I have moved my photo taking equipment back upstairs with the intent of photo-ing more coins.

Here are a couple of test shots of a dupe Walker I had laying around in a 2x2.





Links to Super Huge Pics:

http://www.stujoe.com/pictest/whlo.jpg

http://www.stujoe.com/pictest/whlr.jpg

Comments? Critiques? I am starting on circ silver as it is one of the easiest things for me to shoot. As I tweak and improve I will post some different coins.

are the white marks at ten o'clock on each side on the holder?

I think that is reflection of the light source off the 2x2. as I don't see anything on the coin or holder in hand. It is tough getting all the light to not replect when the coin is in a holder. I always have trouble with that!

Same coin. Slightly different light placement.




Links to Super Huge Pic:

http://www.stujoe.com/pictest/whl2o.jpg

Looks ok for that size, Iam trying to learn close-ups but with little sucsess croping, I did see from a coin dealer sight for $150.00 a microscope and softwarefor super close-ups! they looked great!

Close ups are a whole different story. This is about it for me...

WoW!, Now your cookin!!

Nice shots. What kind of camera are you using and how is it set up?

Are you laying the coin flat and taking the picture from above, or is the coin leaned up against something?

I have a Nikon 4300. The coin (in these pictures it is in a 2x2) is being shot head on with the camera mounted on a stand pointing directly down at it. I have 3 lights (1 - 60 watt incandescent and 2 - 20 Watt halogens) which I turn on and off or position as needed.

The camera is set up in a macro mode with manual white balance but everything else automatic.

I bet having the three lights helps. I've been taking shots using a single light and I think the shadows are way too harsh....

It does give you more options. A lot of times I just use 2 but the third one comes in handy every once in a while. I think it is helpful to have 2 different wattages too. Natural light is often good too but I don't always have that option.

Stu is that a digital camera?

3 lights? Way too complicated for me.

Yeppers.

I also have digital coin photo OCD.

Unc, silver Washington shot through mylar/cardboard 2x2. Wish I could figure out a way to get rid of the hot spots and still make it look lifelike and show lustre.

Coated Brass? Medal



Super Huge Pic link:

http://www.stujoe.com/pictest/mlo.jpg

Circ copper Lincoln from the change bin:



Link to Super Huge Pic:

http://www.stujoe.com/pictest/lmlo.jpg

Ok, that's enough of my annoying pictures for one night.

Pretty good pics!

There's my problem. My digital is a Canon powershot A200, kind of a cheepie. My good camera is a Nikon, but it's a SLR.

Of course it's more likely the user

Super pics
thanks

Unc silver in cardboard 2x2:



Super Huge picture link:
http://www.stujoe.com/pictest/mexrl.jpg

Proof in plastic holder, scratches are on the holder.




Link to Super duper Humongous pic:
http://www.stujoe.com/pictest/proofol.jpg

For anyone who is interested, this is my setup. The metal bar going up with the holes in it is where I mount my camera facing straight down.




Looks like my black lamp needs a dusting.

I used to have a Fuji 2000-something that I gave to my wife when I got the new one a year or two ago. It gave ok pictures but I was never able to get the look I wanted. I blame it all on the camera.

Try diffusing the light by placing white material of some kind over the lights ... an old T-shirt, a sheet of printer paper ... something that still lets all the light thru, but the hot spots won't be there anymore. Just watch it if the lights are really hot

Thanks for the tip! It did soften it up a bit. I will have to play around with that too.

T-shirt:


Nothing:


BTW: I wish I could take as good of pics as yours are!

Wow Stujoe. Those are some nice pictures! I'll have to try that technique using three lamps. That might be my problem with having super white pictures.

If you haven't seen my coin grading challenge pictures.....please do. It will make you feel better!

Nice pics Stujoe

Thanks! I think I am getting better with them and the best thing is, I am not needing to take a hundred pictures of each coin to get results!





That last Barber pic has a bit of glare off the 2x2 but it is not too bad in that regard. I have that problem too. With an extra light, you might be able to angle them so it doesn't reflect and still have enough light to illuminate well. AuldeFartte's diffusion technique could work for you too.

The other thing is: Are you doing it freehand or using a stand? If freehand, make sure you stabilize your hands/arms real good while holding the camers to give them a stable base. That really helps me with focusing and sharpness.

Now, THAT is really cool, Stu

... and thanks for the nice compliment

Cool croc!

I could never get good pictures without taking coins out of 2x2s.

You have probably seen this from one of the pCGS posters but others might not have:

http://www.coingallery.org/VirtualGallery.html

He has some serious talent in photo maipulation!

This is one of my favorites!

http://www.coingallery.org/TooledMorgan.html

To remove the hot spots and still have good lighting you need a diffuser for the lightsource. Ever notice in the photo studio, the flash doesn't point at you? It shoots backwards onto a sheet or umbrella thingy. Try using a brighter light source, but then not letting it light the coin directly. Paper is actually a pretty good diffuser too, but you need a bright light to put enough lumens through it. Then you could point directly at the coin from a few different angles.
With all that said, I don't bother myself. Too much work unless you really need an outstanding picture for something.

It makes a huge difference when you take them out but I hate taking the coins out and then putting them back in just to take a photo!

Thanks for the tips!

My problem is that I always want an outstanding picture and I get ticked off when I don't get one. It is a sickness. Coin Photo OCD, I guess.

That's probably why I am disappointed in about every coin pic I take. I want it to look exactly like I see it in my hand.

Stu, first of all, your pics look great! I like the set up. Once you use a copy stand you never want to go back to juggling tripods.

On using multiple lights...I do that sometimes, usually two (including the illuminated light table) and have used three. Like others have said, the more diffuse, the better. Well, as long as you can get enough light.

I experienced some problems mixing bulbs. Sometimes a mix of incandescent and high-intensity lamps gives me some weird color distortion. Now, I use matched temperature bulbs (they are all the same daylight spectrum bulbs).

Just for further discussion on the subject, here are four shots using two lamps, without (always the first) and with (always the second) the light table illuminated as the third lamp.


Supersized


Supersized


Supersized


Supersized

Which look better?

They both look good to me. Just a slightly different tone to the first ones of each set. They are incredibly well lit too!

I am going to show my ignorance, though. What is a ' light table'? Is that something to do with the copy stand?

I would love to get a real copy stand but haven't sprung the money for one. I have seen great results using them, though. Mine is kind of a cheap man's copy stand made mostly with parts I had laying around in the basement.

The light table (and my set up) is pictured here Coin photography Kit It helps, I think. In the referenced pics, the one's with the light table are closer to the coin-in-hand. You can gain a reduction in dark spots, but you can also lose some detail sometimes.

I have seen several home-brew set ups like yours - hey if they work - great! If I had the mechanical skills, I would have tried it myself, but things that don't have keyboards are scary.

That looks like a really nice stand. I will have to bookmark that one.

It's ok, but it is not as sturdy as I would like. But the cost is relatively low compared to others I looked into.

By far, the hardest coins to photograph are proof coins ( imo ). Do you take many pictures of them or not to many. Buy the way, real nice pictures. I have taken a number of pictures of proof coins, mainly eagles, and I dont think I do a half bad job. Here is a picture and you guys tell me what you think. By the way I have a Fuji 7000s camera that I take my pictures with.

That's excellent for a proof.

Now the all more important question is how did you post your BIG beatiful pictures in here with your posts and all I got was these little thumbnails. How did you guy do it, if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks
Dave

They have their own attachment places... You can use free image services such as www.imageshack.us and www.photobucket.com and upload your pictures there.

From there, you just get the url and paste it here using [ img ] url [ / img ]

Shooting overhead - how do you get rid of the reflection of your camera in the picture of a really proof or shiny coin? I haven't succeded yet!

Your pics are fine! I agree, proofs are very tough. The mirrors make it very difficult to get anything close to even lighting over the whole coin. If your side lighting is at the wrong angle, you will catch every single nasty surface deformation or bit of tarnish or whatever. I end up taking a lot of different shots, which of course is a great thing about digital cameras. Here are a couple that are about as good as I can do right now.

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You fellas are takeing some out standing photos!!!!!!!!!