Reviews Of Digital Cameras

Listed below are those whom I consider to be the two major players in the camera-review business. Their reviews, in addition to the information Fred linked, is useful in that they compare the reviewed camera with its' direct competition, and they do macro evaluations.

http://www.dpreview.com/

http://www.steves-digicams.com/default.htm

My setup is pretty simple and works pretty well. I use a Nikkon D50 with the standard 50mm lens and a 10x macro lens attachment. Of course you will need to have a tripod to stabilize, a remote shutter release, and a reliable light source. The magnifying attachment, tripod, and remote can be purchased at any camera shop for under $100.00 total. The lamps I use are just typical desk lamps with adjustable necks.

I have also found that some cameo proof coins some times photograph best in black and white. The cameo appearance really stands out especially if you increase the contrast and decrease the brightness when editing.

Collector 57, I just read your post, and have a question for you: Does your camera have remote shutter control? I have the A590 IS, and this feature is NOT supported. I am currently looking around for another camera, (Canon if possible, so as to use the power kit that I got for it). I saw the Canon SX120 S, and like the features, but no nfo re this particular point, the "remote shutter control". That is not an option! Most of the info in this thread is dated, and when I saw the date of your post, I thought I would ask. Any info will be very much appreciated,
Diock

Here is a neat trick that I just put together. I think it works very well;
I tried to use a full sized tripod to photograph my coins with very little luck. I also got tired of trying to use a desktop tripod. They are clumsy to work with in my opinion. I wanted something that would be more adjustable. I have a desk lamp and a lighted magnifying lens on an adjustable arm. I have unlimited adjustment capability when I use them. I decided that there was no reason that I couldn't have one for my camera, so I started looking. I don't think they exist, so I bought another light fixture at a thrift store ($2.00) and modified it to hold my camera. It wasn't hard, I found the bolt and plumber's strap (we used to use that stuff to make whistles when I was a kid) in my garage. The arm is stable enough that it holds the camera without drooping or loosing it's position. I also use the 2 second delay so the camera doesn't move while the shutter is open. I made it yesterday, but I have used it to photograph several coins with very good results.




It may look Jerry rigged, but then again, my name is Jerry!

benchede,

When I first started out in the coin photography aspect of coin collecting several years ago I was really frustrated by the cost of a decent digital camera that was capable of taking those required close-up and detailed photos of doubling and errors.

Therefore, I reasoned that whatever invention costs big bucks in its final marketed state usually had to begin in a similar but much less costly prototypical stage etc.

So I decided to play around with adding on various types of external lens mountings to the outside aperture/opening of my existing used digital camera lens.

I subsequently found out through much experimentation that certain types of externally-mounted lens produced tremendous up-close and detailed digital photos of my coins when attached to my camera.

The contraption I ended up using about five years ago was a $ 20 used digital Canon camera just having wide and zoom capabilities.

And to the end of this camera's external lens opening I stuck on (with double sided tape) a $ 10 twenty x(power)jeweler loupe lens.

Apparently, the coupling of the digital camera's internal lens with the loupe lens creates a focal length capable of producing very close-up and clear photos of any coin's area in question.

This band-aid solution is indeed a way to cheap out but it really helped me out tremendously during a stage in my life when I could not afford anything else.

The only drawback to this method is that the field of view for close-up shots seems to be limited to slightly over the diameter of a nickel which was sufficient for 80% of the coins I worked with at that time.

If anyone has experience with this type of improvised device w/r/t to economically increasing the limited field of vision, I am sure it would assist any interested party.

fyi,
mdpmedia