Help With Coin Photography, Most Of My Equipment Has Arrived

SRS, what is your setup for taking those proofs? I have also admired the pictures of your wheat cents.

I do things way different than most here but admittedly Photography is a hobby for me and not just about coins. My setup is way more expensive than most 'probably'.

I have a Pentax K5 with a Tamron 90mm macro lens attached. I use a Vanguard 284CT tripod with the camera pointing at a 90 degree angle to my subject coin.

Now, here is where I differ from just about all. I actually use photographic strobes for my lighting. Overkill? Absolutely but it's what I already have for portrait photography so I use them for this as well.

The lights are on 10 foot poles but I only extend them about 7 feet above my subject coin (2 lights). I adjust the power of the lights through a trigger I use to fire them. My lights are Elinchrom D-Lite 400W/s RX 4.

I am tethered to my PC using PKTether for Pentax Cameras and am able to adjust f-stop and all other camera operations from my pc.

Again, this is way overkill for coin photography but it's what I already invested in for other areas of photography so it's what I use.

Thanks for the compliments, it's appreciated!

I rarely use just the modeling lamps. 99% of the time I'm using the strobes. These lights have both a modeling lamp and a strobe. The modeling lamps are 100 Watt 120V lamps.

They cast a yellow light like most incandescent bulbs. So if I use the modeling lamps I have to adjust my white balance accordingly.

As in my earlier post these are Elinchrome D-Lite RX4's. Here is a link to Adorama's site for these lights http://www.adorama.com/EL20852KIT.h...gAaQod5SMAVg

They are not cheap.. As you'll see they're about $950.00 just for the lights... Although they do come with a trigger soft boxes and light stands. It's a set not just a single light.

I do have a small investment in my photography equipment but I've done a few weddings and I do a lot of scenic photography. The coin stuff is just for me as the wife doesn't care too much about the coins.

I have done some product photography for others and that's gone well so I also have a light table. I could go on but that's pretty much it...

Lighting isn't about using one specific dictated technique, it's about using what you have effectively and srs77 certainly seems to be doing that.

For the longest time I used Halogen goosenecks and some of my favorite shots are from that time. Exposures were more like 1/500 with 100w of halogen blaring onto the coin, but good results came of it. Look at Mark Goodman's earlier shooting; he used a single small table lamp with a 75w incandescent bulb, and shot images with no flaws.

There's a lot of different ways to make all of this work. We teach the techniques we do because they're cheap, simple and easy to learn. They aren't "The One Way" to become a good coin photographer. Humans are imaginative creatures, and these are some pretty capable chunks of optical technology we're using. The possibilities are endless.

I read everything you guys post here. I was admiring the photos of those coins. I have been watching these new coin shooters. I also have been learning from them. I have followed the lead from you guys. I have lately been roll searching with my camera. as SD said it gets real easy after while. I can go through a roll in no time. the twoonie I have been finding with errors will shock you. I want to learn every thing I can from you guys. I want to thank you guys for all your help and direction. I will soon be ready to start posting pics again. again thank you all have a great one.

sorry gymcoach to jump on your thread yes ray I am searching with a canon camera bellows with a elnikkor 75mm cranked clear out in live view. its a lot faster then with my micro scope. plus all I have to do is watch the monitor. ray did you see the warning in the Nikon manual. they down want a person to leave the Nikon camera on in liveview for extended amounts of time. as the Nikon will heat up and could catch fire. my problem is what is and extended amount of time. I have found a wonderful diffuser. it is called muslim cloth bleached white fabric. its works great on the janjo lights. it is the pures white you can buy. it cost pennies and square meter will do you for ever. you can buy it at a fabric store get a chance try it I am using it and it is great. have a great one