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PCGS TrueView Q&A

Good afternoon, US Coin Forum!
I'd like to conduct a little Q&A with all of you in order to gather opinion, suggestions, and constructive criticism of the service in order to give you a better product.

For instance, Dave made a thread here recently stating that the images looked a bit washed out. I agree, so I looked into it and and found that our new imaging system is stripping the files of a color profile before they're delivered. I'm working with our programmer James to help deal with this issue. That may be the cause of it, or part of it, but these are the sorts of things I'd like to get resolved. If you have any specific questions you can email me at parnold@collectors.com.

I'd also like to field your questions on submitting and tell you of some features you may not know about. For example I take multiple shots of each coins, and even after your image has been delivered we hold onto the shots for several weeks on our servers and we're now able to make changes and edits and redistribute them a lot more quickly.

Let's begin!

Phil

Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

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Comments

  • ModCrewmanModCrewman Posts: 4,027 ✭✭✭✭✭
    image

    Welcome aboard Newby. (Haha)

    I actually submitted my very first coins for TrueView yesterday, which should be arriving at PCGS tomorrow. If you could bump them to the front of the line for me that would be cool. I kid...kinda.

    The only input I have, is that it seems very odd that even after the service has been offered for as long as it has, why is it not an option on the order form...and the instructions for how to submit a coin for TrueView were, IMHO, pretty hard to find.
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hey, Phil! What a sight for sore eyes! Longtimenosee!

    You're my favorite Darkhorse candidate! image

    I've got no critique of your work- I love it.

    What I do not like is how they doubled the price a while back, and how it's such a hush-hush secret that you can't find anything out about it on any of the submission forms or, to my knowledge, the website. Every time I have had a question about it, I've had to post a thread here and hope somebody knew.

    I'd like to see it come out in the open, even if it remained expensive. (I know our corporate hosts have their costs, and you deserve compensation, obviously.) But I think it should be integrated into the system better, that's all.

    Maybe this Q&A thread can be bumped periodically and serve the purpose of breaking some of the silence. All too often, I've felt like it was some kind of secret society I didn't know the password to. I am not a frequent submitter. But there are times when I do want to submit some stuff, and definitely times I'd like to use TrueView.




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  • SwampboySwampboy Posts: 12,876 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A question I have is ;
    When using the 8 submission membership voucher can only one or several coins sit for a portrait in the Trueview studio?

    Awesome service, awesome images.
    image
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,454 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm glad to hear that you are working on improving the service. It has great potential, after all it is best to shoot a coin raw and PCGS has the opportunity to do that and most other photographers do not. I'm happy you looked at the half dollar thread and noted the "washed out" comments. I'm pretty sure his coins were even nicer than pictured.
  • GoldbullyGoldbully Posts: 16,823 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I've been very happy with your work, Phil.
    Glad you are becoming pro-active on the forum....welcome aboard!
  • braddickbraddick Posts: 22,995 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I wish the application/submission forum was easier to navigate when it came to TrueView ordering.

    peacockcoins

  • I've had the same issue i stopped sending coins into be trueview since they were coming back looking like junk if they were toned.
  • Hi ModCrewman, and this addresses some of what LordM (Hi LordM!) was saying as well, one of the reason it's not as promoted is that I'm a busy guy and we simply had all the business we could handle. During the current Quarterly Special I have a little wiggle room to give the service some more attention.

    As for the order form, I'll get in touch with the marketing department to see if we an make things clearer next time we print them.

    I'll field your other questions a bit later.

    Thanks for your comments!

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • LindeDadLindeDad Posts: 18,766 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I wish the application/submission forum was easier to navigate when it came to TrueView ordering. >>



    image Something like a check box for the ones wanted imaged would be cool.

    image
  • Billet7Billet7 Posts: 4,923 ✭✭✭
    Sweet! This is the kind of thing that makes PCGS great, willingness to adapt to the changes in the collecting world and also being willing to listen to the collectors and dealers. Wish more politicians took advice from the folks at PCGS! image
  • Let's say that I buy a PCGS-certified coin which has already been photographed for CoinFacts. Is there a way that I can get the image on a TrueView format without having to mail the coin back in? I'd be willing to pay a nominal conversion fee.
    "Clamorous for Coin"
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Hi ModCrewman, and this addresses some of what LordM (Hi LordM!) was saying as well, one of the reason it's not as promoted is that I'm a busy guy and we simply had all the business we could handle. >>

    Aha! So you're a victim of your own success, then? Well, good on you, mate. I certainly know what it feels like to be overburdened.

    I think you need to do some headhunting and hire up and train you some fine, hungry young assistants! image

    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
  • WingedLiberty1957WingedLiberty1957 Posts: 2,960 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Phil, I think you are extremely talented and I love the TrueView photo service. If it wasnt for you and your photographs, I would probably submit 90% fewer coins to PCGS. So I hope PCGS realizes the value of your services to their bottom line.

    My feedback would that sometimes I find TrueView photos slightly too bright (bordering on being slightly washed out) -- and I find by simply knocking the brightness down about 10% to sometimes 20% through post processing, the images look a LOT BETTER. (Has PCGS ever considered having someone do some image post processing on all TV photos? I think that could make a HUGE difference in the consistency of producing really top notch photos.) This is especially true of colorfully toned coins where by making the images a bit less bright, the color is enhanced. So my biggest feedback would be to shoot the way you normally shoot (I know you use a lot of tremendously bright lights), but post process the images knocking the brightness down 10 to 20% - you will be amazed at what a huge difference that makes on some images (especially those showing beautiful toning and/or color).

    With colorfully toned coins (proofs especially), I find when the shadows are pushed towards being almost black, the images look MUCH BETTER. Below is an example of the "black shadow technique", that you do sometimes that I absolutely love. Notice how the shadows in Lincolns hair and head push toward black -- and how vivid the color looks because of that. Whenever I see a TrueView photo shot with that technique and style (near black shadows) the color always pops (as it does in this TrueView photo Masterpiece). So Please keep this technique going!!! It sets you apart from the crowd.

    It's interesting but I think this same issue is true of Television sets as well. I have always heard it's the quality of the BLACK in a TV that determines the quality of the color. I think that is why Plasma TV's are generally believed to produce better color -- the blacks in plasma sets is darker and truer -- and that produces better color.

    image

    A few other suggestions:

    Add a TrueView photo option to the interactive submission form that one fires up by clicking the START button on this page ... https://www.pcgs.com/onlinesubmission/
    Currently there is NO OPTION for specifying TrueView photos using that interactive submission form. By the way, this interactive form is ALSO missing the new option of PCGS Secure Plus for Crossovers. So if that option could be added as well to this form, that would be great!

    Another suggestion would be to shorten the delay between the photos being taken, and the email being sent to the customer that TrueView photos are ready to view. I have had a few cases where I get the email that I have photos available to view AFTER the coins have already been mailed back. In some cases, I would have asked to have an additional photo taken after seeing the initial photo. It would be GREAT to get emailed nearly immediately after a TrueView photo is taken, and is available for viewing, however I don't know if that is possible.

    Just today I had an order for grades and TrueView photos. At 8pm i get an email, "your grades are available" ... at 8:01pm I get an email "your order has been mailed" ... I still havent gotten an email saying I have TrueView photos available. I also just checked the database manually and my TrueView photos are not there. This has been a problem on a few orders from few friends over the past few months. In all cases it turned out the TrueView photos were taken but werent uploaded to the database due to "technical problems". It would be great if these technical problems could actually get resolved instead of just letting them happen over and over! I think there needs to be more real-time emails from PCGS ... and dont mail the coins back until all the emails have been sent and at least another 24 hours has passed. Give us a chance to at least look at the TV photos before mailing the coins back!

    By the way, thanks for being so open to requests from customers on particular elements to attempt to enhance on individual coins -- your attention to detail and your desire to make the customer happy is truly top notch and very much appreciated. So thank you!

    A final suggestion is I have had a few snafu's on some TrueView photos in the past few months. I think it might have been due to the new database being installed and implemented. On a few TrueView photos, the background was completely white (no PCGS background, no Cert Number, on the TrueView image). On some other TrueView submissions, the small thumbnail TrueViews never got inserted on the Cert Verification page. I emailed PCGS a few times on both issues for my problematic coins and never could get anyone to respond. So if there was a place where customers could email to resolve these sort of TrueView issues, (a place where we could get a response and resolution), that would be fantastic! I know that you are swamped taking photos, but there must be others that could resolve these sort of TrueView image formatting and/or PCGS web site database issues. If I knew who to contact to resolve, that would be great!

    I have to admit that I was disapointed when the long standing standard size of the web optimized TrueView images changed from 1101 x 556 (this was the old medium size) ... to 1089 x 550 (this is the new large size). For those of us with hundreds of TrueView images, it's jarring (to me at least) to see this size jump when viewing a library of TV images. I was also interested to see an old post when PCGS attempted to change the format of the TrueView background from white (and black) ... to blue ... a few years ago ... and was very happy when this was abandoned. I love seeing STANDARDS and parallel structure adhered to whenever possible. So hopefully things will stay stable in both of these areas (image sizes and image backgrounds). I think that white (and black) should be the standard color for TrueView photos since they are color neutral -- and coins of all colors won't clash with the backgrounds.

    All in all though, your photography is STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL. And I thank you for your time and effort presenting our coins in the best light possible. I along with thousands of other collectors are infinitely grateful.

  • GoldbullyGoldbully Posts: 16,823 ✭✭✭✭✭
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  • robertprrobertpr Posts: 6,862 ✭✭✭
    While I'm sure your photography setup is likely a secret, one thing I've always wondered is, did PCGS provide all the equipment to you, or did they provide a budget and let you choose the equipment and workflow yourself?
  • WingedLiberty1957WingedLiberty1957 Posts: 2,960 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i> For instance, Dave made a thread here recently stating that the images looked a bit washed out. I agree, so I looked into it and and found that our new imaging system is stripping the files of a color profile before they're delivered. I'm working with our programmer James to help deal with this issue. That may be the cause of it, or part of it, but these are the sorts of things I'd like to get resolved. If you have any specific questions you can email me at parnold@collectors.com.

    I'd also like to field your questions on submitting and tell you of some features you may not know about. For example I take multiple shots of each coins, and even after your image has been delivered we hold onto the shots for several weeks on our servers and we're now able to make changes and edits and redistribute them a lot more quickly.

    Phil >>




    Phil, I just had some photos taken over the past few days ... are they messed up with the "stripped out color profile"?
    Is there a way to fix my photos after the fact?
    Or do the coins need to be reshot?



  • << <i>A question I have is ;
    When using the 8 submission membership voucher can only one or several coins sit for a portrait in the Trueview studio?

    Awesome service, awesome images.
    image >>



    Hi Swampboy
    Back when TrueView started the policy was that only EVERY coin is to be photographed in a submission if you want photos. However, as time has gone by, rules have been broken. Some customers are starting to request photos for only certain lines of their order. I'm OK with this but there is potential for confusion. If you do want only a select coin photographed, properly indicating it is very important. Remember it's the people in our receiving department who are key to making sure I get your coins for photo. They've been doing a great job, and place a huge PHOTO sticker on the submission box.

    However occasionally someone will submit an order, and midway through the process (ie already passed through receiving) contact CS and ask for photo. This could cause some problems since the submission box won't be labeled for photo.

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think that 1954 Lincoln might be radioactive. I hope it got holdered in a lead-impregnated slab.

    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,772 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hi, Phil,

    I love your work.

    When you make a submission to PCGS for grading and TrueView, which happens first and how much time does photography typically add to the overall process?

    Thanks for taking questions.

    RYK
  • Hi Wingedliberty
    First off thanks for the comments and your views. It's always great to know what a customer is looking for in TrueView photos. It makes my job a lot easier, and makes the customer happier. One regular submitter usually includes a note with his submission, or shoots me an email. One customer may want to see the surfaces illuminated, another may want to see a contrasty cameo and so forth.

    As for processing, I have an assistant named Eddie who helps me out a lot with post processing. Before he came along there would be times when I'd get a backlog of maybe 10,000+ images to go through, and I'd barely be able to touch them because I'd still have incoming work to deal with. Eddie also takes some photos if I'm not around (at a show) and he's quickly improving. Especially with toned coins.

    As for the notification email, that's a bit trickier because we need to know an order is really final before we send them out. Hence the delay. However, if you use the reholder + photo service things move a lot faster since that coin has already been determined to be a bona fide PCGS coin. Just last week I shot a reholder of a Morgan Dollar showing its subdued luster... after putting together the photo and sending it through the process the the customer very quickly emailed me saying he wanted to see more of the toning in the fields. Since the order was still on my desk I obliged and updated the image quickly. He liked the photo but he then asked if I could show the reverse die rotation in the picture, again I was happy to accommodate.

    As for your recent submission, they can be updated if they're a problem. But I'm beginning to think my monitor may be in need of a calibration as well.

    I'll email James about the "large" image size and see if we can change it back to the old standard.

    Phil

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • lusterloverlusterlover Posts: 1,256 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>For example I take multiple shots of each coins, and even after your image has been delivered we hold onto the shots for several weeks on our servers and we're now able to make changes and edits and redistribute them a lot more quickly. >>



    If you're taking multiple shots, why not send them all to us so we can pick what we like. With many toned coins, different angles/lighting can produce significantly different images.


  • << <i>Hi, Phil,

    I love your work.

    When you make a submission to PCGS for grading and TrueView, which happens first and how much time does photography typically add to the overall process?

    Thanks for taking questions.

    RYK >>



    Hi RYK

    Sometimes I photograph it before, sometimes after. The important thing is that when an order is received and marked for photo in the system we won't let the order ship until it has my scan.

    How long I hold on to a coin depends on the service level. If I have a walkthrough I'll get to it ASAP, express might add a couple of hours, I may hold onto things a bit longer below that. I tend to hold onto reholders the longest because there's an opportunity for customer feedback.

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232



  • << <i>
    If you're taking multiple shots, why not send them all to us so we can pick what we like. With many toned coins, different angles/lighting can produce significantly different images. >>



    I've had the same idea. I think it's a good idea, and it may be feasible sometime in the future. But right now I think it's an issue of bandwidth (downloading all the images from our servers), computing power (processing all the photos to be viewable), and software development (a program that displays and keeps track of what photos you may want).

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • SwampboySwampboy Posts: 12,876 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Thanks for the answer Phil.

    image
  • fcloudfcloud Posts: 12,133 ✭✭✭✭
    Phil,

    Nice work. I think this could be an example were you can see the difference.

    Take a look at the Coin Facts images for the 1939-D Dimes. This is the last on in a group of color coins (this one is an MS67FB; the others all grade higher). All the older images seem to show better than this one. The silver seems to be a different color and washed out.

    Tony

    image

    President, Racine Numismatic Society 2013-2014; Variety Resource Dimes; See 6/8/12 CDN for my article on Winged Liberty Dimes; Ebay

  • WingedLiberty1957WingedLiberty1957 Posts: 2,960 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I think that 1954 Lincoln might be radioactive. I hope it got holdered in a lead-impregnated slab. >>



    Yes, pure eye candy. This Lincoln belongs to member Robec.
    I consider it the #1 ranked Briliant Proof Lincoln in terms of pure visual appeal.
    At least it's the finest I've ever seen!

    (Some of Ibndalights "Toned to Perfection" Lincoln Brilliant Proofs also rank extrememly high in my mind.)
  • illini420illini420 Posts: 11,466 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Phil,

    Thanks for coming on here and for being willing to take some Q&A... very cool.

    I really like your work and have been very happy with just about every coin I've submitted for TrueView and/or imaging for CoinFacts. The only image I got back from you guys where I was a bit puzzled was the following coin which I sent in under the "Condition Census" offer for a free image while I was getting it regraded anyways...

    1909 Proof Indian Head Cent graded PCGS PR66RD CAM
    image

    Since there are only a handful of 1909 IHCs that have been awarded the cameo designation (and no others were imaged at the time) I thought it would be really cool to have a nice image up on CoinFacts showing that nice cameo contrast which is nearly DCAM. I was a bit surprised that the photo instead concentrated on the slight toning. It's still a nice photo, and I guess there are a hundred different ways to shoot a proof coin as I've seen other images of similar coins that show the nice black/white contrast vs. the color.

    Just wondering how you guys decide how to image a given coin. For example, in looking at PCGS images of MS70 2009 Ultra High Relief coins (which are all basically the same in hand) it's amazing how many different looks the TrueViews have depending on how it was shot. Additionally, in the future if I had a proof coin like my IHC that I wanted imaged would it be possible to request how the image was done??

    Here's another image I have of the same coin that shows that cameo contrast and I guess I was assuming I'd get back a PCGS image that looked similar to this one...

    image
    image





    By the way, this is one of my favorites that PCGS has imaged for me...

    1909 VDB MS66RB
    image

    Thanks again!!!

    Mike


    image
  • ModCrewmanModCrewman Posts: 4,027 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A new question: A couple of the coins I sent in were outside my prime collecting area, so I'm less comfortable on knowing whether they will be gradeable or will come back in a Genuine holder. If they are Genuined, will they still be TrueViewed? Will I be given an option of having it TrueViewed even if deemed not gradeable?
  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,772 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>A new question: A couple of the coins I sent in were outside my prime collecting area, so I'm less comfortable on knowing whether they will be gradeable or will come back in a Genuine holder. If they are Genuined, will they still be TrueViewed? Will I be given an option of having it TrueViewed even if deemed not gradeable? >>


    I have had BB'ed coins TrueViewed in the past, so unless there has been a change in policy, the answer to your question is YES.
  • WingedLiberty1957WingedLiberty1957 Posts: 2,960 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    1909 Proof Indian Head Cent graded PCGS PR66RD CAM
    image

    >>



    Illini, I totally get what you are saying about wanting to highlight the cameo aspect. However that CoinFacts image is STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL. At minimum, I think perhaps a 2nd photo showing the cameo is the way to go, as I would want to KEEP that original image around (which is breathtaking IMHO).
  • Thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide feedback. I'll preface my comments by mentioning that I'm not currently a True View customer since I've found some enjoyment in practicing photgraphy myself. But with that said, I have the following opinions:

    1. I find that the repeating PCGS watermarked background slightly distracting in that it's difficult to focus on an object with a pattern in the background. Perhaps there may be alternate and more subtle (yet still effective) ways of displaying the PCGS brand.

    2. White backgrounds are not ideal for the display of silver coins.

    Those are just my opinions, which probably differ from others. Thank you again for requesting feedback and for offering the service.

    Jacob
  • In general I tend to shoot proof IHCs like that, since I figure that's what most people are expecting. I'm happy to shoot it an alternate way, I just need to be informed about it (whether by a note in the submission, or an email).

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • WingedLiberty1957WingedLiberty1957 Posts: 2,960 ✭✭✭✭✭
    (Phil, thanks for your responses to my questions above!)

    I have a couple of additional questions about CoinFacts images ...

    Can you describe where the CoinFacts images come from? Do you shoot those. Sometimes the CoinFacts images look very similar to the TrueView photos, except the CF photos appear to be, in some cases at least, post processed to enhance or tweak the color.

    Other times the Coin Facts photos look really different from the TrueView photos, as if they were shot separately by another photographer.

    Finally sometimes there are Coin Facts images for coins that dont have TrueView photos -- in those cases are coins sometimes pulled out of the grading line and photographed to use on CoinFacts even though the owner of the coin didnt specify a photo?

    Is CoinFacts a whole separate division or really just an arm of the TrueView photography group.

  • robecrobec Posts: 6,581 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    Other times the Coin Facts photos look really different from the TrueView photos, as if they were shot separately by another photographer.
    >>



    I remember in mid to late 2010, CoinFacts was giving members the option of using their own images. I'm not sure if that is still the case now.
  • I take a lot of the images for CoinFacts, but most of the work I do is taking coin photos for internal purposes only. I have noticed that sometimes the CoinFacts photos look different, which I think is due to the color profile I was talking about.

    Sometimes user photos are submitted for CF photos, other times we actually use Heritage photos. But by and large I try to photograph any condition census coin we come across for CoinFacts.

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,772 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Is there a different quality standard for Secure Plus photos that make it to CoinFacts versus those that are paid to be taken via the TrueView platform? I have had a few photos taken of my coins, unbeknownst to me, while they were in for TrueView grading a while back, and they do not seem as high quality as the photos taken when I submit for TrueView.

    Also, do TrueView photos of scarce coins generally make it to CoinFacts?

    Finally, when I view CoinFcts, I see a lot of high quality photos and also some more mediocre quality photos. If it were up to me, I would only allow TrueView quality photos in CoinFacts because, IMO, the lower quality photos dilute the overall quality of the product.
  • labloverlablover Posts: 3,590 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hi Phil,

    Thanks for taking the time to listen to us collectors. I have a small group of coins (6) I'd like to submit for your outstanding photo skills. But, I'm really unclear how I go about the submission. Do I just use the standard PCGS submission form and identify each coin as TrueView?

    Could you possibly advise the proper procedures for me?

    Oh, have you got them imaged yet? image

    Cheers
    "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." Will Rogers
  • dpooledpoole Posts: 5,940 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hey, Darkhorse!! How's married life??

    My only gripe about the photos over time has been the failure (in my limited experience) to capture the depths of the DCAM specimens.

    Other than that, your photography has been the envy of mere mortals for years.


  • << <i>Is there a different quality standard for Secure Plus photos that make it to CoinFacts versus those that are paid to be taken via the TrueView platform? I have had a few photos taken of my coins, unbeknownst to me, while they were in for TrueView grading a while back, and they do not seem as high quality as the photos taken when I submit for TrueView.

    Also, do TrueView photos of scarce coins generally make it to CoinFacts?

    Finally, when I view CoinFcts, I see a lot of high quality photos and also some more mediocre quality photos. If it were up to me, I would only allow TrueView quality photos in CoinFacts because, IMO, the lower quality photos dilute the overall quality of the product. >>



    Hi RYK

    SecurePlus photos are something completely different. The images are just one-shot photos on mostly auto or established settings. I have a hand on the image quality, and we're always trying to improve on them, while maintaining speed and efficiency.

    Ron Guth, who is in charge of CoinFacts, makes the call when it comes to images. It's his baby, and he's always striving to make it better and better all the time. On that note, as far as CoinFacts is concerned, we may not have my photos for every entry, but we want to give the subscriber as much content as possible so that's the reason we use alternate images.




    << <i>Hi Phil,

    Thanks for taking the time to listen to us collectors. I have a small group of coins (6) I'd like to submit for your outstanding photo skills. But, I'm really unclear how I go about the submission. Do I just use the standard PCGS submission form and identify each coin as TrueView?

    Could you possibly advise the proper procedures for me?

    Oh, have you got them imaged yet? image

    Cheers >>



    Hi lablover,
    The easiest way to submit is to check "OTHER" on the submission form and write in TrueView and include the fees accordingly.
    I don't know if I've gotten your coins yet. Here's an appropriate coin image for you in the meantime:

    image



    << <i>Hey, Darkhorse!! How's married life??

    My only gripe about the photos over time has been the failure (in my limited experience) to capture the depths of the DCAM specimens.

    Other than that, your photography has been the envy of mere mortals for years. >>



    Hi David,
    I think I might have seen you at the FUN show. I might have looked miserable... the food there wasn't particularly good.
    Married life is great. Just last night I was thinking how lucky I am to have married such a smart, beautiful woman.

    As for DCAM specimens, I think there are varying trains of thought on this. Some just want the contrast cameo to be apparent, others want sort of a half and half sort of thing where half the coins is dark, the other half has some glare or reflection, others want even a sort of ruler reflected in the coin to show the depth of the coin. Some examples of what you'd like to see would be nice.

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • BochimanBochiman Posts: 25,285 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Phil,

    image to you!

    I remember your photos when you were here as Darkhorse and when HRH put out that PCGS was looking for a photographer...and then you got the job and all.
    Really cool and great to see you back on the forums posting and looking for improvements and all!

    Keep it up and I hope things continue to go great for you.


    I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment

  • WingedLiberty1957WingedLiberty1957 Posts: 2,960 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hey Phil, I have learned so much about your process from this thread.


    A couple of more questions:


    1. roughly how many coins do you photograph a day (on average) ... 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000 ?
    i am hoping you dont get too burned out as I cannot imagine how much photography you do!!!
    when I have a just a few of my own coins to photograph, I feel overwhelmed!

    2. do you ever get a break from photography? or is your workload constant and steady with a backlog (always)?

    3. how much time do you spend on setting up and photographing each coin (typically) ? (10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes?)

    4. do you spend more time on setup and photography of toned or colorful coins than untoned (white) coins? or roughly the same time on each?

    5. do you have the freedom to spend more time with a difficult to photograph coin, or is you backlog so large that you typically have to really push coins through the process.

    6. Are all coins post-processed (by you and/or eddie) or just a few? What percentage get post-processed? (5%, 25%, 50%, close to 100%)
    Have you guys ever experimented with a general tweak of knocking down the brightness 10 to 20% ? (you can also do a similar adjustment using LEVELS).
    I have found that doing that one little tweak really improves the look and color of almost all TrueViews (esp those involving toning and color).
    This one tweak also really helps to bring out a coins luster. The overall effect of that one tweak is like taking away the optical "FOG" that slightly obscurres a coin and just makes the coin look more LIVE.

    The single most common complaint I hear from others on some TrueView images is that they sacrifice luster for color (on colorfully toned coins) and they can sometimes appear washed out (too bright). However that might have been due to the recent snafu of the color profile. It might be something to attempt to adjust through post-processing (knocking down the brightness, or doing a LEVELS adjustment) -- as that would do wonders in correcting that occasional shortcoming.





    On some of your responses:

    1. if you could get James to change the size of the *_Large.jpg images from 1089 x 550 back to the old long-standing standard of 1101 x 556 that would be fantastic! I think the 1101 x 556 standard was in place for many many years -- and the new size started in December I believe. This size (around 1100 pixels in width) is the key image as it's the one that is optimized for display on the web ... and the one that is posted to most coin forums.





    Thanks again for being so proactive on gettng feedback and sharing some of the internal workings ... it shows your desire to improve customer service and make improvements where warranted! So we all thank you!
  • Here are some quick answers before I head up to Long Beach.
    1. Typically almost always over 150 a day I'd say. I try to get over 200. I might start to feel a bit burnt out at 300. I think the most I've done was over 750 over the course of a couple of days in Fort Worth 2010.

    2. Almost always photos but I do get some video projects from time to time.

    3. I have a couple of standard setups. I can change in between the two fairly quickly. How long I spend on the coin depends on the coin. Sometimes 10 seconds, other times a coin will drive me crazy like a proof Mercury Dime for example. So I have time to spend on certain coins which addresses your 5th question.

    4. I'd say about the same time on each. But like I said it depends on the coin.

    6. All the coins have a little degree of post processing, but it's mainly just cropping out the coin of the photo and putting it on the template. Maybe a little bit of sharpening. I don't have a lot of time to do a whole lot of post processing, but I suppose some standard tweaks could be easily automated.

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • labloverlablover Posts: 3,590 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Phil,

    Have you, or PCGS considered a Monthly Photography Discussion where you might address specific photography topics? Things such as Lighting, Setup, F-Stop, etc., etc. where you could share a few tidbits of knowledge.
    "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." Will Rogers
  • jessewvujessewvu Posts: 5,063 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Can you fix this Trueview I paid for, the cut/pasted cert number on it looks a little cheap.

    Also, why are the pictures different for the same cert number? I submitted this as a regrade hoping for the PL designation.

    Both of these photos are on PCGS servers.

    From the TrueView side (Resubmitted coin in 2011)

    image

    From the Certificate verification side (Original coin submitted back in 2009)

    image

    *edited to fix link and change my tone
  • WingedLiberty1957WingedLiberty1957 Posts: 2,960 ✭✭✭✭✭
    JesseWVU,

    Beautiful Gold Coin!!!

    I have seen this issue before ... it happened to a friend of mine that submitted a coin for a regrade and a new TrueView photo (on a coin that already had an old trueView photo)

    I will let phil give the definitive answer ... but I am pretty sure this is a mistake on PCGS's end.

    The Cert Verification page has the CORRECT NEW True View photo

    In the database is the OLD TrueView photo with the new Cert number cut and pasted on. This exact issue happened on my friends coin as well (except he complained to PCGS about the incorrect re-use of the old TrueView photo and it was eventually replaced by the new one in the database).

    In any case, for your situation, this editing of the old photo was not necessary at all -- since a new TrueView photo was taken and was available.



  • coinkid855coinkid855 Posts: 5,012 ✭✭✭
    To me that poor pasting of the cert number looks like a problem with the layering in a Photoshop file. The cert number layer should be behind the coin layer. Phil, your work is amazing! I noticed you had your PM's turned off. What is your contact info at PCGS?




    -Paul
  • jessewvujessewvu Posts: 5,063 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have no idea what happened. The pictures should be the same because apparently they never took a new TrueView picture for the regrade. They just took the old picture and pasted the new cert number over top of it. image
  • WingedLiberty1957WingedLiberty1957 Posts: 2,960 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The two photos you posted look really different to me (look how the luster was picked up on photo #2 on the obverse around 10 o'clock (that shine and reflection is not on photo #1 at all) ...

    Also coin #1 has the OLD format background image and coin #2 has the NEW format background image ... so the two images were taken probably over a year apart.
    Note that the new background images fade out towards the center and use a cursive font for the "Certificate No." text (also the stock ticker symbol was dropped on the new format backgrounds)

    But you know what you ordered better than I! So I defer to your information.

    In any case, that is a STUNNING coin and photo

    (I like the 2nd newer photo more than the old original photo too! Fantastic Job by the PCGS TrueVIew group.)


  • << <i>Can you fix this Trueview I paid for, the cut/pasted cert number on it looks a little cheap.

    Also, why are the pictures different for the same cert number? I submitted this as a regrade hoping for the PL designation.

    Both of these photos are on PCGS servers.

    From the TrueView side (Resubmitted coin in 2011)

    image

    From the Certificate verification side (Original coin submitted back in 2009)

    image

    *edited to fix link and change my tone >>



    The internal software put that cut and past cert number thing on TrueViews for coins that came in for regrade. I always hated that because, I agree, it looked cheap. We don't do that anymore, I think we've tweaked the new system enough to prevent that sort of thing from happening.

    As for why they look so different, I obviously used a different technique. These high relief coins are tricky, and how I shoot them varies from coin to coin depending on how glossy they are. Even though many of you may not ask for TrueViews, I still photograph a lot of stuff anyway, whether it be for CoinFacts or just our internal database.

    I didn't realize I had my PM function turned off. I'll turn it on.

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • coinkid855coinkid855 Posts: 5,012 ✭✭✭


    << <i>

    The internal software put that cut and past cert number thing on TrueViews for coins that came in for regrade. I always hated that because, I agree, it looked cheap. We don't do that anymore, I think we've tweaked the new system enough to prevent that sort of thing from happening.

    As for why they look so different, I obviously used a different technique. These high relief coins are tricky, and how I shoot them varies from coin to coin depending on how glossy they are. Even though many of you may not ask for TrueViews, I still photograph a lot of stuff anyway, whether it be for CoinFacts or just our internal database.

    I didn't realize I had my PM function turned off. I'll turn it on. >>




    Is that a reflection of an ott light or some kind of fluorescent bulb in the obverse of the second UHR shot, or am I seeing things? I prefer the first one, as that really captures exactly what one of those UHR's looks like in hand. Oh, and PM sent! image



    -Paul

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