QUOTE(elverno @ Oct 14 2006, 12:14 PM) [snapback]263807[/snapback]
Thanks!
Silver coins are my nemesis. In fact I use the same setup for all the photos I take. I'll try to get a picture of it one of these days but basically I have a professional camera stand (a birthday present from my wife). The coins rest on a piece of glass, supported on both sides by CD cases about 90mm above the platform. I use a single light, typically positioned at about the 12 o'clock or 1 o'clock above the lens. Recently I've started experimenting with using macro lenses rather than the macro mode of the camera.
Interesting approach -- eliminating the background entirely by using an elevated glass platform, so to speak. When you say "macro lens", does this mean that you use a SLR camera? For the moment, I'm doing OK with my Nikon CoolPix 5900 (i.e. cheapie) camera, but I am finding out its limitations -- these become fairly obvious when you start taking pictures of dimes, for example. Your dime photo came out quite realistic; I'm jealous!
QUOTE(elverno @ Oct 14 2006, 12:14 PM) [snapback]263807[/snapback]
All that said I'm never satisfied with the color of the silver coins I photograph. The half does not show the reflective surfaces well and the white balance is too yellow I think. On the dime I've overcompensated the white balance and ended up with something too blue in tinge. The actual coin is a natural, though not blast, white.
The Charlotte medal in contrast is exactly the right colors and shot with exactly the same environment. Go figure...
I also have had the best luck, color-wise, shooting copper and bronze coins. I think that the inevitable toning seems to give the camera software more to "chew on", so to speak, and there is some internal color adjustment there that we have little or no control over in most cameras (at least this is my
theory why it is so). Anyway, with silver coins in good condition, we have mostly gray shades to work with (i.e. little or no toning, perhaps some gray patina). With coppers, there is a more natural spread which makes it easier for the camera software to adjust properly.
Thanks for the insight into your photo shooting!
I can relate to that. 
