easy to get all sizes of coin from very small to the slab. They serm to be much better pictures with little or no effort. But my work keeps me to busy to really explore what my real potential are. I will keep learning and sharing my progress.

rmpsrpms

Bellows allow you to do a few things:

• swap out lenses for different purposes (full-coin shots, higher mag shots, etc)
• they act like a lens with a tripod so it's easy to remove camera for other purposes if desired
• they give very fine control over magnification, though it is manual
• are very stable and rigid so minimize system vibrations
• are very economical versus a normal macro lens

Certainly the most obvious thing is what you mentioned, ie that normal macro lenses generally only go up to 1:1 magnification. If you want to go higher for error/variety detail shots, normal macro lenses won't help you. With bellows you are not limited in how high a magnification you can go. You want to fill your screen with a tiny detail like a mintmark or designer's initials or similar, you can do it.

ricko

That looks like a great set-up.... and another reason I do not pursue coin photography..... Cheers, RickO

planetsteve

@rmpsrpms That's an impressive setup, for sure! My very first eager question is: Does the base allow for tilting a coin?

Twelve years ago I bought a Beseler copystand, mainly just for coins. It's a little clunky, and using incandescent bulbs in those big steel reflectors obviously doesn't allow for as much as flexibility as your system does.

So. What are the young people using to light their coins these days? Back in the day, I actually wired up rotary dimmers on the incandescents, which immediately turned out to be a terrible idea, as they shifted color balance as much as brightness. I also tried some smaller bulbs with built-in reflectors, which were also awful, in that they did not offer smooth, uniform illumination. I got pretty frustrated.

What is the state of LEDs on flexible arms, as I believe those are on your system? Do they offer a uniform field? Good color rendering?

I also like the focusing rail on your system. And of course the bellows. I'd like someday to be able to use tilt and shift (either with a rented lens or a capable bellows), along with a tilting base for the coin, to see how that would work with getting just the right angle on lighting the coin, while still getting a circular-looking coin at the image plane (not an elliptical-looking coin, due to the tilt).

Gluggo

I bought from Walmart a table base mounted woman’s mirror about $8.00. Disassembled the top and middle post and remounted the curved part on the bottom base which gives a swivel/angled base. A bit crude but works.

rmpsrpms

@planetsteve said:
@rmpsrpms That's an impressive setup, for sure! My very first eager question is: Does the base allow for tilting a coin?

I can add tilt capability to the base very easily, and also camera tilt capability to compensate the depth of field and out-of-round problems that come with tilting the coin.

What is the state of LEDs on flexible arms, as I believe those are on your system? Do they offer a uniform field? Good color rendering?

The LEDs have a CRI of around 92 which is "OK", and color temp of 3200k, which is very close to tungsten. You can get by pretty well with just selecting the tungsten (incandescent) setting for WB, and then just do a small WB shift. This is a more accurate way to do WB than MWB. You of course need to diffuse then LEDs or you will get some color noise, and I offer diffusers of various types to make that as easy as possible. I even have some diffusers that will allow you to shoot slabs to maximize toning presentation while eliminating glare.

I also like the focusing rail on your system. And of course the bellows. I'd like someday to be able to use tilt and shift (either with a rented lens or a capable bellows), along with a tilting base for the coin, to see how that would work with getting just the right angle on lighting the coin, while still getting a circular-looking coin at the image plane (not an elliptical-looking coin, due to the tilt).

It's better to tilt at the camera. This minimizes the requirements of the lens to have a large image circle. Ideally it would be best to tilt right at the sensor plane, but mechanics to do this are not readily available. The mechanics I alluded to above are calibrated in degrees so you can tilt the coin and the camera the same amount to correct the image.

rmpsrpms

I ended up building a system similar to the above, but with wood base and no Z-stage. I used a Novoflex bellows which had fine-focus capability, but in actual use of that bellows I found it too sensitive to movement, making fine focusing difficult. I changed over to a different Novoflex bellows with a more traditional integrated focus rail, and recently shipped the first example of this system. The client wanted a system which could shoot from full slabs down to smallest coins, and this system can do that. Here's what the new system looks like:

As shown, this system was $585 including camera, macro lens and bellows, lens-mounted diffuser, and reversible velvet/true grey transfer disk.