Best way to photograph coins ??

[bhhooks22]

Gentlemen , what is the best way to get the best pictures/scans of your coins up here ? I know this has been covered somewhere , but any help would be appreciated !

Thanks ,

 

Brian ~

[HiHoAudio]

If you are going to seriously photograph coins a good quality copy stand is a must.

 

My "secret setup" is a Canon 20D (someday I'll upgrade to a 50D) with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens and a diffused Canon 420EX Speedlite mounted on a Kaiser RX-2-XA Copystand.

 

Here is the Kaiser info:

 

http://www.adorama.com/KRRS2XA.html

 

You can pay a little less or a LOT more but this is an excellent German engineered stand that will last for many years.

 

 

[Mark T]

You need proper lighting, I use 2 OTT lights . You need to photograph your coins in macro mode otherwise you won’t pick up the details. A copy stand also is a must have, I have a cheaper Kaiser that cost about $ 150.

I recommend purchasing Numismatic Photography from Mark Goodman. The book will give you all the information you need to understand the best camera settings and lighting. Patience is very important !!

 

[HiHoAudio]

Mark is right, lighting is VERY important. And I find it's the hardest thing to get just right.

 

In addition to the diffused Speedlite I also put a 150w color corrected bulb in my overhead light fixture and setup the copy stand off center.

 

I have also had great results using indirect sunlight but it can be perfect one minute and all wrong the next. Frustrating if you have a few dozen coins to photograph.

 

 

[bhhooks22]

Thank you guys !

 

B~

[bsshog40]

Well I've posted these before but here is the set-up that I use. I have and old worklight arm that I removed the light from and mounted a camera mount to it. I also made a little wooden tilt table for catching different angles of the coin. Plus my two OTT lites. My camera is a Canon IS S3 which has a super-macro mode for extreme close-ups. Works pretty good for me.

[HiHoAudio]

Love that wooden tilt table.

[prudden]

Can you make me one of those?

[Coindude]

I think if you had one that could tilt in any direction, like a ball and joint type of tilt, it would be awesome, especially for those NGC coins that aren't in exactly straight. I've had many difficulties with those.

[bsshog40]

I think if you had one that could tilt in any direction, like a ball and joint type of tilt, it would be awesome, especially for those NGC coins that aren't in exactly straight. I've had many difficulties with those.

Well I did make this that it will tilt from side to side and where the coin sits will tilt back and forth also.

 

[Coindude]

Hmmmm, that's interesting. How much you want for one of those!! I'd love to give it a shot.

[bsshog40]

Hmmmm, that's interesting. How much you want for one of those!! I'd love to give it a shot.

I'm waiting to get a new garage built, hopefully in the next month, and then I will be able to set up my woodworking stuff again. Can't do much of anything right now.

[Bruceswar]

Since you are from Dallas. Let me be a bit bias for a second. If the coins are worth having someone else take nice photos of the coins. I know a few people in town With that said coin photos are not easy. You will pull your hair out trying to take them. Unlike Comics where you can scan them in coins can be very tough to photo.

[HiHoAudio]

That tilt table is a work of art and looks like it was a labor of love.

 

I'll stop gushing now...::

[bsshog40]

Actually ya'll, there's not much to this thing if ya look at the pics. I was piddling one day trying to figure out a way to angle my coins and came up with this. It rotates on 1/4" wooden dowels on the top table and the bottom. I put a latex glove over the table which keeps the coins from sliding off when angling.

[Barndog]

I send my coins to Mark Goodman for images. Some day I will take nice photos, but that some day is not coming soon.