What if you wanted a Digital camera JUST for coins and close ups?

mdwoods

What brand would you buy. I have an Olympus Camedia C-700 Ultra Zoom. Try as I might, I can't shoot a close up of a coin. About as close as I can focus is an area the size of a slabbed coin. What is a good camera for close ups? I don't need all the bells and whistles, my C-700 does everything else well. Thanks forum camera shooting dudes!!! Mark

nwcs

That's all I use my digital camera for. Got a nice Ricoh RDC-4300 from ebay with lots of extras with it for $150. Been very pleased. Then I used it to take other pics and found that it does a good job, but not as well as a real camera with light balance in bright situations.

Russ

Ricoh RDC-4300, $132.



Russ, NCNE

Geoman

I'd get a scanner instead then.

-Geoman

mdwoods

Geoman, I have a nice scanner, but the coins don't appear to have any life/luster. I don't know how to explain it, but the nicest shots of coins that I have seen, especially copper, were made with cameras, not scanners. My scanner is great for detail, but it seems to magnify defects and show none of the strong points. Maybe it is the user and not the scanner Mark

Geoman

We should trade. I have a digital camera and can not get any good pictures. People have told me to get a scanner instead. I guess I'll just have to learn by trial and error. Good luck!

-Geoman

Rover

Just for comparison to the pic Russ posted. This was done with a HP 3500c $99 scanner.


Dan

baccaruda

Mark,

try this -

buy a small picture frame with a removable clear glass pane. take the glass and rest it on your scanner with about 3-4 pennies under each corner to elevate the pane from the scanner glass. set your coins on the pane and scan.

it captures color and tone MUCH better!

Russ

Rover,

Excellent scan. I have the HP4400C, but when scanning proofs I get too much field reflection that results in colors. Tell me your secret.

Russ, NCNE

Rover

Place the coin in the vertical and horizontal center of the scanning bed. I noticed that I would get the mirrored reflections on the side of the coin that was closest to the center of the scanner. By placing the coin in the center it eliminated the reflections. I then play with the color curve and exposure levels to get the right look.

The pic is the best I've taken, partly because the coin is a DCAM+. You can see some of my other results here It did a good job capturing the toning in the '81 T.1.

Hope that helps,
Dan

Rover

Based on baccaruda's suggestion I raised the slab the thickness of 2 Sacs (it's what I had handy). This scan is of the identical coin with identical scan settings. I think the difference is subtle but noticeable.

The first scan seems a little sharper to me. But the second seems to have more depth/luster. Thanks baccaruda.
What differences do you see?

Russ-One more thing I forgot. I place a piece of matte black construction paper behind the coin. It seems to help with reflections and color balance a little.

Dan

BowAxe

Russ, Rover, or anyone else with experience: Are the photos you posted as close-up as you can get with your cameras or scanners? How about for photomicrographs where you want to show a single letter or part of a device for doubling, RPM's, etc? I know how to do this with a regular 35-mm camera mounted on a microscope, but how do you do it with digital cameras? The digital terminology (8X zoom, 4 megapixels, etc.) is meaningless to me in terms of what the results actually will LOOK like, and I have not invested either in a scanner or a digital camera yet.

Dell

danglen

Tom Mulvaney, who is a professional coin phothographer, uses a Nikon CoolPix 990.

vamseeker

BowAxe,

You may want to check out the Intel QX3 computer microscope. It's great for exactly what you're looking for, and for under $40!

Here's a closeup using 60x of a broken r on a Morgan that I took, it also has 10x and 200x magnification.



The 10x isn't very good, but the 60x and 200x are outstanding. I also had to do some minor mods to be able to view slabs accurately but easily done.

Vamseeker

CarlWohlforth

Vamseeker - is that color? How about a full coin shot?

I just can't get the toning right on my HP scanner. Nor can I get luster or even DCAMs as good as shown here. Then again I haven't played with the color curve or exposure or anything. I will try the center of the scanner, I haven't tried that yet.

vamseeker

Carl,

It is color but it can't be used for full coin pics. I usually convert the image to grayscale because the silver gets a strange hue.

The 10x really sucks.....



and the 200x is pretty good....



But hey, what do you want for $40!!!

Vamseeker

DanC

HOOOO-boy.... the photography in this crowd just gets better and better!

AWESOME SHOTS!

.... shuffling off to my camera set-up to try to outdo some really stunning photography.

Hey - I bet no one can beat this though:



edit: wrong photo - corrected

Rover

DanC-Oh yeah, how 'bout this???

Less than 24 hours after getting the scanner, my daughter came up with brilliant idea to "scan her face"

It has a twilight zone quality.

DanC

I've got to admit - you've got me.

I'm virtually certain this is a lovely child... but - maybe one without her face mashed against glass would be a bit more attractive.

LOL>

Placid

Has anyone tried a Sony CyberShot DSC-P51 or P31?
I am thinking about getting one of those with the sony points from my credit card.

stujoe

Rover: that is an impressive scanner for the money. The coin shot is great and the depth captured in the shot of your little girl is amazing. Do you have any scans that you have done of circulated coins and how about Uncircs as opposed to proofs? I am seriously thinking of getting that scanner if it does as good a job on non-proof coins..

DanC

You should see the shot he did of the toned JFK I sent him.

Awesome.

Rover

Sujoe :The scanner is considered a 3D scanner but I was amazed at the depth too. The nice thing about the software that comes with it is that you can set up scan profiles. I scanned the Proof JFK probably 20 times until I got the result I was happy with. Then I saved the profile and now it's just a matter of pulling up the profile when scanning silver proof coins. I have done the same for gold proofs. I haven't done much with MS stuff yet (as far as optimizing the scan settings but here are some samples I have done up tonight.

A 3D Object Laid on the scanner so it looked like a pup tent.

Gold Proof

MS Merc Dime Scanned at 600 dpi reduced roughly 25%, saved as JPG

Gold Toned JFK Proof DanC Mentioned Scanned at 300 dpi and reduced 19%, saved as JPG.

MS Sac in Slab Scanned 300 dpi, not reduced, JPG

Vatican Euro in Slab

MS JFK Elevated above scanner bed the thickness of a post-it pad. 1200 dpi reduced 80%



Dan

DoctorZ

Russ & Rover,
What resolution do you take such great scans with?
And do you save jpeg? If so, what if any compression?
Thanks.

DanC

Hey Rover... just for giggles - have you tried putting a black piece of paper on the top of the scanner lid, so that it forms the backdrop? I'd be interested to see how that reacts.

Rover

DanC-The 3D object listed above was scanned with a black cloth covering it, since the lid wouldn't block out all the room light.

Coppernicus

Russ - You continue to blow me away with your pics!!!

(I don't really like the JFKs but you're tempting me)

Coppernicus

stujoe

Rover. That is a pretty impressive scanner for a hundred bucks. I will have to look into it. Thanks!