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oober
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1304 Posts |
 Posted - 11/17/2008 : 18:18:25
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Just wondering, some of the photos I see look a ton better then I am able to achieve. What are these guys doing?
Or do I need to go out and get a top of the line camera.
Otherwise. Have people used scanners to get good pics of coins?
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fb101
Administrator
USA
2856 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2008 : 18:50:39
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What have you got for a camera?
My experience is it's all in the lighting. |
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2008 : 19:04:16
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The easiest way to take a good, not great, picture of a coin is to use a scanner. When scanning my scanner defaults to 150 dpi and gives the obvious option to go to 300 dpi, but if I dig into my advanced settings I can go all the way up to 9600 dpi.
Above that there is all sorts of equipment and set-ups that people have come up with for coin pictures, but basically what you would need is a good high resolution digital camera, a stand of some sort to hold it steady above a coin, some lighting, and optionally a magnification device between the camera and the coin. Some people have set-ups to take pictures through a microscope that let you see every tiny, tiny die mark on a coin! |
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oober
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1304 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2008 : 19:49:42
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Well we gonna try a scan. 2400dpi. I hope it doesn't take too long.
My goal, us maybe with a high quality pic we can have some fun and grade it together...
Maybe we can start a weekly "grade a coin thread"...
Would there be interest? |
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n/a
deleted
6 Posts |
Posted - 11/25/2008 : 08:04:58
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I haven't had a chance to scan any coins yet; I'm pretty minimalist and haven't needed a scanner for years so I just don't have one. It is likely the best way to go, but there are alternatives.
Pretty much any digital camera has a macro setting (for super close ups). A combo of the macro setting and a mini tripod which can be had for less than ten bucks, plus some practice, will get you great pics. |
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Kurr
1000+ Penny Miser Member
2906 Posts |
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Bluegill
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1964 Posts |
Posted - 11/25/2008 : 19:09:03
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quote:
Originally posted by fb101
My experience is it's all in the lighting.
Yep. With out the proper lighting nothing else matters.
I don't have any specialized anything. I have a 5 bulb light fixture above my table. I replaced the bulbs with 100 watt florescents.
With your camera, turn off the flash. Turn on the macro mode. If your camera allows it, manually set the white balance. Set the metering mode to spot.
If your blocking too much light by putting the lense literally millimeters from the coin, back up to allow more light in.
Don't try to compensate by zooming in. Instead set you camera to take a larger photo. I use 2048x1536 instead of 640x480.
Then I crop the photo down to 480x480. With a large photo like that you won't lose definition, because your not really resizing. Your trimming away the excess.
It's by no means perfect, but it is free. You still might have to brighten it up a little in microsoft picture mangager.
Coins with mint luster are tough, the reflection messes with the metering. Compensate by not taking the pic from exactly straight up, use a slight angle.
Experiment and use what works for you. This is by no means a definitive tutorial... Merely sharing what works half way descent for me that doesn't cost money.
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CoinHunter53562
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1805 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2009 : 00:26:14
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Lighting has made a huge difference for me. I thought about going out and buying a light box and camera stand but decided to make one myself.
For the light box, I took a Priority Mail box from the post office (dont know the box #, but it's about 6" wide times 6" long times 5" high). I cut out rectangles from each of the sides leaving about a 1" wide strip all around and leaving the bottom flaps intact. I then got the clear packing list pouches from the UPS Store with the white backing, and peeled off the white backing sheets. I cut those down to size and stapled/taped them over the "windows" of the post office box on all four sides. I cut the top lids off, and then assembled the box by taping the bottom lid.
What you end up with is an open top box with 4 sides covered by the white backing sheets mentioned earlier. Those sheets act to diffuse direct light but allow enough in for me to take better pictures. On the inside I use about a 3" by 3" small board fastened by taping 3 simiar sized pieces of cardboard together, and then placing dark fabric over the top and then attaching it by stapling the edges to the bottom of the cardboard pieces. It makes for a nice display mount for light colored coins or bars. For dark colored coins, I place a 3" x 3" piece cut out from a manilla folder over the fabric covered board to give more contrast.
For lighting, I use two simple desk lamps (eventually will go to 3 or 4), and place them very close to the "windows" to allow light to filter in on to the coin. I'll try to take a picture of my setup so it makes more sense.
The best thing is that it cost me basically nothing. The box was free from the post office, the white backing sheets were from free UPS Store packing list pouches, and the fabric to cover the board was from an old blanket. The only expense I incurred was buying an extra desk lamp for $10. |
My hobby: collecting real money 1 copper cent or nickel at a time.
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just carl
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2009 : 11:01:42
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Possibly what you should try is to first read up on some of the things for taking coin photos. If you go to Google and type in Table Top Photography, you would find a great web site on doing this. Also, there is a separate forum on many other coin forums for coin photography. Example is You must be logged in to see this link.
My best photos have always been outdoors with natural lighting. I'm not the type of person that spends a lot of money on stands, lighting fixtures, special equipment for coins. Just a normal camera with macro features, an outdoor place with a dark background. Myself, I place coins on a black sheet of cardboard, go outside and place this in a well lite location but not in direct sunlight. |
Carl |
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OT taking good photos
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