My Detailed Camera Setup. What I have learned and where I need to go from here. Auction Photo Comp

keyman64

Is my approach the best? NO
Is my approach good? NO
Is my approach a little unorthox? Yup
Are my results better than a kick in the head? You be the judge

Okie Dokie, let's start off with the auction photo from Heritage that I put together on a black background.
This was a featured auction item so they took their normal photos of it in the slab and then also larger photos.
The larger photos helped me get the DDO of the date a bit. The auction photo is good enough to give you an idea of what to expect I think.
It did that for me.


Let's discuss a few points about my camera setup and how I shot it. I do NOT have a copy stand. I want one, I can get better results with one...
but I just have not spent the money on one yet. If you are in the same position I am then this is what I have learned and how I have worked around that issue.
Here are the basic pieces of equipment I used, how I set them up and the settings I used etc...

Camera - Nikon D300 (Aperture f/8 - f/10, custom white balance, Shutter Speed 1/160, ISO 800, Camera set to a 5 second delay shutter release)
Lens - Nikon 105mm Macro f/2.8 (I can use auto focus since I am using a quality lens...I want a Nikon 200mm f/4 Macro but that would be a lot more money)
3 Tripods or 1 tripod and two light stands or 1 tripod and two thingies to hold your lights
Bulb choice - DOES NOT MATTER (camera white balance is what matters...but bulb choice will dictate a couple of things) I used 13w REVEAL CFLs
1 Antique Stained Glass Turtle Lamp Turned off during photography (use anything stationary so that you are standing your coins up in the exact same place each time)

My light bulbs are not powerful at all which forces me to have my camera settings with ISO 800 so that I can have a
high shutter speed of 1/160 to compensate for any camera shake etc even though I have my camera on a 5 second delay it makes a difference.

I want ISO 100, 200, 320, 400...heck anything less than 800 butttttttt....thankfully I have a good camera that can produce good results at ISO 800.
The advantage to using 13w REVEAL CFLs is they do not get HOT even when left on for a long time, you can handle the lights easily and hold
any portion of the lamp to move them around and you can try to do something stupid like I did...tape flat black construction paper on the inside of
the lamp to cut down on and crazy reflections. I do not want to be responsible for you burning your house down soooo... DO NOT DO THIS. I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT!

Yes, this whole thing is rigged up crazy but I got it to work. My point is you do not have to use a copy stand but it sure would be nice!
If I am working with a 2x2, I can grab a clothes pin, lay it down on its side, open the pin, set the 2x2 in flat against the table and then close the pin and it stands up nicely.
You can also lean it up against the nose of your antique stained glass turtle lamp (turned off) and you can get it darn near perfectly vertical.
With the slabs, I have just leaned them up against the turtle ever so slightly and they stand up very nicely as well.

What about the detail of the variety? Normally I would spend the time to attach a 2x Teleconverter to the camera and lens so the 105mm turns into 210mm...
adjust a camera setting or two and snap that image of just the variety portion of the coin...then use that in my final image but I was too lazy in this example
and I just grabbed a piece of the image and enlarged it...that's why it looks like crap.

Light position... the lights are not laying against the table when I take the photo, I actually hold them and position them where I want
them for the individual shot. I pull the lights away from the coin and hold them right next to the end of the lens at around 10 O'clock and 2 O'clock of the lens.

To increase my depth of field when taking the photo, I have my camera backed up further than I need to in order to just have it focus.
The glass of my lens is about 7.5" away from the coin I am photographing. If I had a 150mm Macro or 200mm Macro then I could back
up my camera a little more and have even more of my coin photo in sharp focus. We all have to work with what we have though...

A few photos of the really bad and goofy setup.




I turned on the turtle for this one.




My result...


A lot of painful experimentation has gotten me to where I am. Where do I go from here? I need to just buy Mark Goodman's book! DUH!!!!!
And I will but sometimes people like to learn things the hard way and through that process learn additional quirky things. Some people are
just a glutton for punishment. Yes, I need to get a copy stand. I need a 150mm or Nikon 200mm f/4 macro lens for these stupid small coins.
I need much brighter and HOTTER lights so I can use lower ISO settings on my camera. I need these lights to be smaller in size as well.
With some coins like toners it helps to use 3 lights (so I hear).

Oh, I also want to buy a 5MP Dino-Light for the Macro of the Variety.

There are ideal setups and then there are setups like mine. I just figured I would show another approach, although not ideal.

LanceNewmanOCC

.
most people including myself do seem to under-appreciate just how important leaded glass turtle lamps are to quality numismotography!
.

keyman64

<< <i>.
most people including myself do seem to under-appreciate just how important leaded glass turtle lamps are to quality numismotography!
. >>

I feel guilty about letting the secret out.

TomB

I like your post and love the turtle. This is not how I shoot, but in the past I have also put together a Rube Goldberg-type contraption to get quality images.

DIMEMAN

Your pics of coins has always looked good to me.

Broadstruck

I'm surprised that I've never seen any evidence of the mylar since your photographing them while in the cardboard 2x2... So your rig seems to work quite fine!

keyman64

<< <i>I'm surprised that I've never seen any evidence of the mylar since your photographing them while in the cardboard 2x2... So your rig seems to work quite fine! >>

Thanks. At the very edges I run into problems with 2x2s. Other times I run into problems are with Mint State sliders. I would probably recommend standing the coin on edge on top of either a white piece of paper or a flat black piece of construction paper...if I were to rig it another way to avoid some mylar issues.

keyman64

I just changed the resolution on my computer from 1600x1200 to 1024x768 and realized my image is a bit soft.

It's a learning process and I clearly have plenty of room for improvement.
Maybe I should buy a book, get a copy stand, get better lights, get a longer lens and get a Dino-Light for the macro macro stuff.

cointime

What ever you're using as your setup - it is working. I like your pics

messydesk

You don't need brighter or hotter bulbs if you have a copy stand. You should be able to shoot dimes at ISO 100, 1/40 sec, f8, using two of the bulbs you have if the coin is untoned. D300 has mirror lockup, so you won't have much camera shake.

lkeigwin

Get a copy stand and decent macro lens. You'll throw away the rest.
Lance.

keyman64

<< <i>Get a copy stand and decent macro lens. You'll throw away the rest.
Lance. >>

Lance, are you disrespecting my turtle? And my clothes pins?

baseballjeff

Wow, that's impressive! Keep up the great work!

MidLifeCrisis

Clearly, the turtle is the difference maker.

leothelyon

I guess I have been fortunate in a way with the results I get from a camera made in 1999 and a 22w circular florescent and here's my copy stand. If you would like me to send you the blueprints, shoot me a PM.

nwcoast

The quality of your photos push home the point that a photographers skill and eye for quality
can trump equipment in many cases. This truth often irritates people, but I really think it's true in many cases.
Sure, a sturdy copy stand would make your job a lot easier! And, brighter lights with a lower ISO (speed) would give you higher quality images for enlargements..... A standard copy stand set up would make your job easier. But, if yhis is working for your purposes.... Keep on truckin'
What surprises me most about your set up is that your coins are nice and round and your plane of focus well controlled.
Allignment would be much easier for you if you had a copy stand and a level- or mirror for allignment.
You've got some fine work with the simplest of set ups!!!
Good job!!!!!

ricko

Far exceeds anything I can do..... Cheers, RickO

MFH

Always thought you were able to take a great image.
Your worst picture is 100% better than my best one.
Nice comparison, the 2nd set of images rock !

morgansforever

Great job keyman64. I shoot with the cam pointing down, but as long as everything is square/level it doesn't make a difference IMO. Impressive quality shooting through the 2x2. I've always thought your images where great, nothing easy about shooting a dime.

Nickcap

Keyman64

I like your photos. The turtle is awesome. That is the best part of this set up.

keyman64

Thanks everyone. Clearly, the turtle was the best part of the post. He works very hard at his job!

Just a few days ago, I photographed my Mercury Dime Collection again so that hopefully I have a good photo array of my collection.
I just have to edit all of the photos now. Once I get Mark Goodman's book and am able to put new things into practice, I will shoot
everything AGAIN! That might be a while though.

hchcoin

Great post. You have inspired me to try things a little differently. Without the photo's of your setup, I wouldn't have understood what you were talking about. Very helpful for us simple folks who don't want or can't afford a super fancy setup yet.

mrearlygold

Beautiful images!

kaz

It looks like the turtle is being interrogated under the spotlights.

"So, did you eat the lettuce?"

"OK, you'll cop to the lettuce, hoping we wouldn't ask about.... the tomatoes?"


((a very inventive setup, excellent results, shows what can be done without blowing a lot of bucks)).

keyman64

The TURTLE THREAD got bumped.

Most of My Merc Collection Photos are in this thread...

I am using three Jansjo Lights these days.

Type2

Did you keep the turtle?

keyman64

<< <i>Did you keep the turtle? >>

I still have the turtle but he is retired from his numisphotography apprentice position. Still no copy stand since I have survived without it. My tripod/head allow me to shoot straight down on a small table so that is what I do. 3 Jansjo lights are the way to go and have made a big difference for me.