Device for coin photography at ANA show
cinque1543
Posts: 256 ✭✭✭
At the WFOM show in OKC, against the far left wall of the convention hall, there was a couple who were demo-ing a device to photograph coins. It was called the Halumin-C. I know it's a relatively new device, but I was wondering whether anyone has one and, if so, what you think of it?
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Comments
those ike photos are terrible
The full package is $1,200.
peacockcoins
the photos are pretty bad
Latin American Collection
It looks interesting, but I found you need to adjust the angles of the lighting independently with 2 light sources, one on each side of the coin, to get the coin to light up properly. Their lighting is diffuse and also doesn’t light up the surface of the coin and seems too low and close to the coin. Here’s my Spudlumin-C setup. I apologize, in advance, if this derails the thread. I keep these pictures in a digital album in my camera roll and post them whenever iPhone picture threads show up just because I like to share with other collectors and I’m proud of my setup.
For large coins, I use an empty plastic 250cc pill bottle as a copy stand to hold the iPhone level at a proper distance for the autofocus on the coin to make sharp images. Like these:
For small coins in holders where the autofucus doesn’t work good enough (the autofocus sees the slab instead of just the coin) or for macro closeups, I use this scizzor jack as a copy stand and use manual focusing on the camera first followed by fine tuning the image using the thumb jack screw the move the camera up or down like you would with a stage microscope. The pictures turn out like this:
And the good news is, for a limited time only, I’m willing to sell a Spudlumen-C setup for 1/2 the cost of the Halumin-C, with free shipping 😉
Here’s pictures of the scizzorjack and the lights. Gooseneck LEDs, fully independently adjustable to get the coin to light up evenly are key
p.s. I also use a few drops of optically clear compass oil (Isoparrafin) placed with a dropper on the slab right on top of the coin to eliminate both scratches and slab glare. This is also key, especially for the autofocus. One bottle will last for decades. It’s Isoparrafin oil, which is optically clear and slowly volatile. Just blot up with a paper towel when finished and any residue evaporates and doesn’t leave anything on the slab.
Mr_Spud
The Halumin-C is listed at $279 on their website. Are you suggesting other components are needed?
Interesting set-up. What is your smartphone sitting on? A water glass? Can you post a couple photos of entire slabs? Thx.
https://store.haluminphoto.com/products/halumin-h18-studio-set-plus-h18-sla-bi-color-leds-stands
peacockcoins
It’s sitting on a 250cc clear PET bottle
I’m not really into slab shots, but here’s the original unedited picture of the large cent I posted earlier, only I just now had to convert it from “raw” to a jpeg to be able to post it. You can see the compass oil on the slab and how the lights bend around the perimeter of the oil drops, this is what makes slab glare invisible, otherwise those light reflections would be on the slab above the edge of the coin. The drop bends the light reflection and makes the slab invisible to the camera.
Mr_Spud
I understand the compactness, but at that price you would be better off getting a nice system put together by Ray Parkhurst.
WS
Those Ike photos aren't very good for the price you are paying.
No, that's the big donut version. The smaller tabletop model is $279 (he was offering a show special discount).
It's called Halumin. Web site is https://www.halumin.com/
I will let you know after I play with it some.
The desktop version is a light panel with a half mirror for axial lighting, plus two halves of a ring light.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
The tabletop lightbox was $279., as explained above.
Since I looked at and watched this device in action, my 2c ...
Because it used an axial lighting arrangement and close in LED's, it won't work for some types of coins really well. We set a crusty but gorgeous, colorful and lustrous CBH in 55 on the device and frankly, nothing we could go made a great representation.
That said, for someone doing a good many coins, especially more brilliant coins, maybe moderns and proofs, and that wants a production setup for quick work to have good images for something like eBay, I thought it could be VERY worthwhile.
Again just my 2c from a demo at the show ... your mileage may vary
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
I spoke with them for quite a while. Their goal was to make a self-contained, desktop lighting device that someone that's not all that skilled or interested in the finer points of photography could use to quickly image coins for a business using a phone or point 'n' shoot where throughput was most important. Solving the high-end coin photography problem was and is specifically not on his radar. It has a nice axial lighting setup for raw coins which doesn't work well with slabs. For those, they use a tiltable ringlight where the lights are shining inward rather than down. This is a miniaturization of a large, inwardly aimed ringlight he developed during the pandemic for doing product shots and food photos. He does high-end food and leisure magazine photography for a living. The inward facing lights give very fast light fall-off behind the subject, allowing you to visually isolate it from the background. The kind of pictures that take time and more flexibility are not their goal with this device. I did suggest a couple improvements that would make it better. I was going to show him my setup, but there wasn't time before I left on Saturday.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution