Best lens for taking pictures of coins?
gene1978
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I habe trird with my phone and my Canon Rebel but still most of my pictures are terrible. I mainly take the sincr I selling alot right now. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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A 150mm Macro is quite excellent although I have lived with a 105mm f/2.8
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I don't have any recommendations but congrats on selling a lot
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The Canon 100mm macro is very good. The non-L version is still excellent. Tamron's 90mm macro is another good choice. Those will both work with your rebel. However, even with a kit lens the Rebel should be able to take pretty picture. I would guess it is other factors, such as lighting or focus that is leading to poor pictures.
I use the 100mm Canon macro @Davideo mentions. I use it with a copy stand and my Rebel T2i.
I also use the T2i for Live Streaming. It's a tank and I control it from my PC.
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A good macro lens and copy stand with lights can produce excellent photo's. Once you get down exposures and lighting, it's fairly easy.
Here some tips from the forum...
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1015270/copy-stand-coin-photography-systems
My usual recommendation is the 75mm f4 Nikon EL-Nikkor enlarging lens. It does a good job from Dollars all the way to variety detail shots at 2x magnification. Cost is typically $50 but it needs a $30 helicoid for focusing, plus a couple adapters. A significant upgrade, especially for smaller coins, is the 75mm f4 Rodenstock Apo-Rodagon D M1:1 copy lens, which costs $200-$300. The Nikon lens will take you to about 85% quality level, while the Rodenstock will take you to 95%.
http://macrocoins.com
We’re at the point now where most cell phones can do a pretty darned good job.
Interesting.
Any modern macro lens will be plenty good for coin pics. Longer focal lengths help to an extent. Depending upon your needs and coin sizes, 90-150mm is plenty. Each major brand name is excellent: Nikon, Sony, Canon, Zeiss, Sigma, Tamron, and others.
That said, even modern kit lenses are adequate or better. And if you add a Canon 250D or 500D closeup attachment lens (for example) you can focus closer.
While the lens is important, the single best determinator of a coin pic is the lighting and how much light you can get on the coin.
This is a great lens. I also use a Canon 180mm macro lens for most of my imaging, and use the 100 for slab photos and coins larger than silver dollars, as I can't get the camera high enough on my copy stand to shoot those with the 180.
Any good macro lens will be fine. Your best photography tool is not in your camera bag, it’s between your ears.
And a tripod, even for your cell phone. IMO. Peace Roy
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What ever Todd has.
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I have a 150mm Sigma Aldrich f/2.8 that was highly recommended to me by a professional coin photographer.
It is not just the camera. Lighting and background are important. Also, a tripod or mount to hold the camera still. I use my camera, and purchased an inexpensive tripod with an integrated bluetooth remote which I paired to my phone.
Ditto. 105 sigma would last you a while especially if you're with a crop censor. I've been using it for years.
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I have an old Nikon D40 ,and use a manual focus 105mm Micro Nikkor that cost under 100 used. Figure out the exposure settings by trial and error, and have an old but very solid copy stand.
A 150 mm or longer lens is a bit much for a crop sensor like the Rebel. I used a 105 mm with my Nikon D80 for a long time. I now use it on my full-frame D610 for slab shots or larger items. The main lens I use is on the D610 is a 200 mm Micro-Nikkor.
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I use a Sigma 180mm for most coins, and switch to a 105mm when I have something particularly large (medals and the like). I usually use a 28-300 or 24-70 for slab shots, albums, mint packaging, etc. I'm currently shooting with a Nikon D850 after retiring my D90 last year.
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It’s so clear, even a dunce like me can take good photos. I use an old Canon Rebel XSi with a Canon 100mm macro lens. In my opinion stability (copy stand), a good lens, good lighting, and careful focus are WAY, WAY more important than the camera body.
Get a 100mm Canon macro lens. It'll work well with your Canon camera body and the Canon software.
I go with the 100mm as you can get a slab shot and then crop closer to get just a coin shot if you need it... with the 150 or 180mm recommendations, you'd have to constantly be switching out lenses if you take pics of slabs and close ups of coins. Ok if you just do a photo every now and then, but not fun if you take lots of pics.
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Here's some photos I did with A Rebel XSi, Canon EF 1:2.8 100mm macro lens, halogen lights and a copy stand:
Life is so simple.
Buy the Canon 100MM Macro Lens and be happy.
D-750 Nikon with a Sigma 180MM Macro lens on a copy stand with daylight bulbs. A grey card for setting your white balance and shoot in manual mode as you then have total control.
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Great photos!
Guys, what you all mean by 'copy stand'?
Can you show a photo how it looks your photo equipment set, please?
you mean red series? or simple 100MM CANON Macro also will be great?
You can see a nice lower end one here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1202438-REG/lpl_lpl18142_cs_a4_copy_stand.html
This product shows you one way it can be setup: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/394690-REG/Novoflex_MS_REPRO_Magic_Studio_Macro_Repro_Stand.html
You do not need the "L" series lens for coins, the EF is just fine. Spend the extra money on as big of a senor as you can afford
Thank you Guys! Awesome!
have you heard something about Kaiser stands? is it good?
what model of Novoflex or Kaiser buy for Canon 550D or 80D and 100MM Canon Macro?
There are a lot of nameplates on these kinds of things. I’m not familiar with that one. Generally if it’s available on B&H it is a good one to get. The copy stand is kind of independent of the camera. They all couple the camera the same way. What you’re getting with different copy stands is sizes, robustness, and available accessories.
I’m a Nikon guy but I would go 100mm macro because you will be able to be further away from the coin which gives you a lot more flexibility with lighting which is key. The camera model doesn’t matter as much. Just whichever you can work with. I would lean to one that takes nice raw images (CRW for canon) and is easy to get files to the computer.
Kaiser copy stands are great. I use an RS1.
I use a Canon T2i body (same as 550D, $200 used), with the original 100mm macro lens ($120 used on ebay from Japan).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canon_products#Digital_SLR_cameras
If your Rebel came with the 55mm lens... the closest focusing distance for that one is just under 10 inches.
Likely what you want is any Canon or off-brand lens for Canon that says "Macro".
Although the photos can be quite high resolution with your camera and cropping will still provide pretty nice detail if your lighting is good.
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I bought a 60mm macro recently (as $350 was an easier pill to swallow than $1200+ for 100mm or more). The advice I was given was to fill as much of the pic with the coin as possible. So when photographing cents and dimes, I'm pretty close to the coin. Considering that longer lenses are better because you can move the camera further from the coin, am I better off taking the pics with the camera further away, for better lighting, and just cropping the coin? Maybe i'll experiment later.
Edited to add: Old thread! Looks like I already posted some images, enjoy a few more...
I have a Canon 100mm macro and a Canon 180mm macro with an EOS 80D SLR body. I shoot most coins with the 180, but use the 100 for silver dollars and other larger coins.
Within limits you can move away and crop. When you do you lose some image quality. It’s much easier to do with larger coins like halves and larger and retain good quality. Like with most things there are always some “depends on” scenarios.
Depending upon your setup you should be able to find Sigma or Tamron branded zoom lenses for a much more affordable price. They are excellent quality at good prices.
A key thing people don’t look enough into is whether your camera on the copy stand is actually parallel to the coin. Getting a two axis or three axis bubble level is essential to making sure the camera is attached squarely and not at an angle. It will be very frustrating if the camera overhangs or doesn’t come forward enough.
Sometimes a used lens can be a real bargain, I have seen the Canon 100mm macros for as little as $220.
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A year ago when this thread was fresh I made the recommendation to get a Nikon 75mm El-Nikkor and a 35-90mm helicoid, and I still make this recommendation today. The folks who say that lighting is the most important aspect of coin photography are correct, and a small diameter lens like the 75mm Nikon allows lights to be positioned very close to the lens axis, even for smaller coins. Remember that dedicated macro lenses like the 100mm Canon or 105mm Nikon shorten their focal length considerably when shooting smaller coins. At 1:1 the 105mm Nikon is something like 65mm focal length. They do this because of the need to have the Autofocus work properly. The result is a fairly short focal length, with a big diameter, so more difficult to get light on the coin. While the 75mm Nikon lens sounds like it has short focal length, it's actually longer than either the 100mm Canon or 105mm Nikon, and much smaller in diameter, so lighting is easier.
Of course a 150mm, 180mm, or 200mm lens is also going to shorten focal length, but in the end they still have fairly long focal length at max magnification, so lighting remains easier than with the 100mm or 105mm. But...if you want to shoot larger coins, or full slabs, the longer lenses will require more working distance, and thus tall copy stands. The 75mm Nikon lens does not have this problem, and can shoot Dollars with reasonable copy stand height.
You could always do what @cmerlo1 does and get both 100mm AND 180mm macro lenses, and use the 100mm for larger coins, and 180mm for smaller ones, but you'll spend quite a bit more for the two lenses than for the 75mm Nikon.
http://macrocoins.com
Copystands can be had for under $20 in second-hand stores. Yes, these are the old ones coming from darkrooms. But they are doing the same as your 1-300$ units.
one more thing: your camera lens must be exactly at an 180 degree angle to the coin
as said above... read all the info you can get from the experts.you will take a 1000 shots to learn and you will still not be there.... think about it... coin pictures were taken when your only choice was film...
good luck
I got mine for $120 shipped on ebay from a seller in Japan.
Several sellers had them at around that price.
It's the first (1990) model of the 100mm macro, which was only sold in Japan.
You don't need the $1049 IS USM version for coins.
You don' t need IS (Image Stabilization) for coins, because you are using a copy stand, right?
And you don't need the USM "quiet" autofocus motor, which is good for not scaring wildlife.
Coins don't scare easily.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EF_100mm_lens
Here in the states a quick search showed the least expensive I found was the $220 for base model, the newer fancy IS and USM units were up to around $850ish for used. And yes I agree for coins the base unit is completely adequate, in fact the setup that Ray (rmpsrpms) mentioned works fantastic and is much lighter. I have found that the big long macro lens adds a lot of weight to the camera and can almost make it difficult to level the camera due to the weight.
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Yeah, it seems they have gone up from $120 to $210 +.
It was a couple of years ago (2018?) when I bought it.
OK, I got a used 100mm Canon from Japan for $248. I'll let you know how it goes. I may be selling a 60mm.
how it goes?
which photo body you use for this lenses?
Which copy stand you use? :-)
Also, thinking to buy this Japan lense, but still thinking maybe pay more and take new one 100MM lense(not red series)(it will cost app. 600$)
I haven't gotten around to using it much yet. Funny coincidence, I just tried it out a few minutes before reading this post. Here's a shot I took, just to make sure it works and I could leave the seller feedback. Didn't have my lighting set up, etc.
I have a T6. Just a beginner DSLR, but it works for me. I use a copy stand from a member here @rmpsrpms . I'm thinking I need to reach out to him and get a taller stand. This pic was shot at the highest my stand will go. I was using a 60mm before, and he sent me a stand for that lens.
Thank You!
Guys, I'm looking on Kaiser RS 2 XA which has Column height: approx. 76 cm (30 in.)
This will be enough for Canon 100MM?
@Zilvinas Yes, and that's a nice stand from what I've seen. If I was going to upgrade, I would consider that one.
For those looking at the SIGMA 105mm Macro lens, I can only say it is excellent choice
Here's a couple images I took shortly after I got it. I cropped these down to 1700x1700, which is quite a bit smaller than what they come in at (about 2900 sq cropped) from my camera (Nikon D3500)
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