Photographing the coins in your set

nwcs

Ever since I got my new digital camera, I've been on a mission to photograph the slabs in my two registry sets. I've chosen to use dramatic, artistic shots instead of more accurate ones. I am curious, do you photograph your coins? If so, what kind of shot do you prefer? Do you prefer accuracy over art? Or make the coin look good and hide the flaws a bit?

Note, just so it doesn't become a tangent, whenever I sell a coin, I do a shot that shows the best possible light for grading -- not art.

Neil

relayer

All of the artistry in my shots is pretty much due to a random failure of what I'm trying to do.

Can you show us an intentional artistic shot?

nwcs

Sure! Check out my morgan set (linked to at the end of this message) and view the pic for 1880S, 1898O, or 1921 (I haven't got to them all yet). I still haven't got it down consistently, but those show what I've tried going for.

Neil

Cocoinut

I try for pictures that accurately depict the color and luster. It's not always easy, and I've sometimes taken as many as 20 pictures before I've gotten one that I think is good. The trick is to photograph more than one at a time. That way, if you have the correct angle and lighting on one, the others should be good, too.

Jim

nwcs

So what angle of light do you use to bring out color/luster?

Neil

Cocoinut

I get the best results with natural (sun) light - a well-lit room, between 8 and 10 a.m., when the sun is low. The sun shouldn't shine directly on the coin. Tilt the coin at a 45 degree angle, and have the camera on a tripod (a must!) pointing down at the same angle to avoid distortion.

Jim

DAM

What model camera are you guys using. I'm in the market for a digital camera and would like some feedback on what other's are using.

Currently I use a scanner to image my coins. For the most part I'm happy with the images the scanner gives me. But a camera would do better.

Thanks

nwcs

I've been using a travel tripod pointed down towards the coin which is on a slight angle. (to make it more directly face the camera) Do you have an example in your registry set I can take a look at? Are you saying you have the coin tilted at a 45 degree angle from the light source or the camera?

DAM, I am using (based on people's experience here) a Ricoh RDC-4300 digital camera. I'm very pleased with it. Many people will use a Nikon CoolPix 950 which is better. I sniped my camera for $151.99 on ebay. Also, reveal light bulbs will help with the color correction necessary in all pix.

Neil

DAM

Neil,

Does it have a zoom feature? I like close images of RPDs, RPMs, and things like that.

Russ

<< <i>All of the artistry in my shots is pretty much due to a random failure of what I'm trying to do. >>



Hey! Me too!

Russ, NCNE

Russ

DAM,

I used to be happy with the images my scanner does, until I discovered digital cameras.





Russ, NCNE

DAM

Quit teasing Russ!

I've been beating around the bush for about 18 months and not buying one. I think with the advances they've made in the past year, now might be the time.

Cocoinut

Neil,
Try experimenting with different angles from the light source. The results vary tremendously, and will also vary for different brands of cameras. You can see my pics here:

My Merc Set

DAM,
I could be wrong, but I don't believe there are currently any digital cameras that will work well for RPM's, RPD's, DD's, etc. However, there have been threads about a toy microscope that hooks up to a computer that has produced good results for some error collectors. I don't recall the brand; maybe someone else has a better memory.

Jim

Russ

<< <i>I think with the advances they've made in the past year >>



DAM,

Funny thing about that is that the picture above was done with a three year old camera that I bought used on the cheap.

Russ, NCNE

nwcs

Jim, I really like your pictures! You're making me re-think my approach a bit. Wish there was an easy way to do it all!

DAM

Jim,

I know I can get great close ups with my scanner. I've seen articles about hooking your camera to a microscope. I've got a microscope but don't know if it can hook up to a camera.

Thanks

cosmicdebris

Those reveal bulbs are deffinately a must.

nwcs

What I want to know is, what angle of lighting do you use to bring out the contrast in the DCAM proofs????

TomB

I just bought some Reveal bulbs so that I could test them out with coin images. All of the coins imaged on my web site are done simply with a scanner, nothing fancy. When I really want to take nice images I use my 20+ year old manual 35mm camera and I get very nice shots. Of course, to get nice shots you may need some additional pieces of equipment but I already had them so it wasn't a big deal for me.

cosmicdebris

Dead on for me no angle at all. I have been finding DCAMs are the easiest to photograph with copper and those dang SAcs the hardest to get the color right.