True View isn’t?

stevereecy

True View doesn’t seem to match up with what a regular camera does. Every time I see a True View followed by the actual photo, they look so different. (Why is that?)

Or am I missing something?

How do they take them?

Anyone have a good comparison of a true view with a well lit photo?

coinbuf

It is all in how the coin is lit and the type of lighting that is used, sometimes you can recreate a TV, sometimes you cannot.

gumby1234

They call them glamor shots for a reason, but sometimes they match what the coin looks like in hand.

TurtleCat

It has a lot to do with lighting but also the choices for contrast, saturation, and any red shift. It’s been my observation that when I look at the coin in-hand vs TrueView that the TV is almost always skewed a bit more red and a bit more saturated. Sometimes it’s just a little bit different and sometimes it’s more pronounced. I think some of that also comes from whether they are trying to emphasize color vs luster as well.

Kurisu

Does anyone know the actual basics of the TV set up?
I would guess that it involves two polarized light sources, one (very slightly soft) light from each side aimed at the subject at exactly 45°.
Possibly shooting through slightly angled glass to add a tiny bit of lightbox effect?
My guess is partially based on how the softened shadows appear on the TVs.

This is how we would document artwork in studio photography to eliminate glare and reflections and show the true unfiltered colors.
Though polarization does not eliminate reflections from metal surfaces, but I'm guessing it does when dealing with any amount of toning on the surface of metals.

Steve27

I remember seeing the images of the Pogue 1804 dollar and then I took a picture of it at the auction (my picture is a better representation of what it actually looks like).

gumby1234

@Steve27 said:
I remember seeing the images of the Pogue 1804 dollar and then I took a picture of it at the auction (my picture is a better representation of what it actually looks like).

Perfect example of a glamor shot.

My dime pic above is the exact opposite.

Kurisu

@Kurisu said:
Does anyone know the actual basics of the TV set up?

@ChrisH821 Not understanding your lol there.
Is it because the TV actual setup is easy to find somewhere but I missed it?
My degree and earliest career actually is commercial photography in the earlier 90's.

emeraldATV

Every camera may have their own finger print, so to say, or road blocks, when attempting that prize photo.
As for my approach, which kinda started last year, after reading many concerns on the color in hand, vs a photo.
It takes many tries with an average white source of lighting. Creative movements, angles, heights with a quick press reflex,
to show what the operator is trying to put on the table with a feeling of comfort and warmth.
Every coin has it's own strategic approach. Think outside the box and trust your screen's help.
When trying to show something in side the strike, everything's fair, but for full color respresentation, stay in your lane.
Never , never, ever add an image, on any surface , that's called humiliation.
Don't ever give up, and photo up.

spyglassdesign

Truviews rarely show what it will look like in hand... However they do well in showing a fair deal of the surface condition.

spyglassdesign

You'd never really tell just how dark this coin was by the TV...

spyglassdesign

I don't know what they did to this TV, but nothing about it says silver surfaces... (And I also hadn't refined my imaging nearly as much back then).

BryceM

My photo:

TrueView:

My photo:

TrueView:

Tom Bush's photos:

My photo:

TrueView:

Different photo techniques will always hide some things and emphasize others. In the examples above, the TrueView looks better sometimes (the Merc, for sure), and sometimes it's not really all that great (like the SLQ). The Arrows and Rays coin looks a lot more like my photo in-hand, but the TrueView is pretty and fun to look at.

ChrisH821

@Kurisu said:

@Kurisu said:
Does anyone know the actual basics of the TV set up?

@ChrisH821 Not understanding your lol there.
Is it because the TV actual setup is easy to find somewhere but I missed it?
My degree and earliest career actually is commercial photography in the earlier 90's.

Oops, must have been an unintentional click there.

ProofCollection

See my post: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1094266/1887-6-o-morgan-dollar-restoration-gtg#latest
The first two "before" trueviews are both from PCGS and both show the same coin under different lighting settings.