Updated 1882-CC MS-66 Pics On Canon S2 Is

Dave, I picked up four 60w bulbs a few days ago to swap out the 100w to try settings similar to what you suggest, but I haven't gotten to it yet, mostly since I was having such good luck with the 100w bulbs. I have a small problem with getting the clamp lamps directly above the coins since I haven't got anything to which to clamp them securely enough (I tried the shroud cover; doesn't work) to hold them in place (yet - I may screw in a couple clampable thingies). I sorta evolved to the lamps sitting on the platform almost directly in front of the coin. Below is a poor pic of my stove top set-up, sans camera, of course. Notice the clever way I improvised using materials at hand: cracker boxes, Safe-T-Mailer, large paper clip (holding the slab). Note also the only other living thing in my travel trailer next to the window (yes indeedy, Billy Bob, that is indeed a cotton plant). Only problem with this set-up is that I have to shove it all aside so I can make space for a frying pan.

stmpcol, that's Old Dan to whom you refer. I stole his page numbers , all 1050+ pp which I have to compress down to 600 pp. Naturally, I'll give him credit in my Acknowledgements section .

Stujoe, I am having a love affair with this S2 IS. From 1972 until 2001, I used a Nikon F1 FtN which had all the bells and whistles and I was a fairly competent amateur photographer for my wildlife biology profession, able to get shots of most anything from tiny sundews (Alaskan Venus flytraps) at a distance of 4" and mountain goats grazing at 12,000 five miles away in Glacier Bay Natl Monument to stop-action on rabbits in mid-air in western Washington. Switched to little 2.3 mp Kodak 3500DX in 2001 and was able to take nice scenery pics, but that's about it. Forget close-ups of coins. When I decided to invest in a much better camera (see older topics in Photography), I I finally settled on the Canon S2 IS even though I knew the S3 was coming out. Saved a lot of money and I have no idea what the S3 has that my S2 doesn't have, but to date, it's all the camera I think I'll ever need and more. Once I started some serious close-up work, I quickly became familiar with all its nuances. It's gentle on batteries and easy to hold. The only design weakness I have found is the location of the Set and Menu buttons on the right side of the back where I want to put my big fat thumb and screw up everything , but I'm learning to keep my thumb someplace else (don't go there ) while I'm shooting. Probably the major weakness of my camera is the operator behind it . All those buttons, menus, switches, and other thingies combined with a big fat manual made for a very steep learning curve and lots and lots of errors and experimentation which, thanks to Dave and the group, I was able to flatten out quite a bit. There's one other major function on which I haven't even started: the ability to control the camera through my laptop via USB cable. One of these days...



(I also gotta learn to upload smaller [pixel dimensions] to my website.)

quote:

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Originally posted by Morgan Fred


I think there's at least four or five of us with S2 Canons. We can
start our own CC S2 Club, maybe admit new S3 owners with special
dispensation .

Dave, why would you want TIFF instead of, say BMP if you want
really fine resolution (albeit with huge file sizes)?

I wasn't aware the S3 offered file formats other than jpegs. The
larger megapixels doesn't offer many advantages over the 5mp we
have with the S2 unless we're making wall posters. The additional
$150 or so for these options doesn't seem to appeal to me unless
Canon has rearranged the buttons although if the S3 is really only
an upgrade, then I doubt this happened very much.

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RAW is the ideal format, as it is essentially the unaltered results of what the camera's sensors actually "see," only being processed for the analog-digital conversion and for ISO. Both JPEG's and TIFF's are processed in the camera further - Bayer interpolation for color determination (the camera's sensors don't see color, just the relative intensity of the RGB color they're filtered to detect), white balance, contrast, etc. JPEG's are then compressed using a lossy (some information is lost) compression method, and TIFF's are compressed (if at all) with a lossless method.

Further, RAW is 12-bit as opposed to JPEG's 8-bit. Instead of JPEG's 256 levels of brightness per pixel, RAW files can store 4096 levels of brightness - a huge difference in dynamic range, and maximizing the physical 12-bit capability of most decent digicam sensors.

The disadvantage of RAW is, you have to convert it to color data and process it for all the things the camera didn't do to it. To me, that's all better done outside the camera, where you can use programs which weren't written to first fit a digicam's limited memory, and then to process the image properly. That means you'll need a Photoshop-level image editing software, a RAW Converter, and the knowledge to use it all well. I'm willing to go there; many aren't.

TIFF files at least losslessly-compressed, and are much more easily manipulated cross-platform, unlike Windows BMP's, which have to be reconverted (losing yet more data) to process in some programs.

In the real world, JPEG compression algorithms these days are sophisticated enough that it's darn tough to tell the difference between all of this by what you're looking at on the screen. I think for coin photography, it makes very little difference.

All other things being equal, Fred, the images you achieved in this thread would be 100 pixels wider for the same result, had you used a 6MP rather than a 5MP camera.

And, don't bother using the USB connection - very little control of the process is allowed.

Hey guys I suggest trying this program for resizing, changing formats, cropping of images, it also can do minor twekaing such as sharpen. It's free and is very widley used by professionals.

http://www.irfanview.com/

For internet photos, I prefer to save in .jpg, much higher compression then bitmap. .bmp is compatible on dang near any computer though.


BTW Fred that Morgan is nice!!!

Hi RangerXLT8 and welcome to the forum! We're pretty friendly here and love to share our collective knowledge and experience with others.

As Dave stated, Irfanview has its advocates here on CC, but it's a Windows-only platform and there's a fair number of us Mac users here. I used an inexpensive graphics manipulation program GraphicConverter ($29.95 IIRC - includes updates) which is far more than a viewer. It's available for all platforms.

Fred

Hi Dewayne and welcome to the forum! Lots of friendly folk here and just loaded with expertise and experience. Sounds like you've had your S2 IS longer than most of us. (First, what is ott lights?) If you get the chance, please upload some of your coin pics and let us know what settings on the S2 you use.

Fred

I went back today and got you my exact settings.

Settings: ISO Auto
Shutter speed: 1/125th
FStop: 6.3
Using Macro (not Super Macro) and Zoom
Camera set on Av mode

A 58mm Canon Close-up Lens 250D and a conversion lens adapter.




The size of the images you take before you resize: 2048 x 1536

Copystand or Tripod or freehand: Testrite CS-1L Copy Stand W/ Lights



Lights: OTT-LITE TrueColor Swirl Bulb 20Watt





I shoot all my pictures about 12" away from the coin. I use the camera's marco setting and the zoom to fill the LCD moniter with the coin. I use Microsoft Photo Editor to cropped the image and then I download it to Photobucket and resize the image.

Fred, I purchase both off of ebay used. I paid $60 for the adapter and the lens. I use it to get more magnification. Canon also make a 500D lens, which is stronger.The Canon S2 is a great camera for the money.Have you seen this site.
http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/pss2is/overview-e.html

Excellent pictures MorganFred. Nice coin BTW. That is probably out of my budget range!