Lighting Help For DSLR - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 4 / Views: 1,776
cheezyfryes Valued Member United States 359 Posts	Posted 03/20/2013 11:12 am I have a Nikon DSLR (D50, yes a slightly older model) and upgraded to the Nikkor F1.8G DX prime lens last year. When I snap a picture of a coin from about one foot away and then crop the picture, I'm able to get a nice crisp image. My problem is that I'm clueless on the best way to set up good lighting! The built-in flash obviously washes everything out. No flash under our kitchen overhead lights isn't enough. Shining a flashlight from the side doesn't look so great either. I've had some success with holding the coin near a window to get indirect sunlight on the surface, but it's pretty cumbersome and has varying results. Here are a couple of examples of that setup: I need help creating a setup with indirect artificial lighting that results in uniform pictures. I'm not looking to purchase $100s worth of equipment, but hopefully there's something I can cobble together on the cheap. Thanks in advance! Report this Post to the Staff

CaptainFwiffo Pillar of the Community United States 4132 Posts	Posted 03/20/2013 11:42 am Do a search of the forum for "smile directors". That will find several threads that discuss some good lighting techniques that involve cheap Ikea lamps and some basic craft supplies. For proofs, you may also want to try a ring light (there are cheap LED ring lights ~$30 that work). Also do a search for "axial lighting". Report this Post to the Staff
srs77 Pillar of the Community United States 3180 Posts	Posted 03/20/2013 1:26 pm This is the setup I use. The link below will take you to a Smith-Victor's page on this setup. Granted it's not inexpensive but you will be able to diffuse your light or use direct lighting and be able to achieve different effects. I'm assuming you have a tripod, if you don't one is highly recommended as you'll need it to do decent macro photography. My approach is a little different than some in that I don't shoot my coins while the coins are lying flat on a table. I actually use the light tent and have created a small jig with a black board and a white acrylic bottom. I use the blaci board as a 'wall' and stand the coin up in front of it. Using the white acrylic board underneath the coin allows for some light to reflect back up on the coin. On proof coins, to get that black field with the frosty part really popping off the coin try to position your lights directly in front of the coin over the top of your tripod. Then experiment with different camera settings until you come up with the look you want. The beauty of DSLR's is no wasted film! For other coins I experiment with one and two light setups so that I can best represent the coin as the coin really is. Here's an example of one of my proof coin shots: Good Luck! http://www.markertek.com/Lighting-B...402042.xhtml Edited by srs77 03/20/2013 1:30 pm Report this Post to the Staff
DaytR Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 837 Posts	Posted 04/12/2013 2:26 pm When photographing using the pop up flash as lighting try getting into the cameras menu and looking for exposure compansation and set to -1ev then take a picture and the light from the pop up flash wont result in washed out picture .....you can try -2 if you like as well , but be aware that changing the exposure compensation will affect color saturation of you pictures so try a few settings till you get the one that suits your pictures best ....best of luck ! PS By the way the D50 is a fantstic camera ! :) When shooting using pop up flash or flashgun its flash sync speed is better than any of the latest Nikon cameras including the D4 , so a D50 like yours is worth hanging onto if you like flash photography and using faster shutter speeds ! Report this Post to the Staff
punman Pillar of the Community Canada 849 Posts	Posted 04/14/2013 01:51 am Can't help with the question but a comment about the D50. I have taken great pictures with it too. Just handed it off to my wife at Christmas and bought a Nikon 5100 and added the same 35 mm lens you have. It is a great low light lens. I have not yet taken coin pictures so I welcome your question and hope to learn. Report this Post to the Staff
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