Coin photography is difficult! 1 1

[Mr.Bill347]

Funny, but I am able to shoot incredible pictures of an Orb 235,855 miles from earth with great clarity,  but continually struggle with an orb that is three inches away!

Edited July 23, 2021 by Mr.Bill347
Typo

[James Zyskowski]

On 7/23/2021 at 7:14 AM, Mr.Bill347 said:

Funny, but I am able to shoot incredible pictures of an Orb 235,855 miles from earth with great clarity,  but continually struggle with an orb that is three inches away!

Practice practice is all I hear!  I think I’m beginning to get it but you are absolutely correct. Zillion miles away, no problem get with in that 3inch zone and I’m struggling 

[RWB]

If you place your coin at the mean distance of the moon, 382,500 kilometers, it will then be just as easy to photograph. Little labels could then be added as on the composite lunar photo.

[VKurtB]

On 7/23/2021 at 8:31 AM, James Zyskowski said:

Practice practice is all I hear!  I think I’m beginning to get it but you are absolutely correct. Zillion miles away, no problem get with in that 3inch zone and I’m struggling 

The essential problem is that photographing anything really close up requires a highly bent optical path, compared with typically distant objects. Then the fact that on most lenses, the focal plane is NOT flat, but rather a conic section curve, often a paraboloid fairly close to a sphere. For regular photography, these are nothing more than insignificant rounding errors ( see what I did there?). Really good closeup photography is a tough field to master. It’s never going to be easy.

Edited July 23, 2021 by VKurtB

[Mr.Bill347]

On 7/23/2021 at 10:05 AM, RWB said:

If you place your coin at the mean distance of the moon, 382,500 kilometers, it will then be just as easy to photograph. Little labels could then be added as on the composite lunar photo.

Great, l’ll book a flight on the SPACEX moon

mission and then let you know how it works out!

[Mr.Bill347]

On 7/23/2021 at 2:29 PM, VKurtB said:

The essential problem is that photographing anything really close up requires a highly bent optical path, compared with typically distant objects. Then the fact that on most lenses, the focal plane is NOT flat, but rather a conic section curve, often a parabola fairly close to a circle. For regular photography, these are nothing more than insignificant rounding errors ( see what I did there?). Really good closeup photography is a tough field to master. It’s never going to be easy.

VKurtB I figured that you had a scientific explanation as to why my photography stinks! Lol maybe if the moon shifted its parabolic orbit the space/time continuum would warp the universe causing perfect pictures every time! 😁🤪

[Henri Charriere]

On 7/23/2021 at 2:29 PM, VKurtB said:

Really good closeup photography is a tough field to master. It’s never going to be easy.

[Buffalo Head's Buffalo Heads are buff!]

[RWB]

On 7/23/2021 at 2:31 PM, Mr.Bill347 said:

Great, l’ll book a flight on the SPACEX moon

mission and then let you know how it works out!

They will have catered meals, so bring a Cainus Major bag for leftovers.... I'm Sirius!

Edited July 24, 2021 by RWB

[J P M]

Here are some close up's of a rim cud and some die scratches White background 99% of the time sometimes red works. Lighting and a bit of a angle so the color will be correct. I am no photographer but I can get a pretty good shot with the USB scope a lot of times.

[Mr.Bill347]

JP I can handle the scope shots, example was my 1887 Morgan we discussed, but I have. One year old Nikon D5600 12 megapixel camera and four close up lenses, and can’t seem to get it where I can get the whole coin. Mostly I am using my iPhone SE 5mp phone. Example here. Any suggestions?

[RWB]

Lighting is the tough part. Slabs make it more difficult because they degrade images, and restrict lighting angles. For your 1961 proof quarter, the basic lighting is OK, but notice the apparent direction. For a portrait, the best appearance usually comes from having the light come the facing profile, and downward toward the forehead a little. That produces a more natural appearance. For the reverse do much the same for an eagle with light appearing to come from the 10 or 2 o'clock position.

Edited July 24, 2021 by RWB

[J P M]

On 7/23/2021 at 10:22 PM, Mr.Bill347 said:

JP I can handle the scope shots, example was my 1887 Morgan we discussed, but I have. One year old Nikon D5600 12 megapixel camera and four close up lenses, and can’t seem to get it where I can get the whole coin. Mostly I am using my iPhone SE 5mp phone. Example here. Any suggestions?

Oh ya you got the USB scope covered we never would have found all the marks on the Morgan without it. I have a tendency to not say enough in my wording on comments. Its that fast pace geterdon New England mindset. It gets me in trouble a lot.  I am saying I am no photographer and I can get buy with the USB . Now if you took that shot of that new Quarter with your iPhone I would say that you are doing way better than me and my phone could ever do it looks sweet to me.  

[Jason Abshier]

@Mr.Bill347 IPhone will take suitable pictures I found natural light like from a window at 2-3 feet away lay coin flat , stack some books up rest IPhone just over the edges of book about 4”-5” above the coin , zoom in on iPhone camera to fit coin full screen shoot away, then crop the photo makes it look even bigger I found (natural light shows what coin will look in your hand with a naked eye) … lighting is another issue like RWB said about proof coins are a little more tricker . I found LED lights to give best lighting when I need it . But most of time I strive for that “natural look” with no artificial lighting to change colors sometimes it’s not always practical we have to add that lighting getting the lighting angle right can be a pain in the butt sometimes ! 

Edited July 25, 2021 by Jason Abshier

[Mr.Bill347]

Thank you Jason. Will do! It still be gs me that I have a $700 camera and close up lenses and can’t seem to figure it out. I’ll keep trying though.