Best Inexpensive Camera for coin photography?
Klif50
Posts: 788 ✭✭✭✭
My cell phone camera just doesn't do it any longer. I need to invest in an inexpensive camera for taking pictures for post and eventually for ebay auctions. I know that inexpensive and good usually don't go hand in hand but I'm not going to invest a lot of money to try to make a little.
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Try a Macro lens for your cellphone. I did a post about it here:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1038405/cellphone-macro-lens#latest
I use Moment lens. Their new Macro 10x is being shipped to me now. Figured I'd update the post. They're great for photography and identifying varieties.
A DSLR is cheaper than a new cellphone. Getting a good stand is bit more tricky.
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A DSLR will get you pics similar to PCGS; however, I use this:
Elikliv Autofocus 4K Digital Microscope EM4K-AF - ~$200
This will get me pics like below:
This is all I need for the type of pictures I take.
https://www.amazon.com/Carson-Effective-Magnification-Microscope-MM-840/dp/B00QTNBC4U/ref=sr_1_7?crid=19VZRENQOCUTD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mtIOq1J4ejVaNknV6bCzAL3BhXP2WqF9cCKnWGYShsWG9TMvLCJ3Rd4VqW_QSFoLFspbRixFaXHCKCO6iH8mFSjqSnwFfnIUX2DHBcFDOxdue2Yia7fqPq6c_-5xOsJNgERP5R64rHUGtC2sflYzmIoryTBrgcFhegzwskhzZVuR61hsp7cKPwuypUqMCAwBdaHToic1jUyB3PmkpYeuNB7HFupQkz2iHHsNVuai4UA.-e9__in3DLzueBKJA6OeJtdBePg0i7JGy2mDtOXGIQ0&dib_tag=se&keywords=75x+/+300x+digital+microscope&qid=1766284640&sprefix=75x+/+300x+digital+microscope,aps,187&sr=8-7
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
The most important piece of equipment would be a copy stand. After that I use a Sony Nex5 with a legacy Minolta 50mm f2.8 lens. However you could use almost any lens with the Sony Nex with the proper adapter. If you have some old 70' or 80's lenses laying around from previous film cameras, they can be used with a Sony Nex. Here are some examples:
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Can you share any slab photos ? ... I would be interested in seeing the output
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It depends what you're looking to get out of your images. If you want high quality images (higher than a modern phone camera), I'd recommend a mirrorless camera (I prefer Canon). Cheaper Canon cameras run in the $500s looking at their website today. That said, the images I have taken with my Canon have paid for the camera many times over.
There's a large learning curve with a real camera too, but if you can stick with it and figure it out, the images are worth it in my opinion.
Coin Photography
I like my Canon too but as @FlyingAl said... there's a bit of a learning curve especially for setting white balance. I bought a 10 year old DSLR (D65) and bought an upgrade 100mm macro lens and a copy stand. Getting a decent copy stand was also a bit of a hurdle. I don't have any experience with these newer digital microscope stands, so I cant really comment on those... my best advice is to be patient as you're starting this journey.
...and just a heads up... I image early copper mostly. This did not translate AT ALL to imaging cartwheel luster on big silver coins or gold. I felt like I had to start all over again.
Best of luck!
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
This helped me:
It does not hold an 11” iPad.
Sure. Give me an example of what you would like to see.
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
a big silver and a copper would be nice
Okay, give me a minute.
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
I purchased a brand new Canon 2000D from Walmart last year for $200.
It takes better pics than I'm capable of.
Lens, stand and lighting are more important.
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Yeah I would go with a used nikon dslr body like a d5100 for $75. Then buy a good newer lens. You can reuse the lens on a newer body when you get good.
Copy stand and lighting as stated super important.
That's pretty much the best my eFlex Digital Microscope will do.
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
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That one takes some good pics.
Just as an FYI... I spent about $150 on my Canon DSLR body with a 50mm lens. I spent over twice that on the dedicated macro lens (100mm). The copy stand cost around $200. I sort of cheaped out on lighting early on and ended up having to reset white balance when I upped my lighting game.
Bottom line... buy once, cry once...
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
That is pretty nice. Do you have a problem getting in focus with the flex stand moving while you move the focus dial?
Does it upload pics to computer easy?
Well, it's not state of the art. Focus, lighting and getting the right angle to show up-close doubling or other coin anomalies can be challenging. For me, it just took practice. It works fine for me now. I'm not a professional, so it's fine. It's all just a hobby for me. All the pictures you see on my threads and posts are either taken with my iPhone or the digital camera.
Yes, uploading is easy.
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Depends on what you mean by inexpensive. Right now you can get a pretty decent DSLR (not mirrorless) and a macro lens for "not too much" as they are all being phased out for mirrorless. The camera body I bought three or four years ago (a Nikon D780) can now be had for around $1000 and my favorite macro lens of all time (the Nikkor Micro 200MM f4 ED) for about another $600. The copy stand you want is a Bencher CopyMate II. I found one on eBay for $350 today but I got mine for less. $2000 might not sound inexpensive, but it's still about $1500 less than it was 5 years ago, and the results are absolutely incredible. And my favorite thing about this particular camera body is that it can mimic a mirrorless setup in Live View, you can set the display screen vertically for easy viewing, and you can also use the display screen as a trigger for a nearly motionless (maybe actually motionless) shot.
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I'm big into travel photography, so the camera's not my issue.
I'm looking for a proper copy stand for less than $500 that will handle a heavy lens, and can be easily broken down for storage. Any ideas?
I've been looking at this one: https://a.co/d/6WeY1rK
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If you're interested in minimizing storage space, I would consider a tripod with a removable center mast. This will let you mount the camera below the top of the tripod, which will make it very steady. This is the setup I use for when I travel to shows and other shoots. I have a Nikon 200 mm AF-S Micro (heavy) on a D610 body (not as heavy) and a Velbon macro focusing rail (heavy) attached to it.
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That's actually what I'm using now. It's just very cumbersome to set up and difficult to align correctly.
I just bought an inexpensive copy stand, I guess we'll see if it works with my camera and heavy lens.
Newbie collector of type and circulated Peace dollars, photographer of places and animals, player of instruments and builder of amplifiers, espresso industry professional, and a person distracted by shiny objects. https://mycollect.com/Rule556/sets