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 Replies: 41 / Views: 4,890 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4038 Posts |
I'd highly recommend avoiding anything but a Canon DSLR that can be tethered and has EFSC. It is possible to get quality shots with Nikon and other equipment but the EFSC takes away about 80% of the extra effort required to compensate for deficiencies in the camera at these magnifications, and tethering is an absolute must for productivity and general sanity. The T1i is a good choice. I personally feel the T3i is overkill as it has features I don't use for coins, but if you are going to use the camera for general photography the T3i with kit lens is a great choice...Ray
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4132 Posts |
Yeah, if you're going the DSLR route, Canon is better for coins (or even macro generally.) This setup makes it almost completely effortless - light, focus and click. But if a DSLR setup is out of someone's budget, there are cheaper options that produce good or very good images for web resolutions even if they don't produce mind-blowing sharpness.
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New Member
United States
23 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
Just found one flaw... The setup includes a short M42 extension to make it easier to take the camera on and off and make more orientations possible, but that means the minimum magnification isn't quite low enough to fit a large dollar on the sensor. I figured that would be OK - dollars are not my focus, so I figured I could take the extension out when I needed to. Well it turns out that the T3i is slightly bulkier than the T2i, and it doesn't quite fit on the bellows without the extension. Probably I could take a Dremel and shave about 2mm off the bellows, but that's another point in favor of the T2i.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
627 Posts |
Captain, that is a STUNNING winged liberty dime! WOW!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
It's not as nice as the '41-S (this one is only MS62, not as well struck and the colors are more subdued), but yeah, it's a fun one. It's a much easier subject because it has "normal" luster. I want to do an animation of this one again, but I don't know how I'm to manage rotating the lights relative to the coin+camera (or vice versa). I'm thinking of some sort of construction involving a Lego turntable, but I don't know yet how I'm going to be able to build something I can shoot through the center of. I'd rather avoid rotating the coin and ending up with a swimming effect from imperfect alignment.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
627 Posts |
I've never seen an "animated" picture of a coin that does it any justice compared to a simple single shot taken with care.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
No reason not to try! Even a mediocre video or animated image might be a nice "second" image of a coin to go along with a really nice static shot, particularly for highly lustrous cartwheely coins (e.g. this bust half on Heritage). Plus I get to play with my Legos. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
627 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
Yeah, I saw that thread. It gives me a headache to look at the stereo images though.  I got my shorter extension tube in today, and while I can only use it in the less-fun orientation and it's more effort to mount and unmount the camera, it did the trick: 
1997 ASE by CaptainFwiffo, on FlickrOK, the image is not an artistic triumph, but hey, it JUST fits, and dollars make it easy. And the extra tubes give me a tad more magnification if I really want, even though I can't really support it optically. Just the one 14mm tube: 
1956-D Lincoln Wheat Cent by CaptainFwiffo, on FlickrAll the tubes: 
1956-D Lincoln Wheat Cent by CaptainFwiffo, on Flickr |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3076 Posts |
a canon/nikon and a ARD1 most can not attain will always be a great combination for coin photo's!probably the most important item is the LIGHTING < THE LIGHTING and the lighting with a good set up of lenses...sharp pictures with the best of the best and still there are some fabulous shots with old glass....set up also contribute to the expense of controlling(camera stand) the superb quality of the photo...
and remote shutter control...exit camera shake...
My comment is STILL this...while in this foreum we have attained the results over the last year and a half of many lenses, Tamron 90mm macro to the ARD1. all with exception qualities...I believe, for the many of us, while we can SEE
the results of those with the abilities to attain such lenses and setups....We with out such set ups can still find our way to getting wonderful pictures..
one of the most important and complicated features
of coin photography, the lens combinations....MOST here always rely on the "one lens" That fills all needs.....
they are always expensive and still contravercial...
combinations of solid lenses with doublers ect, are reviewed with less than the best of lighting techniques....
That is why we are here.....To learn of the best examples
of the best lens combo's and to examine the lesser
combinations known or accepted...wheather the lighting is the best kind of set up or not..the lighting is crucial in all cases....for what ever set up you have..
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
Nice set up Cap'n, your first image of the equipment looks like an older, well established piece of equipment, almost antiqued...I like it and your set-up and it is turning out marvelous results!
Edited by oih82w8
08/09/2012 09:01 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4038 Posts |
oih82w8...you're right, the setup looks almost "steampunk" doesn't it? I love steampunk stuff...
Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
It's funny, I just wanted to take a basic "here is what the stand looks like picture" and it just sorta came out as a cool picture all by itself. I'd taken only a handful of pictures with the camera (just random stuff around my apartment, and things like my toes to play around with the zoom and focus functionality).
I just stuck the camera in "auto, no-flash" mode, set a picture style to "neutral" (which sounded like the setting that wouldn't try to do anything fancy) and snapped away. It looked like what you'd expect of a picture taken with no flash in low light of a black object in front of a black background. Then I opened it in camera raw, turned on lens correction and just clicked "auto". Magically appeared an old-timey looking photo of an old-timey looking object.
Every time I adjust the bellows I expect to hear one of those old single-use magnesium flash bulbs going off.
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Replies: 41 / Views: 4,890 |
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Posted 07/29/2012 5:05 pm
