Help Getting A Picture

Rich - they look good. But honestly, they look "flat".

That said, you can get more depth and dimension by using a camera. CCF folks told me this fact time and time again, and for a while I insisted on reverting back to using my scanner. In the end though, I took their advice, took the time to figure out the necessary techniques at using a camera for coin shots, and am now happier with the camera results. I still am learning.

The only time I use my scanner now is to scan 'album sheets' of coins for inclusion in my coin database software.

I recommend you heed these folks' advice.

Nice looking ensemble.

With the exception of the lighted panel, I believe your ensemble is basically the "gist" as what has been advised by most of the folks on the thread - Copy stand, angle, lighting, etc.

Good luck!

Hello,

I have come to the conclusion that coin photography is a hobby within the hobby so to speak. Thankfully I do not have to know how to take a picture of a coin to be a coin collector. I use my scanner to scan my coins for my website and also for insurance purposes. My website is nothing "special" or "professional" but it is there for those who may want to learn about collecting or see a collection. I have been told and have learned many times over that coins magnified 100 times, by a scanner or high resolution photo, are NOT going to look good which is why a 10x loupe works well to magnify coins.

I truly admire the folks that can take really amazing coin photos but unfortunately I'm not cut out to do so because I don't have the patience or equipment to get into a hobby inside of a hobby. I know "old school" collectors and dealers who don't inventory or photograph their coins they just enjoy them and aside from my website and insurance stuff for now I'm just going to enjoy my collection.

Thanks,
Rich

I may have been misled by the term "point-and-shoot", which to me refers to a fixed-lens camera. I still say that a close-up lens will render the best detail as opposed to a camera equipped only with a macro lens. BTW I do not use the LCD screen on my Nikon D60 - I use the viewfinder for the best focus, and I remove my eyeglasses (I am profoundly nearsighted, lol). CheetahCats has posted some excellent suggestions, also. I still don't think we've hit on the solution to snitchard's problem, though. Maybe it's just eyesight?

white balance is not right...
can you set your camera to the type of lamp you are using, like tungsten, or daylight etc?
might help. and do not use auto white balance.

coinsrfun,

Thanks, having fun is hard but I'm learning that the fun is in sharing my webpage and building my webpage and talking to people here on CCF. I'm loving this. Something like "The Perfect Picture" just seems like too much pressure for a hobby.

Thanks Again,
Rich

ok since you said you werent happy 100% with what you are getting I am guessing you are at least closer to the outcome you are trying to reach than you were at first. Each camera is different as I mentioned before because I can't take a picture of a coin if I am not in macro mode and others just simply use their zoom. The lighting and white balance may be what you need to try to adjust next to see if you can get closer to the 100% than you were in the last shots. I had my camera probably 6 or 7 years (even though I wasn't collecting coins steadily at that time) and have been messing around with my camera off and on since I started collecting and it wasnt until about a month or so ago that I could say I am actually happy with the pictures I am producing with my camera. It really is just a trial and error type of thing since each camera is going to be different, so what may work for one may not produce the same results with someone else, sometimes even with the same camera. The lighting seems to be more important than the how many MP the camera has, then you have the tripod and shutter options that really make a difference also (even though focus doesn't seem to be the problem you are having). have you tried taking the coin out side on a sunny day and see if you can produce better results? if you haven't you may want to try that and if you get closer that will help you narrow it down to lighting

Axial lighting.... Axial lighting..... Axial lighting...
No milk jugs etc needed....
the best....simple axial lighting...