What to look for in a digital camera for coin photography?
ccex
Posts: 1,188 ✭✭✭
I hope to have a new digital camera within a month. I currently use an Epson SCSI flatbed scanner for capturing images of my coins, but hope to be able to better capture the luster.
Assuming I can eventually figure out a good stable setup with proper lighting and the correct angle, what should I be looking for in a digital camera? Perhaps some of the more accomplished coin photographers here can tell us which features are important and which are overemphasized.
- Megapixels
-Digital Zoom
-Optical Zoom
-Focal length
-Lens aperture
-Focus controls
-Anything else?
Assuming I can eventually figure out a good stable setup with proper lighting and the correct angle, what should I be looking for in a digital camera? Perhaps some of the more accomplished coin photographers here can tell us which features are important and which are overemphasized.
- Megapixels
-Digital Zoom
-Optical Zoom
-Focal length
-Lens aperture
-Focus controls
-Anything else?
"Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity" - Hanlon's Razor
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Comments
The Pentax Optio S4i that I now use works well in this respect, it has a Maco and a Super Macro setting (the Japanese typically refer to this as flower closeups). I think the Japanese like taking good photos of flowers up close.
Another feature is lots of lighting options, like a setting for florsecent, incandescent, daylight, shade lighting, etc.
Some kind of a camera stand or mount is a required must, you simply cannot hold the camera steady and take a decent picture.
I prefer the camera to be held horizontally looking down, I can then move the camera up or down in order to get it just right.
The number of pixels a camera has can be useful as you can take the photo from a farther distance and "zoom" in on it as it doesn't lose detail so much as you blow up the image. That is handy for cutting and pasting more than one image into another (such as both the obverse and reverse in one photo).
I had already assumed that a stable camera holder and good lighting are essential. You also pointed out that you thought the following were important- in this order:
1: Focus controls (macro setting for closeups)
2: Different lighting options
3: Zoom (digital or optical?)
4: Megapixels
I've read others here endorse certain models of Nikon, Canon, or Olympus cameras, some of which cost $400 to $500. I just wanted help in sorting through features that people here feel are essential for coin photography, rather than specific recommendations, which I've already found by using this forum's search feature.
Take a look at the Fuji FinePix S3100 if the $500+ cameras are out of reach. I bought one and am VERY happy ... about 300. with the extra memory card, etc.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
It's got incredible 12x Leica Optical Zoom, Electronic Optical Image Stabilization and a great macro feature, etc.
Please refer to the following recent objective (non-Panasonic) reviews on this camera to determine if it suits your needs.
-- Steve's Digicams US 11/2004 The Best Cameras: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/fz20.html -- DP Review.com UK 11/2004 Highly Recommended: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz20/ -- Digital Camera Resource Page US 10/2004 Review Link: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fz20-review/index.shtml
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
-Digital Zoom - useless.
-Optical Zoom - can be useful, but the qualiy may suffer a bit the more zoom you use.
-Focal length - The base focal length of the camera is actually pretty important. My old nikon 5400 had a low focal length of like 5 mm. The lower it is, the closer to the coin you have to be to get a decent sized picture. low focal length is anti-zoom. You can focus really close, but you really don't want to be all that close to the coin to get good lighting. My new SLR has a focal length of 105 mm. that allow the camera to be farther away.
-Lens aperture - Should have aperture priority shooting mode where you set the aperture you want and the camera does the rest. higher apertures (8 or greater) are useful for macro photography.
-Focus controls - nice to be able to move the focus spot around the field, allow more flexiblility in shooting. Manual focus on small cameras ain't that great from my experience.
-Anything else - nice to have different metering capabilities, like spot or center-weighted metering where it takes the exposure control off of the center of the field (the coin) and not on the surround (NGC slabs won't screw things up as bad with this option).
As stated above copystands are really useful. Hard to do really crisp shots hand-held.
Thank You
SilverDollar
Actually it is the megapixels in relation to the picture itself.
When you use an image editing program like Adobe Photoshop, the more pixels you have in photo detail the more you have to work with.
With the increase in pixels you can sort of zoom in on the picture or scale it up with the editor and you don't lose as much detail.
Since the camera manufacturers are starting to go to 8 megapixel or better cameras now, the 5 megapixel cameras should be getting more attractive pricewise. I would not get any camera less than 3.2 megapixels nowadays for coin pictures.
So you would want a 5megapixel ro better resolution camera.
What might make for a good rule of thumb is how the photo would look when you get it blown up to a 8x10 glossy?
Thus 5megapixels is the lowest resolution you would want.
I did a lot of research before buying my Nikon 4500 a couple of years ago. IMO, the 2 best digicams are Nikon and Canon. It was pretty much of a toss-up in terms of quality and performance, but what tilted the cards towards Nikon for me is their better (and closer) Macro capability. The Nikon's menus are a bit clunkier than the Canon's unless they've improved it since I bought mine.
Thank You
SilverDollar
jom
Mark: I agree. My new camera offers both a 2 second and a 10 second shutter delay for more steady macro-photography...
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
One other item of note. A very steady and level copy stand and camera mount. I use a digital rebel SLR with a 100mm Macro lens. I actually had to go and get a bubble level to set the stand and camera level to each other. If I did not in some shots I did not have enough DOF to have the whole coin in focus.
09/07/2006
I think as soon as I scrape up the dinero I will be buying one of those bad boys.
My concern is whether I should buy it before or after Christmas? I somehow thing the post Christmas sales might make it a better deal.
The upper set was taken in artificial light (GE Reveal Bulbs) using a copy stand and incandescent white balancing camera setting, while the lower set was taken using diffused natural sunlight.
Artifical Lighting -- GE Reveal Incandescent Bulbs
Diffused Natural Sunlight
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
Mike
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
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