"Going Digital" -- Questions for the Coin Photography Pros

Askari

I finally have approval from “the boss” to purchase a digital camera “for the family.” Naturally, I want to get one that will produce excellent photos of my wide range of coins, medals and paper money. I’m considering several models: Canon Powershot A80 or A70, Olympus C-5000 or C-5050, and various models of Nikon’s Coolpix line – and I’m open to recommendations. I have several other questions that I’d like to get the experts’ insights on to help me finalize my selection – and I thank you for any and all input.

I appreciate that the more megapixels, the higher quality the image can be but the greater the storage requirements. Is there an “optimum” MP rating for coin photography?

What is a reasonable amount of zoom? I’ve noticed in ads zoom ratings from about 3x to 30x. Are the higher ratings entirely inherent digital ratings, or does this reflect combined digital/optical capability? Is there a particular optimum “sweet point” for combining digital vs. optical zoom? Does this change for close-ups (such as repunched dates)?

I’ve got a unused floppy disk drive. Has anyone tried those floppy disk adapters? What are the relative merits between these and flash memory cards?

What are the “mandatory” accessories? (I plan to get PhotoShop for image treatment.)

What are the best items to acquire for a lighting setup? Does this differ for shooting copper/bronze, silver, or gold?

mgoodm3

I've seen good results with Canon, Olympus, and Nikon. Just make sure it has macro capabilities. I would stick with 3 or more MP.

Zoom is evil for most of coin photography. I use none if possible. The high MP cameras will take a good RPM's without any zoom. I'm regularly getting pics of dollars that are 1600X1600 after cropping. that allows you to zoom up on photoshop a lot.

Most cameras talk to your computer without the need for an adapter. I have a 256MB compact flash for my camera. it allows about 100 pics at 5 MP.

Photoshop is good. I use the dumbed down version, Photoshop Elements, more than enough for me.

I use a copy stand for coin pics, allows long shutter speeds and good detail.

Lighting is different for almost every coin. Just need to have a couple two or three lights and see what works.

Darkhorse

Well I of course have recommended the Canon PowerShot A70 many times. Many people have opted for the Nikon Coolpix because they liked the macro on it. Of course people are going to reccommend their own camera if they're happy for it so this makes things confusing for the potential buyer.

When I got my camera I didn't get it for the macro, I just wanted an all around great camera for all purposes and I think the A70 handles the job well. One thing about digital zoom is that I think it sucks, it's just zooming on on a digital image, not zooming in on the actual object you're photographing (which is what optical zoom does).
The macro onmy camera is fine, you can buy a macro attachment for it as well if you need even bigger closeups as well. Sometimes I put the camera a distance away from the coin and go to 3x optical zoom and macro in on the coin, sometimes this helps getting your shadow out of the way and there's less distortion on the coin when you're further away but zooming in. Focal planes are like that.

I don't think they make digital cameras that use the floppy disc adapters, mainly because they're so slow. USB connections are the most common.

Megapixels is another issue. Do you really NEED 5 megapixels? 5 MILLION square pixels for a coin that will probably end up being 250,000 square pixels on the net anyway? It all depends really if you're going to be printing a lot of your images, the higher the megapixel the more image resolution you'll get. My 3.2 MP camera prints a great standard image as well as standard analog photo so it's really up to you regarding megapixels.

I wouldn't recommend you getting Photoshop. It's an expensive program and you may not use all of its features but 'Photoshop Elements' is much cheaper and probably perfect for what you're looking for. Take a look at PaintShop Pro as well which is an affordable program. And of course there is The Gimp which is a powerful image manipulation program which is also a FREE program.

I usually use two desk lights using tungsten bulbs for my lighting. The A70 has a Tungsten filter which eliminates that yucky yellow light. As far as lighting itself goes I just play with the two lamps until I get the lighting I like.

I'll probably add to this discssion as it progresses.

Darkhorse

IF it progresses. I thought there would be more responses than this.

ttt

photog

As a professional photographer (and former camera store manager) I can say a few things.
Let's start with camera brands: the world of digital is highly competitive. If you are comparing major brands, if you have two cameras with the same MP and zoom and features, the photos will also be comparable. So if you can save money on one, go for it. Your photos won't really suffer if you buy last year's model at a discount!
The higher the MP the better, of course. Anything less than 3 nowadays is a toy!
If you are shooting coins, zoom doesn't matter, macro does. You may consider a camera you can purchase macro filters for (like a Nikon). They just screw onto the end of the lens, and increase your close-up capabilities.
If you will be using your camera for other things, too, and want a zoom for those things, remember to purchase OPTICAL zoom, not digital zoom. Digital zoom is crap. It's like taking a handful of pixels, and making them larger. Optical zoom actually moves the lens and brings the subject closer. (Also, digital cameras are not comparable to 35mm as far as zoom goes, so a 60-90 zoom on a digital camera is not as impressive as a 60-90 on a hand held film camera. Just an FYI on that.)
And finally, there is nothing wrong with playing with cameras in the store and buying one from the internet. Sometimes, even including shipping (though it is usually free over $100) you can save some cash. Just pay attention to the return policies. ALSO- DO NOT SEND IN YOUR WARRANTY CARD! That applies to any product. If a week after you purchase the camera it dies on you (defective camera- not that you dropped it), to exchange it you will need that warranty card with the serial number. If you don't have it, the best a store can offer you is a repair. And, don't open the camera "software." It is typically a watered down version of the software which probably came on your computer, and that is opened all a store will do is exchange the camera for the same model. There is still a fear of pirating software.
I myself cannot live without Photoshop 7. But I am not pmost people as I own several thousand worth of equipment, so if you are just going to be cropping images and adjusting for bad lighting here and there, software that came with your scanner or computer should be fine.
Have fun, most of all!

Barry

IMO the best digicams are Canon and Nikon. Nikon's have a better macro, so if coin pics are a priority I'd go with a Nikon. Otherwise, either one will do just fine.

JMOORE

EOS Digital Rebel SLR 6.3 Megapixel



LINK

airplanenut

The coolpix 4500 takes FABULOUS closeups... especially because you don't need a copy stand... just a mini tripod, as it's lens swivels...

It also takes great pictures in general... I shot this on a flight I took on the 25th (granted the original is 4MP and not compressed)...

mgoodm3

The digital rebel would be OK, but the lens that comes with it has a close focus of about 2 ft. They do have a macro lens that will work with it, but that will cost you.

JMOORE

You can also buy screw on close up "filters" for the canon lens.

Askari

Thanks for the responses!!


There appears to be a lot of pleased Nikon customers -- which model would y'all deem best for coins (as well as general family photography)?


Jim: Are the filters necessary if you have S/W like PhotoShop to work with?

airplanenut

<< <i>There appears to be a lot of pleased Nikon customers -- which model would y'all deem best for coins (as well as general family photography)? >>

4500!!! COOLPIX 4500!!!!!!!!

The swiveling lens is really a plus... buy one today!

mgoodm3

I've got a Nikon 5400. But no swiveling.

JMOORE

<< <i>Are the filters necessary if you have S/W like PhotoShop to work with? >>



No. I have the Canon 10D which is basically the same camera with a metal body and a few more 'bells & whistles".

With 6.3 MP you have a large enough image so you have enough detail to "crop" it in photoshop.

Look at some of my recent posts for examples like this.



Not only is it great for photographing your coins, it is an excellent camera for general family photography.

Jim

Askari

Maybe I should ask the Nikon question differently: If you were to buy a new Nikon today, which model would you buy -- and why?



Why the swiveling lens, Jeremy? What advantage does that give -- ease of adjustment on a tripod? I've usually found that more complicated mechanisms like that aren't very reliable.

Darkhorse

<< <i>
Not only is it great for photographing your coins, it is an excellent camera for general family photography.

Jim >>



I usually stress this when I comment on people potentially buying a digital camera. Vacation photos for uncoin examples. What I like about Canon cameras like my A70 is that it's good for anyone at any skill level from beginner to pro. It's built like a tank too with its metal body, reminds me of my grandfather's old SLR from the 70s I used to use all the time. I like using many of the manual features especially.

People seem to like Coolpix's macro but I still think the Canon takes better pictures in general. Buy maybe it's partially due to who's behind the camera too. Whatever the case I'm biased towards Canon.

SDCollector

This website will answer all of your digital camera questions. The forum is also very helpful.

Digital Camera Review

Askari

Thanks, SDC! I am using it, but what I lack is insight into the ins and outs of various capabilities for coin photography specifically.

JMOORE

<< <i>Buy maybe it's partially due to who's behind the camera too. >>

CoinAddict

Here is another website with helpful information about digital cameras.

SDCollector

Askari,

Photography is my other hobby, but I still have a lot to learn about macro (coin) photography. I use an Olympus C4000. Olympus has an excellent line of digital cameras. All of the major manufactures (Nikon, Canon, Oly, Pentax, etc.) are excellent. I believe Kodak and Fuji digitals are made by one of the majors. You can't really go wrong with any of them. The cameras in the 4 mega pixel plus range generally have most of the features you will need. Look especially for macro settings (my Oly has 2 settings) and manual white balance control (which is very important).

I took the picture below with my C4000, hand held, super macro setting (btw, a nice Oly feature), with a single light source (60watt Reveal bulb). White balance was set manually...another nice Oly feature.

Hope this helps.

Askari

<< <i>Buy maybe it's partially due to who's behind the camera too. >>

Phil, that's the handicap I'm trying to overcome by selecting wisely.


Thanks, Kyle! I'd seen that site before, but couldn't remember what it was called and made the mistake of not saving it in my favorites file for future reference.


SDC, all of the cameras I'm looking at have manual white balance adjustment, but a couple of these call it "manual preset" -- what's the diff and is it a plus or minus?

Lakesammman

I've always been a Leica fan because of their great optics and precision machining. What do you think of the write up for the new Leica Digital camera??

SDCollector

Askari,

I could be wrong, but "manual preset" sounds like a feature I have on my Olympus. You point the camera at a white object (I use white paper) and push a button on the camera that presets the white balance based on the light reflecting off of the white object (paper). On my camera I can further adjust the white balance by using a manual white balance adustment feature. It's a little scale that allows you to adjust the level of blue so that white really looks white.

My guess is that those are the two features you're asking about.

Hope that helps.

IrishMike

Askari I can relate to your situation. 6 months ago I decided to upgrade from my Nikon 3 MP camera. I searched and searched on the internet to read everything I could about digital cameras. I decided that I wanted a 5 MP camera that would not only take good macro pictures, with no add-ons necessary, having struggle with buying different lenses for my Nikon, they just don't fit tightly. I also wanted an all purpose camera for vacations and family pictures.

Armed with all this knowledge I went to a big local camera shop. In fact I had to go back a second time to find the right individual to talk with. He was very knowlegeable and suggested I bring in some coins and test the cameras. A week later he spent an hour with me taking pictures and letting me take pictures with 5 different cameras. I settled on the Olympus C-5050 zoom as it macros up to a half inch from the coin and seemed the most featured rich and well constructed. No additional attachments were necessary and while its not an easy learning curve for me (more to do with me than the camera), I am satisfied I made the right purchase. All it took for my Nikon to die was a 12 inch drop on soft carpeting, so construction was important to me.

I ended up paying more for the camera then I would have on the net but I paid for his help and advice and didn't have to worry about it being shipped DOA. I see that Best Buy in now selling the camera for $399, which is quite a discount.

Good luck on your search.

JMOORE

<< <i> ended up paying more for the camera then I would have on the net but I paid for his help and advice >>

SDCollector

I wish I would have bought the C-5050. And $399 is an amazingly low price. I think they were twice that amount went they first came out. Probably going to be discountinued soon...which means this is a perfect time to pick one up, IMO.