USB Microscope? Or DSLR? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 2,784
DouglasFir Valued Member Canada 160 Posts	Posted 07/03/2021 8:49 pm Hey everyone, I'm looking to start photographing coins in my collection and I'm wondering what route to go here. I already have a Sony A-100 DSLR with what says to be a macro lens. I cannot however get it to focus at close distance to a coin even in manual focus mode. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? I'm thinking of just buying a USB microscope to make things simpler. The ones I'm seeing are only 2 MP, is this adequate? Can someone please recommend a good USB microscope that isn't really expensive? Report this Post to the Staff

ijn1944 Bedrock of the Community United States 19108 Posts	Posted 07/03/2021 9:12 pm On the matter of the DSLR, the Sony would be capable of photographing a wide range of coins, from tiny to the very largest. You can always crop the image. Shooting in raw format would be best--that's my experience. The USB microscope--while nifty for capturing images of very small areas--would have great difficulty capturing a full, crisp shot of a large dollar coin. What is the lens' designation (focal length, etc.)? Report this Post to the Staff
Yokozuna Pillar of the Community United States 4618 Posts	Posted 07/03/2021 9:21 pm I have both a USB Microscope and a DSLR camera. I have never like the images that I get with the $100 Microscope and only used it a couple of times before giving up. I love what the Digital Camera can do, but the big difference is cost. The Nikon camera I use as my prime digital recording device cost more than $4000 with the lens, equipment and editing software I use, but I use my camera for all kinds of photography, not just my coins. I try not to use a camera that's under 10 megapixel. Anything less seems to get grainy when you try to look at the details. ANA ID: 3203813 - CONECA ID: N-5637 Clean a coin that may be worth collecting? Please DON'T! When in doubt, leave it dirty!! Report this Post to the Staff
DouglasFir Valued Member Canada 160 Posts	Posted 07/03/2021 9:44 pm The lens came with the camera, it says on it 3.5-5.6/18-70 0.3m /1.3ft macro DT 3.5-/5.6 18-70 Is there just a setting I am getting wrong? I cannot get it to focus on close up shots of small items like coins. I've tried for quite a while, tried macro mode, nothing works. Report this Post to the Staff
Coconutjoe Pillar of the Community United States 1475 Posts	Posted 01/17/2022 03:06 am If you have manual focus function, try that. Don't use auto focus because that usually don't work. I have Canon EOS setup with pretty expensive lens, but I am going to try one of those USB 12MP or 16MP camera from Amazon. BTW, if anyone has any info on these USB cameras for 2022, please let us know which one you purchased. Cheers~~ Report this Post to the Staff
rmpsrpms Pillar of the Community United States 4036 Posts	Posted 01/17/2022 3:12 pm It is possible to put together a decent USB microscope from components available on ebay or from companies like AmScope. I have built a few of these and they work well. AmScope software is "barely acceptable", but that's a lot better than the software that comes with most of the prepackaged scopes. You can get a 5-10MP (or higher if you are willing to pay more) microscope camera, and mount it onto a small microscope with focus capability. Get a decent microscope objective, like AmScope's 4x or something off ebay, and you have a fairly good USB scope. Cost will be in the ~$500 range. This won't be as good as a typical DSLR system, but better than a typical prepack USB scope. Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com Report this Post to the Staff
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