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 Replies: 47 / Views: 6,921 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
509 Posts |
Well Ray, am starting to get some better luster after managing to get that pinpoint light working. Ended up wrapping a Jansjo with tin foil and pinching it off. My set-up looks like some kind of tinker toy/erector set. Now if I could just get rid of those flares I might come up with a better result. Can't seem to eliminate them and have pretty much come to the conclusion it's probably the slab I'm shooting through. Have you had any MWB problems with those lamps? Can't get my to work properly for some reason. No problems though when using the CFL's. Had to run this one through gimp for some contrast.  |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Slabs require a little more angle on the lighing, which leaves you  on the luster. It *can* be done, though. As you've noted, enhancing contrast will be necessary. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4038 Posts |
Not sure why you are having issues with MWB with the LED's. They dial right in on my setup. I'm curious what you end up with when doing the MWB. What do you use for reference? You should take a pic of your ref before and after MWB, and after tungsten WB, and post those pics so we can see what's going on.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
509 Posts |
Maybe my camera acting up or cockpit trouble. Just wondering if the Jasjo's were giving you same trouble. Thanks...
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Odd. No Canon camera I've ever owned (and that's a few) provided a satisfactory "Tungsten" preset. All were equally happy with either white (a stack of printer paper in my case) or 18% gray (the platform of my copystand) and corrected perfectly.
Note, in my experience even shifting the angle of the lighting after you set White Balance can throw the setting off slightly. The Custom image you snap has to be identical to the circumstances of the coin shot, or you can plan on dialing back the "Yellow" in postprocessing a bit.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
509 Posts |
HHHHmmmmm....All I can say is the last image I posted here was tungsten preset using the Jasjo LED's. No post processing at all other than resize and contrast adjustment in gimp. Don't seem to have that problem with the CFL's. I hear what you're saying about not moving the set-up and that's the way I've been doing it. Using white paper as a reference. Have also used my copy stand base as you have on occasion since it's 18% gray but haven't really noticed a difference between the two even with CFL's. An interesting aside is when I use tungsen preset with the CFL's it is waaaayy out of whack---fugly (to borrow your word  ) yellow/gold colors. I'm beginning to suspect my camera may be dicey. Have been using the 400D I have but think I'm going go back and put up the 350D and see what indications I get. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4038 Posts |
Here's what I get using horizontal aluminum foil reflector a 1883-CC Morgan with luster and color. Two Jansjo's with MWB. I'll post the pics of the setup on my Coin Photo Setup thread...   Edited by rmpsrpms
06/25/2011 9:38 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
509 Posts |
Ray here's another one with tungsten WB, 2 Jansjo LED's and a Jansjo pinpoint. This was with my 350D and I am having the same MWB problems as I did with the 400D. In looking at your image above, you mention you used MWB and it appears (at least to me) you're having the same problem in that the coloration across the face, hair and cap is orange/gold whereas it should be white/silver? I'm beginning to wonder if that aluminum reflector may be throwing the WB outta whack somehow? Color temperature? I've been doing the MWB using white paper with the light reflecting downward from the aluminum. Thoughts? Your suggestion of looking at the reference photo was a good one as it has NOT been coming out white as it should and when I try to go with it anyway, well the results are haywire. Using direct lighting for MWB the ref comes out white as it should. Maybe I should stop fighting the system and stay with tungsten since I'm getting fairly good results. Giving up the aluminum would mean losing full, all-around illumination, or as close as I've been able to come to it.  Edited by Sidekick-CA
06/26/2011 07:48 am
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
I'm thinking Ray's images are a pretty accurate representation of the coin. It's not unheard-of to see toning on devices. If the white balance were off, the entire image would have the color cast, not just small areas.
Your coin, Sidekick, appears to be a little heavy on the blue end, as I'd expect from white balance that was skewed towards a color temperature lower than what the camera was actually seeing. Can you post a set from what you're seeing as the "wrong" white balance? I'm beginning to wonder if your monitor settings might be a factor.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
509 Posts |
It appears heavy on the blue side to me also. Coulda taken some out with PSE but wanted to post em straight out of the box. I'll get those "wrong" images up a little later.
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
I can't see the foil having any effect on white balance settings; all the camera does is correct for the exact color it sees when you do the "custom" shot, regardless of how the light is arriving at the surface you're shooting. When you snap the "custom" setting image, are you focused on an area the same size as the coin images? And it does need to be actually focused at the surface - when I set Custom white balance, I use a toothpick to achieve focus and then remove it for the actual shutter click.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4038 Posts |
This pic won't answer any questions about MWB, I just thought it was a nice coin to photograph. The foil reflector did a good job of illuminating it fairly evenly and also brought out a good amount of luster.  Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
The resolution and contrast blow me away. Yeah, I'm repeating myself. Is it me, or is the color a bit green? It seems a bit "off" on both of my monitors, which are deliberately using differing color settings as a way of evaluating photographs. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4038 Posts |
Yes, very green! With pink-orange highlights, sort of unusual. This is why I said it won't answer any MWB questions, since it's not a color that is common or would help determine if the MWB was "off".
Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
509 Posts |
Turns out that Canon uses a color temperature of 3200K for the pre-set tungsten WB. The Jansjo LED's I've been using have a temperature of 3000-3200K which seems to explain in most part why I'm getting better results with the tungsten. Now I'm wondering just what the camera's (400D XTi) color corrective capabilities are under the same lights using MWB. Certainly is throwing me for a loop trying to use it even though I'm certain my procedure is correct. Perhaps I'll have to get into bracketing. Not sure if that's the remedy but maybe worth a look.
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Posted 06/23/2011 12:37 pm
