Which camera is better for coins only photography.....

Al21

a Nikon D5100 or a Cannon Rebel T3i. Your thoughts please.

TomB

Nearly any current dSLR will be able to give you outstanding numismatic photography if used correctly.

messydesk

Either is fine. If you want to buy a new macro lens for it, Nikon, Canon, and Sigma all make good ones. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on a lens, you can get a used, manual focus Nikon 105mm Micro-Nikkor for about $200. Old lenses will not work on new Canon dSLRs.

drwstr123

Both are more than adequate.

blu62vette

Cameras are fine now find a good lens.

seateddime

find an old and cheap Nikon coolpix, the macro is great!

notwilight

Just bought the T2i as an upgrade to my older Canon DSLR and love it. You might shop for macro lenses first. If you find a better macro for one than the other that might be the deciding factor. I like the Canon 100mm macro. --Jerry

morbidsteve

This is what I'm using for all of my photographs, if you've seen any.

I have a Canon T2i, the 500D, and I love it. I don't personally see the point in spending the extra money for the newer cameras (though I did buy the T2i shortly after it came out) as the extra MPs don't really make a difference. My images are around 8mb and at 100%, it only takes about 1/8 or 1/10 of the image to fill up my 26" monitor.

Hope this helps.

Steve

rmpsrpms

Go for the T2i. T3i has a few extra features but they don't help with coin photography, so if it's dedicated to coins don't spend the extra cash.

I used a D5000 for a while, then upgraded to a D7000 but saw very little improvement in image quality with coins. The D7000 allowed me to use older Nikon lenses easier, though. But when I upgraded to the T2i, I got a boost in sharpness vs the D7000, especially for smaller coins and variety shots at higher magnification. But there is a tradeoff...the T2i seems more susceptible to hotspotting, so you need to be more careful with your exposure settings and lighting.

joeykoins

<< <i>find an old and cheap Nikon coolpix, the macro is great! >>

Agree 100% ! I have a Nikon,also. Your right the macro is incredible !!! I've had mine at least 7 years now. I like hooking it up to my T.V. I impress my wife!

lkeigwin

As Tom, John, and Todd have said, they'll all do fine. Get a decent macro lens for it.

Then shoot many thousands of pictures over some years. You'll get good at it. Experience and knowledge count more than the camera.
Lance.

TwoSides2aCoin

Any of them out of my hands seem to work better.

mgoodm3

Both will be fine. Canon will only work with modern macro lenses (not totally true, but not for discussion here). That means that your macro lens may be a little more expensive. Nikon will work with older manual focus macro lenses that can be much cheaper, but you may lose some funcitonality in the camera with those older lenses (not difficult, but not for everybody).

Don't forget the other costs that go along with coin pics - copystand, lights. A dSLR will require a sturdier copystand than a point and shoot. Light need not be expensive.

lcoopie

It's the photographer not the camera

Coinlearner

<< <i>find an old and cheap Nikon coolpix, the macro is great! >>

Old cheap 4600 coolpix off ebay $20. Working good for years. Set-up is the most important

CyStater

<< <i>Either is fine. If you want to buy a new macro lens for it, Nikon, Canon, and Sigma all make good ones. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on a lens, you can get a used, manual focus Nikon 105mm Micro-Nikkor for about $200. Old lenses will not work on new Canon dSLRs. >>



If I may jump in here and ask a related question. Do you still recommend a Cannon Powershot A800 as a good, cheap point and shoot option? I saw that in a previous thread on cameras.

photog

Ultimately, which camera do you like better? I'm betting eventually you'll take it off the copy stand use it for something else.

If I told you what digital Nikon body I shoot coins with, you'd laugh at me - but the lens and lighting are what make a coin photo. Good glass is imperative.

If you're sure that this will be a coin-camera only, I'd figure out which system you want to go with, and then I'd consider a used body. KEH.com and B&H both have great used departments, accurate rating scales, and return periods/warranties on most equipment. I have picked up a substantial amount of my gear used through KEH without issue - and saved literally thousands of dollars doing so (and bought myself beautiful lenses that are discontinued, such as the Nikon 20mm 2.8).

Good luck!

crazyhounddog

<< <i>As Tom, John, and Todd have said, they'll all do fine. Get a decent macro lens for it.

Then shoot many thousands of pictures over some years. You'll get good at it. Experience and knowledge count more than the camera.
Lance. >>



I like the Nikon....No, I love the Nikon....Joe

lcoopie

Any modern camera will do
Almost any

Spooly

(evil grin) Joeykoins..... "I like hooking it up to my T.V. I impress my wife!" What are you taking pictures of?

UtahCoin

"It ain't the wand, it's the magician"

mgoodm3

<< <i>"It ain't the wand, it's the magician" >>



The wand makes a much bigger difference in macro photography than in normal photography though.

rmpsrpms

I found with the Canon vs Nikon comparison I did a while back that for Silver Dollars (0.4x magnification) the difference in sharpness was very minor and could only be seen looking at the image full-size (pixel for pixel on the screen). At Cent size (0.8x magnification), you can start to see the sharpness difference at 2x reductions. But taking pics at higher magnifications for varieties (4-5x) the Nikon was a disaster. Very fast exposures did't help. Only way to fix the problem I found was delaying the start of exposure either using flash or delayed lighting. VERY long exposures (10sec) in a dark room also helped but makes taking pics very inconvenient.

The reason for the difference between the two is Canon's Electronic First Shutter Curtain (EFSC) which is most effective during Live View mode. You will of course be using Live View with any newer DSLR for coin photography. EFSC does much the same thing as a shutterless camera at the start of exposure, extinguishing the photo sites and restarting them electronically, with no mechanical shutter action. But then as with all DSLRs it ends the exposure by closing the mechanical shutter, so you get the best of all worlds for vibration and fast shutter speeds.

Note that what I'm talking about is somewhat esoteric, and has a much smaller effect on the image than getting proper lighting. But once you figure lighting out (which I am still working on and may be for the rest of my life...) you want the sharpest images you can get, and for this the Canons are superior.

joeykoins

<< <i>(evil grin) Joeykoins..... "I like hooking it up to my T.V. I impress my wife!" What are you taking pictures of? >>

My coins dude!