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 Replies: 26 / Views: 4,701 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3540 Posts |
Anybody using the above Canon digital with success?
Believe the camera is capable, I just cannot seem to get the lighting right.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1150 Posts |
I have the A3300 IS. Probably apples to oranges, but mine takes great macro photos. I'm having a hard time with the lighting aspect as well.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3076 Posts |
I have used the AS3100 for months, trying to get good coin photo's...It is a very good point and shoot camera as is the AS3300...but it is not a real coin camera....If you have the progamable camera, the
"wheel" a full auto camera..the programable camera does allow you to do macro and adjust some things, but it doesn't truly work out...Yes you can take some good over all shots..
but you can't get real macro shots with it... and the color is never correct.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3540 Posts |
Thanks. Thought it was just my photography skills that were lacking. I can get detail, but color is always off.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1150 Posts |
There are photo programs that will auto-correct for color. However, they look more normal yet they aren't perfect with the finer tonings and such.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3076 Posts |
There are Many photo software programs out there, But Face it...We are trying to do MACRO photography, with a point and shoot camera, I've been experimenting for a year now.. Please don't get me wrong..Today's technology is impressive lots of MEGA Pixles out there for a decent camera that will do great job of most of your photo's needs..But Coins are a different Monster...This is because most point and shoot cameras are not programmable..Where one control all the important features required to get the perfect shot as all coins have different needs of color(the coin: Penny, zinc/copper, nickle dimes ect) and reflectabillity of the coins surface and what the camera thinks is the best for your need... Mind you they do take some good shots.. but they are always off ..
We have seen in many posts of some great shots taken by members for certain coins.. for the most part its not coin wide..Meaning every type of metal content , copper silver ect...It's a steep learning curve for coins, with the camera you may have...you could have opened the box and have been happy with all the pictures you can take except when you get to coins...
Second thing, if your camera has the programmmable feature, you still have to go through the Gauntlet as the camera still think knows best of what you want, but its the out come you see that's not correct...The good thing is the camera has some control of light source, Zoom and focus,but no apeture or shutter speed which directly effects the out come......I had greater luck from my older camera as it had better "GLASS" another point one must consider..Older but better glass gave me better detailed MACRO pic's than my newer camera..Honestly, I had the AS3100 you have the 3300
Its a great all around camera It won't meet my needs of expanding my shots for precise detail of coins, I sent mine back....and by the way, it would NOT be fair to say that taking the shot..and thinking it was all done...IS WRONG...
it takes POST or after shot reviews with a photo program to correct what you took a picture of.. This is a lot to take in in one post, my task has taken some time, some trails and errors...I'm not disputing one can't take good pic's with a point and shoot. but rather to say HOW much more you must delve into your camera and the settings available and by trial and error shoot 1000 shots to see how you can tweak your camera to get what you need..
Or find a camera you can have full control of,..in either case its still a learning curve..PHOTO ON...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
627 Posts |
I used the SD1300IS for about a year, and then purchased the SD1400IS as an upgrade. I also own the A3300IS Canon point and shoot. All three of these cameras are completely capable of taking nice coin photographs. If you are looking for a camera to take microscopic zoomed photos of things like over-mint marks etc. then you'd be better off with a microscope (like the Dinex). Belowis a photo I took just this weekend of a new Lincoln Cent I purchased on Saturday.  In addition, every photo in my collection has been photographed with a Canon Point and Shoot camera (the key being a GOOD copy stand to mount the camera on and decent gooseneck white lights). You can see some of my pictures here ( http://sites.google.com/site/brg5658/) and also here ( http://coins.www.collectors-society....aspx?s=5705). I also own a Canon DSLR 50D with some professional glass fixed lenses. These work well for macro photography, but I have to be honest -- I prefer the point and shoot cameras because they are so much easier to deal with and handle. The big clunky DSLR lenses are always in the way of my lighting! I hope this helps a little! Edited by brg5658
11/01/2011 4:41 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3540 Posts |
brg5658 - VERY nice.
I actually found a real, vintage, photo stand at a garage sale this summer.
What wattage of lights are you using? Flavor of light? How about a picture of your setup?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
627 Posts |
Hi acloco, I use the Jansjo LED lights from IKEA ( http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/p...ts/20169658/). I have three of them set up, but I usually just use two of them for lighting, depending on the metal composition. At least one is a direct high light (usually 75 - 85 degrees, right next to the camera). The other two are used sometimes as fillers with some diffused light and other times as a 2nd high light. I'm very low tech, and when I need to diffuse a light I usually just position a paper towel on that side of the coin. The bulk of my set up cost was spent on the camera ($140) and the copy stand ($60). But, it is still very low-cost. I also own a $3000+ DSLR camera I use for weddings, senior photos, etc. -- but I find the Point and Shoot serves my purposes and allows me more flexibility with lighting for numismatic photography. I always use the 2-second timer to avoid hand shake, and I usually have my camera positioned about 12-16 inches from the coin. I use the optical zoom to get as close as I can but still focus in the macro setting. I never use digital (crop) zoom. A lot of my photography is of slabbed coins also, so you have to be creative with this to avoid glare, and to minimize plastic slab scratches appearing. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3540 Posts |
Thanks for the info! Will need to invest in some lights.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3540 Posts |
Of course, because I live close to BFE, had to order online. Amazon has the lights for $13 each. Free shipping on orders over $25 (4-8 business days). Thanks for the heads up. Looking forward to more photography that will work. :) |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3540 Posts |
UPS dropped off two lights this evening. This is a very initial first shot. I did not crop close so the contrast of the green felt and the 42 D can be seen. Believe with a little more time, the lighting has definitely helped quite a bit. THANKS!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3076 Posts |
much better pic there, the lighting is abit strong, but you can still play with the lighting to get it right...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
627 Posts |
Acloco, I have a couple more suggestions for you. ---------------------------- FIRST: When you push the "FUNC.SET" button you should get a menu that looks like this:  From the top going down, make sure that your settings are: "P"
ISO/80
AWB
"OFF"
Evaluative metering (as shown in the picture above)
Single drive mode (as shown in the picture above)
"L" (Largest photo size -- as shown above)-------------------------------- IN ADDITION: Press the "MENU" button in the lower right corner. From that menu, change your "Auto Focus Frame" option (AF Frame) to be "Center". This will ensure that the camera focuses on the middle of your photo and isn't looking for faces or focusing somewhere outside of your coin.  --------------------------- NEXT: Try photographing this coin with two lights. Place one high (next to the camera) and to the right at 3 o-clock. This will light Lincoln's face well. Place the 2nd to the left at 9 o-clock and at about a 45 degree angle and a bit away from the camera. Place a piece of paper or a paper towel between that light and the coin so it diffuses the light source. This will back light some of the shadows from the first light. ------------------------- LASTLY, MAKE SURE you have your camera set for Macro mode ( button 9 below), that your Flash is turned off ( button 11 below), and that you are using the timer function ( button 12 below). Of course, the timer only helps if your camera is firmly mounted on a tripod to avoid shake.  Post your results after these changes? :)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3540 Posts |
Will do this tonight. Thanks.
Your picture - Seattle by chance?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
627 Posts |
Ok, I get your Seattle reference. Those images are actually screen capture shots from the SD1300IS User's manual! :)
Edited by brg5658
11/08/2011 6:02 pm
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Replies: 26 / Views: 4,701 |
Posted 10/25/2011 01:27 am
