Has anyone had good luck using a ring flash with taking images of slabbed coins?

ANACONDA

I know this dealer and his images show luster very well. And his colors also show up pretty accurately.

I think he may use a ring flash. I've never tried one but would like some advice from anyone who has used one to take images of coins in holders.

So, has anyone had any luck using a ring flash mounted to the lens on their camera? Any problems with refections of the flash in the plastic?

ANACONDA

ttt

mrearlygold

tptptp

oldcameoproofsguy

A ring flash would work very well, IMO. This flash would put an even reflection off of the surface of the slab.

If there is a reflection off of the slab it can be removed in photoshop by lifting the contrast and lowering the brightness of the image. The resulting image is a very accurate image with really good luster and color representation. The key is to have a macro lense that is big enough to be able to keep the flash unit away from the coin a little bit, ie., at least 100mm. Also the reflection from the slab must not be too harsh and evenly dispursed so that when the image is altered in photoshop it looks natural.

I guess what I'm saying is that there will be reflection from the flash on the plastic but it could easily be removed in photoshop.

Murphy

Jeez, what a beautiful quarter!

stev32k

I just ordered this ring flash. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=266082&is=REG Several professional photographers have told me it is good for fairly flat objects like coins. Considering the price of dedicated ring flashs this is a pretty good deal.

mgoodm3

Personally I think a ring flash wouldn't be an ideal choice. The reflection off the slab should be about half the size of the ring, may cause probs with bigger coins. Also you won't get cartwheels unless you mask off part of the ring. Cartwheels are caused by directional light and a ringflash will not be directional. I've always wondered how a ringflash would work and will be interested to see what happens.

Should work well with raw coins where there's no slab reflection, but again won't be directional light unless you tweak it some.

photoman

I've experimented with a ring flash as well as a fiber optic loop. The circular light seemed to flatten out the photos quite a bit, similar to just putting the slabs on a flatbed scanner.

Doug

ANR

ANACONDA

My fears are that with a ring flash you might be eliminating shadows which help to delineate the design of the coin.

I agree that glare can be revoved with the adjustment of contrast and brightness but the ring flash might leave just a circular reflection as opposes to even glare.

I think my friend my be using a number of small bulbs strategically positioned around the circumference of the coin to elicit the luster. I have found that when I photograph coins in a room with multiple over head bulbs, luster is more apparent.

ANACONDA

Also....guys....thanks for your input.

islemangu

I have one that was just learning the ins and outs and my hotshoe fries. Been meaning to fix it too..dang it.

btw My icon magazine cover is an anaconda photo:D

Lakesammman

Any sort of flash is too "uncontrolled". It's easier and you'll get better results with a dig. camera and playing with the lights until just right, then shoot, using a timer. A flash is a random, hit or miss event.

Boom

Flash is a no no...causes all sort off ill effects. If you cannot shoot under natural light (ie the sun), an old style double headed floor lamp with lower watted "reveal" bulbs say placed at 10 and 12 o'clock is the ticket but there is a definite problem with NGC slabs. The fact that they are White makes for all sorts of problems.

ziggy29

<< <i>Flash is a no no...causes all sort off ill effects. If you cannot shoot under natural light (ie the sun), an old style double headed floor lamp with lower watted "reveal" bulbs say placed at 10 and 12 o'clock is the ticket but there is a definite problem with NGC slabs. The fact that they are White makes for all sorts of problems. >>

This is why I recently created something to lay over my NGC slabs. I made the whole thing black, just smaller than the size of the slab and cut an opening where the coin needs to stick out. The pictures come out MUCH better this way.

This is the "low tech" version I created -- I'd like to make a better one some day, but in the meantime, using this is a HUGE improvement over not using it at all:

DMWJR

AC, what settings are you using on your D100?