I'm Going To Start Shopping For A New, Real Camera. Suggestions?

Just a quick update. During lunch yesterday I told my Dad I needed some lumber to build my own Copy Stand based on this one below:



When I came to pick up my little girl after work a couple of hours later he had this ready for me:




Total Cost: $0

So far I've been experimenting with a silver '73-S Ike using just the stock 18-55 mm lens. I also purchased the same Vivitar wide-angle attachment lens mentioned by Wheatback, but it is in transit at the moment. My goal is to duplicate the size and sharpness of the Morgan he posted on Page 2. Extension tubes are next on my radar.

Here is the Ike I was practicing with (18-55mm stock lens). It's kind of like starting over trying to figure out the lighting suitable for this Canon Rebel. I don't like how dark the image appears. I want it to be brighter and more crisp. I DO like how the right side of the coin is in focus now. I always had trouble with this using the iPhone. We'll see how that Vivitar lens performs. If I can get near 1:1 with extension tubes then I may not need to get a dedicated macro. It will all depend on the quality.

A wider aperture (smaller f/) and longer shutter speed will let more light into the camera. That kit lens is probably f/3.5 at 18mm so you wontn't have any depth of field/focus issues, especially with a cropped sensor. If you want more information on obtaining proper exposure with manual controls, read about the exposure triangle. You can also just use the exposure compensation (EV+/-) to achieve a brighter picture.

It's been over a year since I imaged a coin with my Cannon, and I was in the mood to play around with it again today. Thus, this thread is resurrected. For the first time I used the LIVE VIEWER on my computer screen to take shots, and it was SOOO much better. Now I know why most people do it this way.

I set the camera to landscape mode and used the standard lens (18-55 mm) for this shot. I still haven't mustered the courage to buy a dedicated macro lens yet.