Need Basic Setup Advice, Please.

Not sure which body he uses, but this isKurt's macro lens

I myself am an Olympus fan. Strictly for point and shoot. For me, they have been bulletproof, and are pretty good on full auto. I have not checked out their DSLR's yet, but I will be in the market eventually. Nikon and Canon have the optics for sure, and this is where the money is in cameras really. Below is a full auto shot with nothing but a tripod with my Olympus point and shoot. If you click on it, it gets nice and big. Eventually I will work on lighting and such and dial in everything. Just waitng on Dave's tutorial to be complete to see if I can copy the setting over.

It is just as important to make allowances for the unyielding accuracy of a high-resolution shot as it is for a poor photo or a scan. As you say, grading involves the trained eye and use of no more than a 5x loupe, and many of us post pics which greatly exceed that resolution. Case in point:



Would you grade that coin MS65? NGC did. To be completely honest, I reduce the picture size of slabbed coins I sell on ebay, for that specific reason.

Just for the record, I lit that shot with a circular fluorescent lamp completely surrounding the lens. That's why the luster and shadows are funny.

Great points, Superdave. :)

Are you using a TV or a computer monitor for the TV out, Dick? The average TV isn't even close to being able to show the resolution your camera is actually "seeing," and as a result you're not likely to get an accurate picture of what the picture will be....golly, did you understand that? I didn't.

Take pictures, and look at them on your computer screen. Let the camera autofocus - if it won't autofocus even one time out of five, your working distance isn't right. What isn't coming out as you want?

Before getting a better lens, I used one of these to get 'closer' to the coin: http://www.garrettwade.com/large-su.../23T01ddd21/

That one is only 2x but it sure helped a LOT. The coin went underneath and the camera was pointed straight down with the lens nearly touching the plastic of the magnifier. It can get a bit awkward but it was worth it to have larger detail. You could probably find one with higher magnification, too. It's far enough away for the smaller or less powerful cameras to be able to focus, yet still help get the details

xshift, I have two lighted loups, that I use for readinf fine print. maybe they will work. I laso have a2X? 5" poupe on an extension, that I use for sorting. I'll do some experimenting, and see what comes out. I found a coin yesterday that has no lettering, other than two letters in the upper space in a crown, or maybe it is a "coat of Arms": V B . The other face is only a crown. It is "brassy-looking". I'll have to install the rest of the drivers for that camera, to be able to post a picture. It is about the size of a quarter, (slightly larger).




The lighter pictures are w/o flash, and the darker, are more natural colored. what is it? thanks for lookimng. These BTW, are thru the scope, with the Photocam plus. *8 MB, but no optical X.
Dick

xshift, that is just the tip of the iceberg! I can't get a whole coin, unless it is a dime, or cent. I am using minimum zoom, on the scope,,and still can't get more than that shown. I think I mis-led you with the loupes, as they are small ones I use for reading fine print, like in a menu, or maybe a MM. Most of the time, I have to use the scope, or my CCTV system to read mags, books, papers, etc. There is another lens that screws onto the base of the scope, but it doesn't seem to be of much help. My old camcorder,was very good for viewing, just about any sized coin, or anything else. The zoom on it was great enough that I could use it for RPM's, and varieties, but the electronics "went west", and I had to get rid of it. I next used the zoom lens from my big color camera. I turned it y
up-side down, and was able to get some nice shots. I just bought a new Powershot, A590 IS, and for shots of landscape, it is beautiful. I can't get a shot of a coin in focus, much less show a detail. I have read the book several tikmse, but so fsr, no luck. Too many buttons, dials etc, etc. One of these days...
I'll post that coin on an other forum, and see what they say there. I recently bought the same setup, (materials, etc) that SuperDave posted, with the track lights, etc, but have not hooked it up, yet. More concerned with the rain, and the side of the house, being exposed to the elements, due to the wind tearing off my awning!@ It is on the "leeward" side of the weather movement, but that still doesn't solve the problem. I suspect I should have used some of the strips of the "drip-catcher", to covet the opening above the walls. I can't tell how far down from the rafters it geos, before being blocked, but water knows no boundries,and if it gets inside, the sheet-rock will mwelt! That means that my wife will be VERY unhappy, as she just put in new carpeting!
Dick

xshift, you are SOOOOO right!
Dick