How would you grade this Photo Settup

JCB1983

Sheldon scale please. This is actually my uncle's settup. I plan on having the same settup by summertime. He uses a Nikkon with an 85mm Macro.

commoncents05

I would lose the red. XF40.

-Paul

ibex66

Where did he get the 'tent', whats its brand name. What kind of lights are you using, wattage etc. Thanks trying to make one of these myself

AUandAG

Probably great for proofs, but what does it do with a Morgan or Merc in circulated
state? Looks kind of Mickey Mouse to me with a light stand about ready to get
knocked to the floor. Not too stable and how do you eat breakfast with that
camera on the table??

bob

Edit: AG4

Broadstruck

I like it as it doubles as a Laundry Hamper

guitarwes

Loose the red, go to black or white.

Move that clothes hamper and put the lights on the table and point them straight down towards the coin.

Coin appears a tad yellowish on my screen (adjust white balance?)

JCB1983

LOL. I'll check on the tent brand. I kind of liked the tent. I'm tired of putting white t-shirts on top of my light bulbs. I know that he uses reveal lightbulbs and a NIkkon 85 mm.

kryptonitecomics

That set up would be a bad way to go for MS coins as the diffused lighting will not show off the luster...proofs could work well.

derryb

clean room?

blu62vette

I would lose the tent. I really don't like diffused lighting.

JCB1983

Krypto, could you give me an example of lighting/photo settup that would bring out the luster/tone? That is a big time problem that I am having right now. Nevermind the messy room guys, I have OCD and my house is dress right dress. This is my uncle's establishment.

blu62vette

<< <i>Krypto, could you give me an example of lighting/photo settup that would bring out the luster/tone? That is a big time problem that I am having right now. Nevermind the messy room guys, I have OCD and my house is dress right dress. This is my uncle's establishment. >>



Use lights, nothing else. No paper, cloth, socks or anything else messing with the lights.

Ahrensdad

In my experience, the tent works nicely for modern proofs. I have had better success with classic coins with direct lighting.

keyman64

Get rid of the tent. Get rid of the red. Use a black surround but put the coin on a small white background...or keep everything black. Lights need to be directly over the coin. Use two lights most of the time but sometimes you need three for toned coins etc. Make sure your White Balance is set IN CAMERA by using a GRAY CARD and your lighting set up for coins. All of the stuff I said is EASY...except for getting the light placement correct. That is something that is learned through experimenting or maybe Mark Goodman's book (I have not read it but others swear by it)...either way, it is not easy. Also, if you ever want to photograph a small coin or even a tiny variety such as a mint mark on a tiny coin, the 85mm will do you no good. Get a 150mm or 200mm lens....then sometimes combine that with a 1.4x teleconverter and you will have most of what you need.

Good Luck!

renomedphys

VF35... you're halfway there

kryptonitecomics

<< <i>

<< <i>Krypto, could you give me an example of lighting/photo settup that would bring out the luster/tone? That is a big time problem that I am having right now. Nevermind the messy room guys, I have OCD and my house is dress right dress. This is my uncle's establishment. >>



Use lights, nothing else. No paper, cloth, socks or anything else messing with the lights. >>




Exactly....if your lights are far enough away then you won't have slab glare but you will have luster.

ctf_error_coins

That RED is hideous .................................

JCB1983

TYVM all.

mgoodm3

<< <i> or maybe Mark Goodman's book (I have not read it but others swear by it)...either way, it is not easy >>



Shame on you!! It is quite possibly the greatest literary work of the new millenium.

I can't see the pics of the setup at work, but I would lose the tent. The 85 micro should have plenty to working distance to allow decent direct lighting.

messydesk

I'd grade it by the results over time, but that's not what you're looking for. I'll assume you want grades for a non-budget amateur setup (as opposed to a budget setup or a pro setup). So here are my scores on a scale of 1-70.

Camera (25%): Nikon DSLR, I assume, based on your statement that he's using an 85mm macro lens. Good that it can accept almost Nikon lens made since the late 70s. I can't determine whether or not you have the capability to do tethered shooting, mirror lock-up, or "exposure delay." I'll assume you don't have tethering, because I don't see evidence of it being used. I'll also assume you don't have mirror lock-up, but you do have exposure delay, which waits a couple hundred msec after the mirror flips up before the shutter. I'm also assuming 12 MP, which is plenty for this category. Flippable screen is nice, but tethering would be better. Remote control for camera is a good idea in the absence of tethering. Score: 63

Lens (30%): 85mm is a little on the short end for smaller coins. You may find yourself having some lighting challenges. However, if this is the 85mm PC-Nikkor (tilt/shift lens), you can have the coin off-center and light it more easily. This would blow the budget of a non-budget amateur setup, however, so would be an odd choice. I'll assume you don't have this lens. Score: 50

Support (15%): Manfrotto makes good tripods, and the setup looks stable. The problem I see is that it looks like a real pain in the neck to change the camera-to-coin distance, which you will want to do to maximize the size of the coin within the image. A tripod also makes it easier to be out of plane with the coin compared with a copy stand, which I'd prefer in the non-budget amateur setup category. Score: 40

Lighting (30%): Two lamps are good. Bulbs look like CFL, so they won't make it too hot to work. Supports are rigid, however, so you can't position them as precisely as if they were flexible. The light tent forces you into very diffuse lighting, which you quite often don't want. The color balance of the light will be bad with the red present. If you want a colored background with your coin, do it in post-processing. The light tent is also in the way of you being able to mess with the camera itself to make adjustments to the exposure, tilt the camera in plane, manually focus. Score: 15. (This is a bit of a net grade. 35, but in the presence of the red, net 15).

Overall grade: 40. Lose the red and it goes up to 45.

lcoopie

let's see Mark Goodmans setup

TomB

I don't like the tent at all.

LindeDad

Marks book is a lot cheaper than that tent and will be a lot more useful in the long run. As for a grade C- at best.

JCB1983

I'm glad to see that you all take your photography so seriously. Pictures are such a huge part of the business. Once I get my outfit, I'm going to create a shutterbug catologue/magazine of my entire collection.

EagleEye

Link to Mark Goodman

Link to bluccphotos

lkeigwin

Diffused lighting isn't necessary for 98% of the jobs. Same for axial lighting.

Lose the tent, the red background. Go with white.

Position lights high above the coin for the smallest angle, light to coin to camera.

Read Mark's book. Shoot thousands of raw pictures. Become proficient with your editor. Spend countless hours with a critical eye.

That's all it takes, really.
Lance.

LindeDad

<< <i>I'm glad to see that you all take your photography so seriously. Pictures are such a huge part of the business. Once I get my outfit, I'm going to create a shutterbug catologue/magazine of my entire collection. >>



I for one am sorry that you did not get the response you wanted but "Yes" in some cases it is a big part of the business and you happened to get responses for some of the best at the game at this time.

Edit to add some salt. How would that tent work with this.