My First Attempt To Photograph Slabbed Coins

RotatedRainbows

After spending the last few weeks photographing raw darkside coins (almost 2,000 pictures of about 30 coins) with my Nikon 4500 I decided to go get a few of my slabbed rainbow morgans and see what kind of results I come up with. They came out ok but still don't quite show the true brightness and vibrancy of the colors. The first is an 1885-O NGC MS66* and the second is an 1882-S NGC MS64*

LucyBop

Simply breath taking and Stunning!

jbsteven

the 85 looks great. easy to see the whole coin and its colors.

I really need to take the time to figure out lighting and angles on my camera.

care to share your procedure?

Clankeye

Most excellent! Bravo.

Clankeye

Morganluver

Gorgeous coins and I know what you mean. It's so difficult to image(scanner or camera) these kind of coins realistically. Thanks for sharing.

TomB

Good job! I would like to comment to anyone who hasn't tried to do this yet that it is extremely difficult to accurately capture toning and luster on a coin in a single image.

Barry

Your pic:




Not having the coin to see makes it tough to guess what it should look like, but how's this?

DHeath

RR,

That was a great opening volley. The quality of the picture is extremely good. I hope more will follow.

coinkat

great pictures of really attractive coins...great job. Please share more

RotatedRainbows

Barry You are pretty close, my photo is raw and untouched except I reduced it down to 40% of original size and sharpen the edges (I use the exact same camera ANACONDA uses).

jbsteven When I take pictures I use 2 Ott lights near a window (although you don't get much help from it) I set one light stationary on one side of the coin and then held the second light in my hand so I could move it around until I came up with the best looking picture. I have my camera hooked up to a 13" television so I can get a good view of the coin and how the light is hitting it. I have found that if you close the aperture as far as it goes (usually 8.5-10) that it allows you to use more light without getting the glare and helps with the depth of field so all the fine detail shows up (on the 82-S look at the detail in the leaves on her head). The only way detail or color can show up is if light is shining on it which means every coin is going to be a little different depending on color,luster or size that is why I hold the second light in my hand so I can move it around until I get the best looking picture for that particular coin (using the 13' TV gives you a good idea of what you are going to end up with). Also I always take at least two pictures of every coin, one with obverse upright and then flip it over so the obverse is upside down. You just have to take a lot of pictures and figure out the settings for your camera (I usually sit there for about an hour and take 95-100 photos) I have found that it makes a big difference when it comes to getting true life like photo instead of something that looks like a picture. When I get time I will keep experimenting with some of my other pieces.

Barry

RR,
I'm also using the CP 4500. All I did was open the pic in Photoshop Elements, go into Levels, and slide the Highlights slider over a bit. Your picture is underexposed. The tipoff was the gray background, which should be white. Set the EV (hold down the Func button and turn the knob) to +0.7 or +1 and I bet that will give you the correct exposure.

RotatedRainbows

Barry I know which adjustment you are talking about, I messed with it a little when I first received the camera and was checking out how to use it but have not touched it while taking pictures. Thanks I will give that a try the next time I get it out to take a few pictures.

relayer

Nice pictures.