“Going Digital” – Questions for our Coin Photography Pros

Askari · December 30, 2003 3:04AM

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?

cacheman · December 30, 2003 3:16AM

I have a 256 MB card in my camera...you'd need about 240 floppy's to hold the same amount of data...need I say more?

theboz11 · December 30, 2003 3:21AM

Reveal light(2) 75 Watt and a couple swing arm lamps, Tripod. a naked filament bulb for shooting Gold 100w

laurentyvan · December 30, 2003 3:23AM

Boz, I've had trouble photographing gold-could you expand on your "naked filament" comment a little?

cacheman · December 30, 2003 3:23AM

copy stand

theboz11 · December 30, 2003 3:25AM

A clear glass bulb, not any of these soft white or simular bulbs

MacCrimmon · December 30, 2003 4:42AM

I can't say enough good about the OTT-lights. Two of the portables are about $90. I haven't gotten a copy stand yet but BH Photo and those type photog-sellers have many options.

One thing I did pick up while reading about the copystands is to be sure it can more than hold the camera weight without creeping. For now, I'm still just shooting freehand. I use and am very happy with the Nikon Coolpix 950 (older) with the compact flash card 80meg (old), but it still gives me about 100 shots of 800k+ file size; 1600 x 1200 pixils. You can go a little higher, but it really wont buy you much unless you are going to print near photo-quality prints of your coins. Make sure you can use a 'turbo' USB file transfers from the mem. card to your hard drive. I'm also using a cheapie Photoshop Elements to edit the pics; crop, resize, etc. IMO, for $50 it's worth it.

Oh yeah, definitely get the 256mB size mem. card regardless of the camera. They are just too cheap not to go that way.

On another note, if the camera is also for the family, be sure the flash is adequate at an indoor range of over 20 feet or has the capability to add an external flash adaptor with some uuuuumph!. Have fun!!! Mac

Askari · December 30, 2003 5:31AM

Thanks for the comments so far, guys!!

I'm curious: What's the relative merits of Reveal lights vs. OTT?

laserart · December 30, 2003 6:38AM

What is the difference between the Olympus 5000 and the C5050?

Darkhorse · December 30, 2003 6:44AM

<< <i>Thanks for the comments so far, guys!!

I'm curious: What's the relative merits of Reveal lights vs. OTT? >>

Reveal lights allow you to take pictures indoors. If you take a picture of a silver coin under a normal lightbulb the coin will seem gold because of the yellow light of the bulb. HOWEVER many modern digital cameras like my own have a filter built in for that, so I've never used any reveal bulbs in any of my coin pictures.
Reveal lights are sometimes called blue lights, OTT lights are meant to emulate sunlight but again, with the built in bulb filter with my camera I've had no need for any of those.

cosmicdebris · December 30, 2003 6:57AM

Everyone pretty much summed it all up.

cacheman · December 30, 2003 7:18AM

Get a couple of extra batteries for use away from home but I'd shell out the 15-20 for a Nikon AC adapter for coin imaging. It doesn't take long to run the batteries dry with the camera monitor on so use an adapter during longer sessions.

Aethelred · December 30, 2003 11:23AM

My advice on selecting a camera would be to go to the store and try every one of them yourself. Be sure what you buy works for you.

I just did this yesterday and I am happy with my selection. Here are some of the things I was looking for:

-good macro focus (you want to shoot coins, bugs, whatever)

-ease of use (I want to spend my time thinking about how to take cool photos, not how to work the camera)

-standard type of memory (CompactFlash is cheap and you can get it anywhere)

-Respected brand name (these people going to be around for a while?)

-multi-use (will it work as well on vacation, birthdays or Christmas as it does for coins?)

-comfort (Does it fit right and feel good in my hand?)

-Design (do the placements of controls make it easy to use without thinking about it?)

GDJMSP · December 30, 2003 11:38AM

A copuple of points that were not mentioned. The zoom - there are two different types. Most of the cameras have 3x to 4x optical zoom - this is done with the lens of the camera. Then they kick in with the digital zoom - this is only an electronic funtion and the quality is not as good. So the higher the optical zoom factor the better. And for photographing coins anything over 16x total ( optical & digital combined ) is not needed.

The next thing I would consider is the limitation the camera has for focus distance. For coins - many times the closer you can get the lens to the camera and still be in focus - the better. The Coolpix 4500 and up will focus up to within 3/4 of an inch. That's about as close as you can get. Many of the other digitals have a minimum of 3" or more. And be sure to get one with macro mode. When it comes to being able to capture an RPM - don't count on it. I have yet to see a digital camera than can. You need one of the microscopes to get pics of details that close up.

As for the megapixels - go for 4 million or more. Sure you can get good pics with less. But if you're trying to capture details - the more the better.

As for excessories - they make some very nice and inexpensive tripods about 1 ft. tall. They are perfect for coin pics. Some say a copy stand is the only way to go - but I don't know why. The short tripod and a couple of felxible neck table lamps from K-Mart with Reveal bulbs and you're on your way. And it'll cost you a fraction of what a copy stand will.

MacCrimmon · December 30, 2003 12:36PM

<< <i>When it comes to being able to capture an RPM - don't count on it. >>

The shot below is using only the optical zoom (older Nikon coolpix 950); freehand, and as close as I can get (20 mm) without obscuring the light. I'll have to try the optical-digital combo tomorrow for a tight macro shot.

Aethelred · December 30, 2003 1:09PM

That is a helluva pic Dark Mouse!

1jester · December 30, 2003 8:16PM

Mac, where do you steal such nice copper???

cacheman · December 30, 2003 11:42PM

<< <i>Some say a copy stand is the only way to go - but I don't know why. >>

In the case of exonumia collectors, we need more flexibility in the focus range for the camera due to the large disparity between medal sizes....for instance, I can't use a table tripod to try and photograph my Goetz Olympia medal which is 140mm in diameter. Mark would have the same problem with some of his material. I have tried using a regular tripod too and cannot straddle the item being photogrphed without the support for the item or the legs of the tripod getting in the way. Nice, sturdy, used copy stands can be picked up on ebay for about $50. It would pay for itself in two or three photo sessions.

Askari · December 31, 2003 12:36AM

Are there any particular brands of copy stands you'd recommend? I've been well-advised to make sure I get one that doesn't "walk".

laserart · December 31, 2003 1:10AM

...but is there a significant difference between the Olympus 5050 and the 5000?

mongoose · December 31, 2003 1:49AM

Lots of good advice, Mark, post some pics once you get your gear!

cacheman · December 31, 2003 2:17AM

Mark, I got a Testrite CS-3 from ebay...this is a tried and true company and this thing will not walk anywhere.

Aethelred · December 31, 2003 2:18AM

What does that look like Scott, how big is it?

cacheman · December 31, 2003 2:54AM

Here you go DK, The ruler in the image is 18" long. The base of the unit is 16" wide by 18" deep. The adjustment post stands 24" tall. Once the camera is mounted in the holder you can adjust smaller increments using the holder. BTW, the holder keeps the cameras lens parallel to the surface plane too. Once set up you can get through a lot of coins pretty quickly.

Aethelred · December 31, 2003 3:23AM

I'm going to have to get one of those Scott, looks very sturdy.

Askari · December 31, 2003 7:15AM

That Testrite looks pretty solid, thanks for the lead!!

Laserart, I'm not sure I'm the person to answer your question, but to the best of my understanding they're both pretty similar (other than the Olympus 5050 costing about $250 more street-wise). The 5050 has a greater aperture and focus ranges, fewer but higher ISO ratings (and no Auto), an extra metering selection, a remote control option, a flip-up LCD, and microdrive compatibility. According to one rating website, the 5050 also lacks any sort of storage type or advanced rechargeable capability like Lithium-Ion; however, elsewhere I read that it does indeed include an Olympus 32 MB xD Picture Card. I suppose the microdrive compatibility is a big plus if you have a laptop, but I don't. As it is, I'm hard-pressed to choose between the two, especially given my lack of sophistication with photographic equipment.

I've been considering 4 different Nikon Coolpix cameras too: the 4300, 4500, 5400, and 5700. The 4300 doesn't seem to offer much that the 4500 doesn't provide at only a slightly greater cost. Based on the reviews, the 5400 seems to edge out the more expensive SLR-like 5700; besides, I've heard you need to be a "real photographer" to really take advantage of what SLR has to offer. The 5400's extra-low dispersion lens is noted for extremely fine and crisp images; moreover, it has the closest macro focus of any of the cameras I'm considering -- only 0.5 in (vs. the 5700's 1.2 in). With 5 MP and 4x optical mag, it seems to me that's about the best out there for coin photography.

The other camera I'm considering is the Canon A80. It's actually very comparable to the Oly 5050 but at only a little more than half the price. It's only 4 MP vs. 5 MP, but either is fine for my purposes. A bit less resolution and no external flash capability, a slightly smaller flip-out LCD and no TIFF are other differences. The 5050 also has a super macro mode that sounds useful.

Altogether, I'd say my current top three are 1) Nikon Coolpix 5400, 2) Olympus C-5000, and 3) Canon PowerShot A80.

Any opinions?

Darkhorse · December 31, 2003 9:57AM

Here's a link to one of my raw images before I process it. It'll give you some idea of the Powershot A-series Macro capabilities.

http://www.formerairline.com/coinz/rawimage.jpg

Darkhorse · December 31, 2003 10:14AM

And here's another one for good measure. Please excuse the subject matter.

http://www.formerairline.com/coinz/rawimage2.jpg

laserart · January 1, 2004 6:28AM

Thanks Askari, It's always good to hear someone else give their ideas of the research they've done and compare it to what I've read on my own. It does get confusing after awhile. In the best scenario I would like to have the option of using each of my choices for a couple of weeks before buying one of them. So, with so many people here one can get a pretty good overview of many cameras. I especially find it useful when people say why they wouldn't buy the camera they ended up with again.

“Going Digital” – Questions for our Coin Photography Pros

Comments