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BST draft- detector-camera WTT

lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,530 ✭✭✭✭✭
OK, so neither the item being offered or the item I'm seeking here is a coin, but both are coin-related.

One you find coins with, the other takes pictures of them.

I want to graduate from my flatbed scanner to a real camera setup for coin photography. I've made attempts in the past but have found myself continually baffled by terminology and frustrated by the attempts at photography I've done with my wife's point-and-shoot camera. (That's a good little camera and does have macro capability but I'm still not there, yet.)

I've been told I really should get a digital SLR camera.

It needs to be something (relatively) simple and beginner-friendly. Used is fine as long as functionality isn't an issue. I'm trying to do this on the cheap, obviously. I am, as ever, about as low-budget a guy as they come.

It's rather important to me to have a "tethered" setup, i.e., one that will connect to my computer and allow me to use the computer's monitor to preview images and to use my mouse to adjust focus, zoom, and shutter release.

I'm told Canon and Nikon models allow this.

I do have a copystand, thanks to a fine forum member. And some little clip-on gooseneck lamps for lighting.

So, does anybody have a decent used camera with this capability?


Now, here is what I potentially have to trade. It is a used Minelab Explorer XS metal detector.

Here's a stock photo.

image

Here's the webpage with user's manual downloads.

(The detector does still have the original printed manual, too.)


I believe these detectors cost in the vicinity of $1,000 new. I bought this one used, in good working order, for $300 recently and have so far only used it once myself. I was impressed with its iron rejection capability. I wanted it to get a more lightweight alternative to my heavy Garrett 2500, to use as a backup machine, and maybe something to take when I go detecting in England. It is a bit lighter than the Garrett, but I really wanted a much simpler barebones detector for relic hunting and as a backup machine. I think I will stick with my Garrett mostly because it's familiar and I haven't got much time to go learning a new brand and machine before the British trip. So I would consider swapping this machine for a camera setup. IF you have a setup that would work for me, and IF you're in the market for a metal detector.

If you're as much of a novice to metal detectors as I am to digital coin photography and camera equipment, maybe we could help each other out.

This is all just hypothetical, here. I dunno if anybody's got what I need, nor do I know if that person would have any use for my extra detector. I just thought I'd hang this out there for consideration, is all.

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