TrueView VS YourView

There are two big issues that keep popping up with TrueViews recently. One is the color is all over the place. They really need to incorporate either a calibration shot periodically or periodically re-do their color calibration in case their lights have shifted colors on them. The other big problem is grossly overexposed images that wash everything out.

A few recent examples of TrueView vs my picture:

I big part of it, I imagine, depends on whether you got Phil or someone else. For example, these are some really great recent TrueViews.

My best photographs can equal the Trueviews, particularly with copper and gold, but I have difficulty getting silver to appear realistic on a consistent basis. I suspect that I need a better lighting system. What follows are some of my more successful efforts.

PCGS photo - the luster seems flat

Mine is more realistic

PCGS photo - not bad

Mine is better (IMHO)

@Cocoinut Color calibration is key with silver. It's the least forgiving. I recently (finally) got calibration settings to the point where I can get the color to match reality with relative consistency.

Well there are my photos, the PCGS Trueviews , and now the CACG photos (bought a couple CACG coins). So have a number of choices when inputting something into my PCGS Inventory app - nice. For online listing use my photos. Have the right kind of lamp for it. Practice gets me there (close to expert). The PCGS true views awesome.

@messydesk said:

@coins_i_like said:
@Cocoinut Color calibration is key with silver. It's the least forgiving. I recently (finally) got calibration settings to the point where I can get the color to match reality with relative consistency.

There's more to color calibration than white balance settings on your camera. Your monitor should also be calibrated. Once it is, then you still have the issue of what the lighting conditions are of the reality you're trying to match (daylight, incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes, sodium vapor lights). If you use a white balance card to adjust the color, then your reality is daylight and the coin should look different on a calibrated display than it does under incandescent light.

Correct.

@FlyingAl said:

@Catbert said:
OK. I've seen a red emphasis historically (at least what I perceive as it being that color).

I've heard that as well. Despite what others think, I think that slight shift in color does not actually make a large effect on the image (a minuscule lighting shift will probably make a larger impact).

Did someone say "red emphasis"?

A little yellow maybe but they're way better than mine.

@coins_i_like said:
I don't know how your coins look in real life, @Coinscratch, but I'd guess that your pictures are a much more accurate representation of them than the TrueViews. I find it difficult to believe that your coins could be as green or orange as the TrueViews are showing.

I would say they fall somewhere between the two. Will post some slab shots later along with another. I'm pretty sure they dip these moderns maybe to see if real toning??? I just know they come back cleaner than they go yet the pic shows true.
So, are they shooting before the cleaning?
You'll see what I mean once I post the before & afters.

Just reshot this one today, got some advice from @Robec and trying out some diffusion with LED lights. I am getting closer to what I want to achieve - getting images that look 'almost' exactly like I see it in hand. For this coin, the vendor images, and the TVs are not what I see in hand. Mine are very close especially the right color of the gold surfaces. Sometimes it is the other way around.

@FullHorn said:
I am sure I spent 100 times longer than PCGS did to try and capture a good pic of this coin. It gave me an appreciation for the
TrueView pictures they deliver. This is the only example I have with a TrueView. It would be interesting to see more examples.

What does airplane nut think? I love that guy- he was just a kid in his teens when he started here. Super great photos.

It is my understanding that PCGS uses hot lights like floods. When you do this, results can be very limited when it comes to showing luster. I understand why floods might be used. They are the best for efficiency when photographing so many different coins. My photos are much more accurate in this case, where I used 4 LEDs and also shot the coin through the old NGC holder it was in before it upgraded to 67+FB at PCGS.

Coloration is important, but less so than axial. I do not like the glamour shots, true in hand is a priority for purchasing.