First pics with new Nikon D50 (New Pics added)

CoinAddict

This is my first post with pics taken with my new Nikon D50. I am using a 55mm micro Nikkor lens and a 2x convertor. The lenses are manual since they are AI-S. I have been tinkering on and off with it for the last 3 days and I think I finally have some that are presentable. So what do you think of them? Constructive criticism is apreciated and so are tips.

Tassa

Picks up the detail pretty well. I'm getting a red x for the second picture.

21Walker

They should be a little bigger.........only kidding........Great pix.........Rick

mdwoods

Nice job. Very nice.

coinpictures

They look good, but a little washed out. In hand, does the medal look closer to those or the pics below? I did an Auto-Contrast (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L) in Photoshop. I find that it helps with accuracy, especially on copper/bronze pieces. Sometimes the coin then needs a slight lighten or darken.

CoinAddict

Yep the coin does look closer to yours. I will try some pics with two lights instead of three the next time I take pics. The pics I posted were without any alterations except cropping out the slab.

LucyBop

very nice

Garneteye

rhound1977

look'n good.....

theboz11

goossen

are you using digital zoom ?

CoinAddict

There is no digital zoom on a Digital SLR, goossen. It all relies on what lenses you use.

Refrema

Actually both types of zoom exist, and some cameras use both. Mine has a 10X Optical zoom, and an additional 3X Digital zoom. The most important thing for coin Photography is that your lens has a good Macro feature. Doublers and close-up accessory lenses will usually not give as fine a result as a well made Macro lens.

Using the digital zoom, will sometimes degrade the quality of the image. Your image does look a little soft, but that might just be what is done to make it fit on the Internet.

Other than Cropping or combining images, I am not a big fan of images that are manipulated in Photoshop. If the Lighting is correct and the camera is adjusted correctly you image should look very close to the original coin.

Good Luck with your new toy,

Bob

CoinAddict

I know exactly what you are talking about, Bob. I used to use a Olympus C4000 which had a 3x Optical zoom and could get a 10x with both optical and digital.

The Nikon D50 does not have a built in lens and there for I do not think has a digital zoom. I am using some older lenses that my father had that were compatible with the D50 body therefore I am having to do everything manually.
Selecting the aperature, shutter speed and focusing the lens. For the above pic I was using 3 65w indoor flood lights which is why the pic is a little washed out. I will try 2 lights the next time I mess around with it. The aperature might
have also been in the wrong setting which would account for the image being a little on the soft side. I will just have to keep playing around with it.

Refrema

I use 2 - 60W Reveal Light bulbs, and a piece of clear glass at a 45 degree angle. It works wonderful, and the first shot is always exactly right.

My Camera is a Fuji S5100, and the beauty of it is that the Macro feature works at about 3 feet from the coin. This lets you adjust lighting and the coin with out being right on top of your subject.

Another trick that many people do not understand is if you rotate an image a few degrees, and find that it is not exactly right, don’t rotate it just a little more. Your final image will be better if you cancel your first change, and then do it with a single correction. Multiple small software changes to an image can degrade the quality sometimes.

Bob

CoinAddict

Here are some that were taken with one light and a change in the shutter speed and aperture. What do you think? This is a lot closer to what the coin looks like in hand. It is a MS-63 RB.

rhound1977

AH, that is much better, looks like you may be shooting through a slab, which is much more difficult.....

laurentyvan

Your last image was spot on! Very pretty...

LucyBop

I like the latest images, the color does seem more natural and not as bland as the previous images, which I still thought were pretty darn good...

You are having much fun......

I have found that depending on the coin I sometimes have to change my light sources to capture what the coin truely looks like..
so for me atleast, i never seem to have a set formula for lights/sunlight combo.......

wildjag

Wow I like the photos, but they must be superb to lure Lucy to post in the Darkside

CoinAddict

It doesn't take much to get Lucy over on the Darkside. She is a darksider at heart.

Actually all it takes is a PM asking her to check out the pics and she will gladly stop by.

Refrema

It looks better, and sharper also.

Try working on a non slabed coin to find your settings, and then go to the slab. Slabbed coins are harder to shoot.

You are getting beter.

Bob

Refrema

If you want to see one of the problems with shooting a slabed coin, Break one open, and hold the clear part at arms length, and look thru it. The quality of the plastic is not good because it is full of distortions. You will see them when you look thru just the clear piece. Airtites are better, but not perfect.

Another thing to try is shoot a coin in the slab, and then take it out and shoot it again. I did this, but can not find what I did with the images. My suggestion would be to shoot everything before you send it for grading. You will have better pictures for use when you get it back.

Bob