Broadstruck - What brand portable OTT lamp do you own, as that's some great roadshow photography!!!
The old fold up standard portable OTTs
That's my setup, multiplied by 2 (with sometimes a 3rd giving ambient background light), at home or on the road. 3 fit nicely in a briefcase along with an extension cord, a black cloth backdrop to white balance against, and a fold up tripod.
OTTs now make a model with more of an adjustable neck. I just ordered 2 for $65.80. It doesn't look as portable.
No one light works for all coins and coin strikes. OTTs excell with copper, especially RD, because they replicate the true color and luster so well. They don't excell with prooflikes (except a "black & white" image), and are murder on toned proofs or prooflikes that require a more evenly distributed soft blanket of light to capture.
While I don't agree with MGoodm3's theory that lighting is irrelevant -- it's all camera and camera set up -- I can see where lights make less of a difference when you have a fixed more complex "at home" set up. And a great camera with sophisticated add on lenses, and an experienced coin photographer who knows how to set up his camera.
But when it comes to fly by the seat of your pants on the road coin photography, or simple throw a few lights and a camera stand on your desk at home coin imaging, the lights play a major role. Especially with a more portable non SLR camera.
Will be easier to get a good white balance with a less sophisticated camera with a normal incandescent bulb. Virtually all cameras have an incandescent setting that will work pretty well with a typical lightbulb. Ott lights are harder to get a good white balance on. If you have a preset WB most any bulb will do.
<< <i>I am interested in trying the OTTs because of the rectangular shape of the light source. And yes, I would agree that the output should be as even as possible across the light spectrum.
But after viewing all these images, how about this view: It doesn't make a damn bit of difference whether you're using OTTs or household bulbs. White balance is so easily customized with a grey card that it is a non-issue; all that matters is the way the lights are set up -- how is it shaped with reflectors? How many are used? At what angles? >>
Finally somebody that sees it the way I do. >>
Your website's set of test images helped me reach that conclusion. Thanks for your hard work on them!
What type of camera & light was used for these photos?
That's a loaded question, forget trying to guess the camera. But I'll bite. It looks like a very detailed SLR image.
As for the lights they don't look like OTTs to me if little or no editing was done. No luster is jumping off the images, as beautifully detailed as they are. They have a flat incandescent look. I've never taken an SLR image using OTTS so have no clue if they loose their edge with them.
MGoodm3 - Will be easier to get a good white balance with a less sophisticated camera with a normal incandescent bulb. Virtually all cameras have an incandescent setting that will work pretty well with a typical lightbulb. Ott lights are harder to get a good white balance on. If you have a preset WB most any bulb will do.
The preset settings on my Nikon are weak preset compromises, not meant for the intense detail of macro coin imaging. The incandescent setting works pretty well and that's about it. The only way to go with my camera is manual mode. And OTT lights are so easy to preset your white balance against. Set the lights up as you would an actual coin image but with nothing but a pure white/black color backdrop, let the camera manually preset the balance, then start shooting. Raise or lower the aperture a notch or two depending on the coin. You're good to go.
I have no idea what SLR stands for.....I know its a type of camera, and from what I've seen pretty expensive.
I have a point & shoot, sony dsc w-7, with some help from you, MGoodm3, JapanJohn, messydesk, and some others, I was able to figure out how to get a cheap camera to take pretty good pics with any light source.
The bust half was taken with GE bulbs....standard issue from lowes The large cent was taken with a florescent bulbs....standard issue from lowes The $5 gold was take with a halogen bulb.....standard issue from lowes
I think its more about figuring out your camera and how it uses the different types of light. Not the type of light....
eddited to add: the only photo editing done was adding the grey back ground.
seemyauction - Forget my camera guess, trying to guess the camera makes guessing the grade of coins on the forum look like an exact science. It's ridiculous. Your Sony point & shoot DSC W7 is a portable gigi cam like mine, with double the MP.
But lets take a look at your lighting sources. None of which were OTTs, which I guessed right
(I assumed all your images were taken using the same light source. I mean, like "guess the light source" isn't tough enough!)
Your gold coin image did have a different look to it, which I recognize in hindsite as halogen.
Michael Printz at Whitlow takes some nice halogen shots, but I generally find them too intense. Halogen images, done right, have an electric look to them. But at the expense of true color and detail. They are a harsh light source, better for heating than imaging.
The large cent was taken with a florescent bulb....standard issue from lowes
I nailed this one, incandescent/fluorescent, the same bulb with a longer shelf life.
And then there's the GE Reveal bulb. The "red hue" bulb. We need to see this coin in person to assess the accuracy of the light source. Or see it imaged against a backdrop we know the true color of.
<< <i>There is one factor you are overlooking......
When I view the coin in hand and my image on MY monitor, they look exactly the same.
How it looks on your monitor ??? who knows, we could have the exact same settings, but most likely not.
Contrast, brightness, RBG Color settings, resolution........chances are every person that is looking at the pictures see something different......
Alan
Eddited to say: Now lets all open our Adobe Photo Shop program and calibrate our monitors....lol >>
I agree completely - different monitors and different monitor settings can have a huge impact on how a coin looks. I try to keep my laptop and desktop calibrated the same, but the computers in my office are not and they can give a completely different look to a coin. Just out of curiosity I looked at some of my images on a library computer and they were terrible - almost didn't recognize my own coins.
Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my hard drive?
seemyauction - There is one factor you are overlooking......
None of your images were taken with OTT Lites, and I guessed that.
"As for the lights they don't look like OTTs to me if little or no editing was done. No luster is jumping off the images, as beautifully detailed as they are. They have a flat incandescent look.
If I remember right OTT Lites were the gist of this thread. You made a tricky response thread that included 3 other forms of lighting, and I was the only one with the guts to respond. So exactly what point did you prove?
Comments
The old fold up standard portable OTTs
That's my setup, multiplied by 2 (with sometimes a 3rd giving ambient background light), at home or on the road.
3 fit nicely in a briefcase along with an extension cord, a black cloth backdrop to white balance against,
and a fold up tripod.
OTTs now make a model with more of an adjustable neck. I just ordered 2 for $65.80. It doesn't look as portable.
No one light works for all coins and coin strikes. OTTs excell with copper, especially RD, because they replicate
the true color and luster so well. They don't excell with prooflikes (except a "black & white" image), and are murder
on toned proofs or prooflikes that require a more evenly distributed soft blanket of light to capture.
While I don't agree with MGoodm3's theory that lighting is irrelevant -- it's all camera and camera set up -- I can see
where lights make less of a difference when you have a fixed more complex "at home" set up. And a great camera with
sophisticated add on lenses, and an experienced coin photographer who knows how to set up his camera.
But when it comes to fly by the seat of your pants on the road coin photography, or simple throw a few lights and
a camera stand on your desk at home coin imaging, the lights play a major role. Especially with a more portable
non SLR camera.
<< <i>
<< <i>I am interested in trying the OTTs because of the rectangular shape of the light source. And yes, I would agree that the output should be as even as possible across the light spectrum.
But after viewing all these images, how about this view: It doesn't make a damn bit of difference whether you're using OTTs or household bulbs. White balance is so easily customized with a grey card that it is a non-issue; all that matters is the way the lights are set up -- how is it shaped with reflectors? How many are used? At what angles? >>
Finally somebody that sees it the way I do.
Your website's set of test images helped me reach that conclusion.
What type of camera & light was used for these photos?
What type of camera & light was used for these photos?
That's a loaded question, forget trying to guess the camera. But I'll bite.
It looks like a very detailed SLR image.
As for the lights they don't look like OTTs to me if little or no editing was done.
No luster is jumping off the images, as beautifully detailed as they are. They have a flat incandescent look.
I've never taken an SLR image using OTTS so have no clue if they loose their edge with them.
MGoodm3 - Will be easier to get a good white balance with a less sophisticated camera with a normal incandescent bulb. Virtually all cameras have an incandescent setting that will work pretty well with a typical lightbulb. Ott lights are harder to get a good white balance on. If you have a preset WB most any bulb will do.
The preset settings on my Nikon are weak preset compromises, not meant for the intense detail of macro coin imaging.
The incandescent setting works pretty well and that's about it. The only way to go with my camera is manual mode.
And OTT lights are so easy to preset your white balance against. Set the lights up as you would an actual coin image
but with nothing but a pure white/black color backdrop, let the camera manually preset the balance, then start shooting.
Raise or lower the aperture a notch or two depending on the coin. You're good to go.
I have no idea what SLR stands for.....I know its a type of camera, and from what I've seen pretty expensive.
I have a point & shoot, sony dsc w-7, with some help from you, MGoodm3, JapanJohn, messydesk, and some others, I was able to figure out how to get a cheap camera to take pretty good pics with any light source.
The bust half was taken with GE bulbs....standard issue from lowes
The large cent was taken with a florescent bulbs....standard issue from lowes
The $5 gold was take with a halogen bulb.....standard issue from lowes
I think its more about figuring out your camera and how it uses the different types of light. Not the type of light....
eddited to add: the only photo editing done was adding the grey back ground.
look like an exact science. It's ridiculous. Your Sony point & shoot DSC W7 is a portable gigi cam like mine, with double the MP.
But lets take a look at your lighting sources. None of which were OTTs, which I guessed right
(I assumed all your images were taken using the same light source. I mean, like "guess the light source" isn't tough enough!)
Your gold coin image did have a different look to it, which I recognize in hindsite as halogen.
Michael Printz at Whitlow takes some nice halogen shots, but I generally find them too intense.
Halogen images, done right, have an electric look to them. But at the expense of true color and detail.
They are a harsh light source, better for heating than imaging.
The large cent was taken with a florescent bulb....standard issue from lowes
I nailed this one, incandescent/fluorescent, the same bulb with a longer shelf life.
And then there's the GE Reveal bulb. The "red hue" bulb.
We need to see this coin in person to assess the accuracy of the light source.
Or see it imaged against a backdrop we know the true color of.
When I view the coin in hand and my image on MY monitor, they look exactly the same.
How it looks on your monitor ??? who knows, we could have the exact same settings, but most likely not.
Contrast, brightness, RBG Color settings, resolution........chances are every person that is looking at the pictures see something different......
Alan
Eddited to say: Now lets all open our Adobe Photo Shop program and calibrate our monitors....lol
<< <i>There is one factor you are overlooking......
When I view the coin in hand and my image on MY monitor, they look exactly the same.
How it looks on your monitor ??? who knows, we could have the exact same settings, but most likely not.
Contrast, brightness, RBG Color settings, resolution........chances are every person that is looking at the pictures see something different......
Alan
Eddited to say: Now lets all open our Adobe Photo Shop program and calibrate our monitors....lol >>
I agree completely - different monitors and different monitor settings can have a huge impact on how a coin looks. I try to keep my laptop and desktop calibrated the same, but the computers in my office are not and they can give a completely different look to a coin. Just out of curiosity I looked at some of my images on a library computer and they were terrible - almost didn't recognize my own coins.
None of your images were taken with OTT Lites, and I guessed that.
"As for the lights they don't look like OTTs to me if little or no editing was done.
No luster is jumping off the images, as beautifully detailed as they are. They have a flat incandescent look.
If I remember right OTT Lites were the gist of this thread. You made a tricky response thread that included 3
other forms of lighting, and I was the only one with the guts to respond. So exactly what point did you prove?
any info is appreciated. thanks,MoJo
the_northern_trading_company
ace@airadv.net
<< <i>I have seen some great photos with these type of lights where is the best place to buy them?
any info is appreciated. thanks,MoJo >>
Where To Buy