Photography of Coins

spy88

For the 17 or so of you still up and on, need your help doing pics of slabbed coins. UNDER WHAT KIND OF LIGHT IS THE BEST FOR ALL-AROUND CLEAR, SHARP AND NATURAL COLOR PICS?

lordmarcovan

I'm a scanner man, so I ain't the right one to ask, but I believe the answer is incandescent.

airplanenut

It really depends- I've used white light and Reveal bulbs- at the right angles, both show color very well... the key is to have enough in the right spot.

Jeremy

nwcs

Each coin needs a little customizing of light. I usually use three light sources. Sometimes I use white, sometimes reveal, sometimes both.

oldcameoproofsguy

I started using a hint from ANACONDA, using the soft natural light that occurs early in the morning and later in the afternoon towards dusk. Setting up the imaging using a large window opposing the sun I have found works the best. Although sometimes I'll use a window directly in the sun but an angle on the coin which is not directly in the sunlight.

I've tried to take images right at dusk and dawn but the orangeish, pinkish hue distorts the image. I take the image when the light from the sun is still mostly white.

It seems that there is a truer representation of the coin's colors and luster in this type of light. My best coin images have been taken using natural lighting conditions.

Finally, the only real secret to great photography is to take a lot of pictures. I take up to 60 pictures of a single coin varying the lighting and angles to get that one good shot.

jom

I can't say enough about OTT lights. Look at them here:

OTT

I first bought the "swirl" version (bottom right) and it has worked great! Then, at Shylock's suggestion, got a couple of lamps that use the tube version (bottom 2nd from right). I've gotten my best results using the swirl but it does make the slab glare so you have to screw around with the positioning. The tubes I've had trouble with BUT I just got them last week so it might just be my set-up. Shylock, who takes some of the best pictures around of IHC's, swears by those tube versions.

OTT lights give off a very close representation of "natural" light (like the sun). Far better for showing the color of a coin (AND you can get the luster) than incandecent bulbs (or scanners).

Some Examples

jom

EDIT: Here is a thread I found from last month when I was having some trouble with my pics:

Coin Thread

LucyBop

A room with only natural Sunlight can really capture what a coin truely looks like.......

Lakesammman

I live in Seattle. We rely on unnatural sunlight.

shylock

This was taken behind a dealer's table using a couple of Ott lites, with no post-image editing other than cropping. I can't get accurate color under conditions like that with other lights.

Lakesammman

That's cropped?

shylock

lol, yes believe it or not. If I posted it at it's original size I might cause another blackout.

I wanted to leave some of the label in the pic to judge the color.

RotatedRainbows

I also have to say OTT lights, don't remember where I bought them from but if you do a search for OTT lights you should find some links (paid about $35-$40 each for the two I bought). They work good for both toned and brilliant pieces.

spy88

Thank you, everyone!!! You've been a BIG help. Have looked at a lot of threads for this topic and read all answers and looked at all the pics---and I'm STILL confused!! I have OTT bulbs and will try them today and it is a fairly overcast day so will try natural on my deck. I will also try to do some touchup work with my photo programs (not too much as I want them to be as natural as possible)
and let you all know how it goes. As to scanning, I saw some GREAT pics---what kind (model) scanner do you use and how do you get such nice enlargements holding the sharp detail?!?!?