Small Light Box

I use a copy stand with its lights. I could never get the lighting set the way I wanted, so I use a see-through container to defuse the light.
First picture is the setup (ignore the junk in the background)


Picture just taken with setup. Digital camera on stand, 2012 ASE on the upside-down pencil cup at the center.

LOL, the cheap method involves a $150 copy stand. :D

I didn't know those existed! Is that a Zykkor? What type bulbs and what wattage? I'm ordering one now...

Awesome! I'll post pics when I get set up! :D

Fuzzy, I have the same copy stand, minus the lights. I am going to try the "clear tote" difuser method.

The big container also helps keep the coins from running away when they get frightened by the bright lights. :-)

Keep in mind the ONLY light you want hitting the camera lens and sensor is that coming directly from the coin. Light coming from other sources will cause "flare" and will significantly reduce the contrast of the coin. Any diffusers that you use down near the coin will also diffuse light up to the lens and sensor. You can see this low contrast effect on the 2012 ASE photo.

Another factor in reducing contrast on these mega-diffuser setups is that there is too much light coming at the coin from the sides. I've tried literally dozens of setups like this, and in every case they benefited from limiting the lighting angle to at least 45-deg, ie block all light hitting the coin from 45-deg or below. This is very easy to do by cutting a narrow strip of black paper and taping it around the inside of your diffuser closest to the coin.

An even easier way to do this is to build a "diffusion-illuminated" lens hood. Get a hood for your lens, small as you can get (using step-downs is even better!) and then attach your diffuser cup or container (with bottom cut out, just a cylinder) to the lens hood. Adjust the amount the diffuser hangs below the lens hood so that it does not put too much side-lighting on the coin and up-lighting toward the lens. What you end up with is essentially a diffuse ring light. I actually did this on a couple of earlier setups and it worked pretty well and can be used with existing lighting.

...Ray

Here are some of my first pics. I have a long way to go with the lighting and diffusion, obviously. I think it is so intense that my camera isn't focusing adequately. All I have time more for today. Thanks for looking!

The links below go to the full 6MB image. Shot with a Sony Cybershot DSC-T110 16.1 MP point and shoot. The camera does not zoom in macro mode, so the camera has to be pretty close to the coin. So the buckets of diffusers wont really work. I used two 23w florescent flood bulbs that have diffusors covering the bulb.

(The 1877 Half is my pocket piece)

www.doublejackauctions.com/CopyStand

You might also try the classic approach used by microscopists, who are also severely limited in working distance...the ping pong ball. Cut one in half, drill or hack a hole in the center, and tape it to the front of your lens with double-stick or whatever. Then shine your lights onto the ping pong ball and it will give you wide and even diffusion. To test out how well it might work, cut a hole in an index card and tape to the lens in the same way. I've found the index card (or even better, vellum) often works better than the ping pong ball...Ray