What Is A Good, Cheap Coin Microscope?

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Author	Replies: 14 / Views: 11,169
coinguybrian Rest in Peace United States 5375 Posts	Posted 11/04/2011 10:55 am In the $50 to $100 range? I have a friend listing some stuff on ebay, but hes having a lot of trouble with photos and I keep having to delete the listings because of blurryness, so it ends up being a big hassle...I need to get him a cheap coin microscope that works well and takes clear, flawless pictures without much effort. He's using an iphone 8 MP with some anti-shake program but it just isn't working out; I don't know if he just doesn't know how to use it to full effectiveness or if its not suited for this, which wouldn't surprise me. Report this Post to the Staff

west- canuk Valued Member Canada 497 Posts	Posted 11/04/2011 11:09 am I picked up a 200X Optex USB Digital Magnifier for $70 cdn, I'm sure Lighthouse Numismatics sells the same for $200 + , many similar on 'bay for less . I'm happy with the pics and ease of use, check my pics on this site and see if they are good enough for you. Report this Post to the Staff
Coinstar Pillar of the Community United States 1510 Posts	Posted 11/04/2011 4:49 pm I to a 40x one on Amazon for 8 dollars you can see everything! Retired USAF 1983-2003 Report this Post to the Staff
x78089 Valued Member United States 255 Posts	Posted 11/04/2011 8:34 pm I won a Dino Lite M411T on ebay for $110 shipped. If you look around good scopes can be found at reasonable prices. Report this Post to the Staff
aladinslamp Pillar of the Community United States 3076 Posts	Posted 11/05/2011 12:10 am Personally I only use the "dino light" for close up pictures, not for full photo shots, of any coin, but rather to high lights its main features I want them top see...Essentially its a camera micro scope to see the fine details, I have found its terrible to do the whole coin thing, As far as the whole coin shot is considered, a cheap Point and shoot camera camera with the full "manual controls", you can take a fair shot, for your ebay post's... very small coins may work out for you with the dino light like dime and below...for larger coins its not a working thing...I tried silver dollars, and you just can't get them in focus to do any body justice to you or the buyer, who can't see what you have and move on... The dino light is a tool...For cheaply priced close ups so people can see the pies you have to sell...say's simple simon Report this Post to the Staff
aladinslamp Pillar of the Community United States 3076 Posts	Posted 11/05/2011 12:20 am you said "cheap" but there are those microscopes that are intensively cool and very detailed but pricey...just depends on what you want to do, I found that I could get the magnification to see the smal;l details but the color and lighting are always off....A decent camera with a decent Macro lens will do More than the dino light ever can... I know I went that route., for the money at the time it served me well, but there are many a thread here with older cameras, that will get you to where you want to end up at.... it just depends on what you want to do... Report this Post to the Staff
coinguybrian Rest in Peace United States 5375 Posts	Posted 11/05/2011 4:16 pm If a camera works better, thats fine too. Just needs to be cheap and easy to use to avoid frustration in general, I guess. He's kind of overworked and wanted to do this to make some money, so I don't want it to be all stressful. Basically, easiest possible route to flawless pics. Report this Post to the Staff
Ham1947 Pillar of the Community United States 1298 Posts	Posted 11/06/2011 10:36 am A DinoLite like the one mentioned here for $110! What a great price for an excellent product in my opinion. Don't settle for poor photos to help sell your items. Take your time and learn how to use your camera and or microscope to get the best posible images, and you will be rewarded in the long run. Best of luck. Report this Post to the Staff
stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 11/06/2011 11:46 am sorry ... this is my first try uploading one of my photos, so I'm pretty sure that this photo will be outta place in this thread (baby-steps to being able to download coin photos) ... ummm, also realize that my skills are currently limited so I am merely posting this to see if it works (please don't judge me too harshly, okay?) ... thanks here goes nuthin" Report this Post to the Staff
stevex6 Pillar of the Community 3352 Posts	Posted 11/06/2011 11:49 am hey, it actually worked! ... plus, it looks better than I thought (man, it is way harder than I thought to get the lighting correct) the lights on the coin microscope were too over-powering, so I turned them off and tried to merely use an overhead light (I'll keep practicing => I just wanted to see if I could physically upload a photo) .... thanks => carry-on Report this Post to the Staff
coinguybrian Rest in Peace United States 5375 Posts	Posted 11/11/2011 12:45 am Good suggestions, everyone. Is the digital magnifier like a camera specifically for close ups? Or if not, are there cameras specifically geared towards that (of course there are, but how cheap)? Again this isn't for me, though I do need my own set-up. Report this Post to the Staff
aladinslamp Pillar of the Community United States 3076 Posts	Posted 11/11/2011 01:54 am on the Cheap, usually the dino scopes and such are great magnifiers for attribution purposes, of die errors for any coin/ small coins shots may be, but as the last poster has shown, the LED's always have a blue tint to them... larger coins will not post well, I moved to the more expensive DSLR camera only to get the CCF VAM thing going, For posting online with respectible photo's there are many say 100 buck cameras the point and shoot type that will do the job...These 2 photo's are from a camera I bought at a pawn shop for about $50 bucks.. This was a canon power shot AS3100 camera, and there are many other point and shoot cameras out there that will =do the same thing once you get to know what to do..... There are 2 types of point and shoot cameras.. 1)full auto....it thinks it knows every thing you need to do 2) it has the programable wheel where you decide the settings...I chose P for program..the rest of these settings are in the menu or DISP in general your main points of setting interest are center weighted ,custom lighting, Macro on, and telephoto about 1.5x or I should say for the camera not full X feature...Use 2 lights 10 and 2 o'clock , Use the 2 second timer feature, and a tripod so we don't influence any shaking into the camera... I always got good results with natural light as one of the above commenter's said...however I could never get the darn sun to stay in one spot.....So I choose the CF bulbs we will all be forced to buy as they require less energy, Green...is the way of the future,,,but they are great...lighting is critical as all bulbs give off a different color only seen when you shoot the pic's... normal bulb =yellow tint..tungsten=blue ect...That's why there is a color or light evaluate setting in the camera menu... These are just the basics of the functions of any camera posted by many here on CCF...one still needs to play with some of the settings to get what you think is best for your application.....I will remind you in this very PHOTO section are many a great read, from, specific cameras to el cheapo things and high end happenings.... If you spent one night reviewing the last 5 or ten pages of these postings...You will not be sorry..THAT I GUARENTEE....you will have the knowledge of how to get the most out of what you have......The FLIP side of this is, you will be able to see.....how others will cover up or hide coin issues you may be thinking of buying.. So while you are trying to get the best example of a beautiful toned coin..others over light a coin to hide all of the major flaws you would not even consider biding on... Report this Post to the Staff
west- canuk Valued Member Canada 497 Posts	Posted 11/12/2011 11:49 pm with stevex6, I also leave the led lights turned off and use alternate light sources and had good results. I have used different items to shim up the digi mag to get the proper distance from the coin for full coin pics, but now I see that Leuchtturm/ Lighthouse has an adjustable stand for it that should do the same. Maybe Mrs.Claus will spring for it. Report this Post to the Staff
mike thomas New Member 34 Posts	Posted 11/13/2011 12:41 pm If it really becomes a matter of money(Not that anyone on this forum)(other than myself)would.Go to Frys and check out web cams.Lots of differnt ones do lots of different things Report this Post to the Staff
coop Bedrock of the Community United States 62064 Posts	Posted 05/13/2017 3:07 pm Here is an extra microscope I picked up today. It is basically new, just the glass on the base was missing. I'll probably check to see if I can find another glass for it. Lights all working. But I would probably remove them and put on it what is best for coin images. It has 10X stereo oculars, and it is an infinite zoom. 10X to at least 40X. Perfect for coins. Perfect back up. Report this Post to the Staff
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