Copy Stand Vs. Tripod

Got some fine shots of a different coin. One with color.
Downloaded Infanview. Seems user friendly, but I cannot get my pictures below 100Kb even after sending them through Infanview's 600x600 pixel optimizer.
Maybe my camera settings reverted to somthing of a larger fike size.

I'll keep trying.

Ray,
What a simple solution. And I can't wait to try it. I Just shot some frames of a very nice coin, but the focus was fuzzy on the left or the right. Never all. Was planning to use WW II Naval Navigator's drafting parallels. (Which I keep right here in my drawer, as they are very useful.) But now don't need to.
Still, I am plagued by the same problem. I can futz with the camera until I get a good picture, but I can't post it because it is too large. And I don't know how to make it smaller.

On my Pentax, I have opted for the one star quality, not two or three.
I've chosen 2M instead of 12 M (MegaByte file size?)
And I can't get my files small enough to upload on CCF.

Advice is appreciated.
Thanks

I can't stand having to mess around much with my photos to get them small enough for upload so I host them on Photobucket. It isn't free but it isn't super expensive either. I like their "uploader" feature that allows you to directly upload web photos to their site with a right mouse click. If you post on other forums as well a centralized hosting location makes a lot of sense.

Getting sizing under control. A great relief. At least now I can post, and that is the cornerstone of communication.
And the color of these images is as close to "in hand" as I would expect.
Still, the left half of reverse is sharper than the right. So I'll try the mirror. Select annother coin, and see what I can do.
I've switched from cotton background to placing the coin in a 2" plastic Snap-Tite half. Placing it on the stand base may keep the coin square to the lens, and using the other half, I can turn the coin over without handling it.

Maybe later I can explore shooting through the holder of a TPG coin.

Wish me luck.

It also looks like you're lighting from both sides at around 3:00 and 9:00, correct? You never want to have lights directly opposite on a coin you want to show luster on. The luster bars show up perpendicular to the direction of the lighting, but they require local contrast to display well. A light at 3:00 shows luster bar from 12:00 to 6:00 across the coin. Problem is that a light at 9:00 does the same thing but from a different angle, and unfortunately luster bars don't add together but subtract from each other due to reduction in contrast. Try moving the lights to 10:00 and 2:00, or better yet 10:30 and 1:30. At 10:30/1:30 you'll create an X pattern of luster across the coin.

Yes, I've been starting with some really big files. And learning how to crop and optimize them.
And learning about lighting.
And camera settings.
And camera mounting and mirror tricks.

In this photo, I wanted to show a little detail.
Of specific interest to me (as a student VAMer) are the polish lines in the "Y" of LIBERTY.
The cotton bolls aren't as sharp as those captured by SUPER DAVE, but are a good start.

Two weeks ago I got my first dSLR camera, did not know what batteries it took, or how to install them. I didn't know how to take a picture, or how to transfer the data from the camera to the computer and then to a web site. I did not know about pixels and file size, nor how to manage them and make them useful.

I am aware that I have explored only 2% of my camera's potential, but I feel great about my learning experiences.
The last time I felt this way was many years ago when I was exploring my first 2% of a driver's license, and my first 2% of pretty girls.

And all the credit goes to each and every one of you at CCF. Your guidance, advice, encouragement, pictures, data, explanations and comradery.
I've tried to do most of what you advise, answer most of your questions, and devote some of my own time to learning.

I cannot thank you enough.
But do not think that we are finished. I have another 98% to explore, and the first 2% to master.

Thanks
Kurt