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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,705 |
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Valued Member
United States
374 Posts |
I've tried following some of advise I have read. This is a practice on some pocket change. I'm using two lights, a tripod and a dSLR with a 100mm Macro lens. No flash. Then I put it in photo shop. Any tips would be appreciated. Please be kind.  |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Do you know how to extract the Exif data from the image? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excha..._file_formatI'd like to know what your camera settings (aperture, ISO, exposure, etc.) were before offering any concrete suggestions. It's a nice image to start. |
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Valued Member
 United States
374 Posts |
Dave, I know what you mean, let me try to get the info
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Valued Member
United States
374 Posts |
hows this for the info:  |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Nice.
Too little lighting. You should be able to get that exposure at ISO200 (400 max) and an aperture of f/8 (where I'd recommend you use the 100mm Macro). I also wonder if you're using the camera's maximum quality setting; 1.2MB seems a bit small for a filesize. Check that, and try to get 2 lights, at 10 and 2 & as close to vertical over the coin as possible. You have an *excellent* rig, and it's capable of results as good as anyone's getting.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4038 Posts |
Good starting pic! I see two separate but unequal luster bars. One is bright white from a light at 11:00 while the other is faint and sort of reddish from a light at 1:00. What's going on with your lighting? Anyway, bring the lights up at a higher angle and the coin will "pop" a bit more. Are you using Live View? If not, start using it immediately and don't look back. Are you tethered to your PC for the shot? I'd also suggest adding just a little diffusion to your lights and moving them closer to the coin to get more light on the coin, and then turning your EV to -1/3 or at most -2/3 to keep your highlights from blowing out. Compensate with gamma or "shadow" corrections. Also, don't be afraid of long exposures. Live View helps minimize vibrations in a couple of ways so lowering your ISO to max 400 as SD suggests will improve your noise levels and even though your exposure may be 1/30 or 1/15 it should still be fine as long as your setup is stable and you are shooting tethered.
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Valued Member
United States
374 Posts |
  Thanks for the tips. I tried to do as you all mentioned. I used live view and a remote to take the picture. No not tethered to the computer (how do you do that?) I could not get the ISO to come out lower. I'm not so good with the manual settings. I tried to have the lights directly overhead. Now sure why one is reddish, but thanks for noticing, as it is! Any recommendations for lights? I was just using what I had in the house. Overall I think it came out a bit clearer, but I would like to improve more. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
On the Canon D60 hit the button on the top labeled ISO then use the front wheel by the shutter button to change it lower. Use M setting on the big dial to select manual. then you can set the F ratio of the lens to F/8 and the shutter speed until you see the meter become centered. I shoot a bit lower and a bit higher as well as in the middle until I have a feeling for how the coin is looking under my lights, there is no hard and fast rule for setting the exact exposure. But F/8 the best ratio to get the entire coin in focus and still take full advantage of the lens sweet spot of performance.
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
I'm about to start my biweeky 3 days of craziness at work - I expect about 7 total hours of sleep between now and Sunday morning - so I can't offer an in-depth answer at the moment. If nobody helps out by then, I'll post a tutorial on tethered shooting with Canon.
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Valued Member
United States
374 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
374 Posts |
I think I am improving. I'm pretty happy with this level of quality.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
Very nice improving each time I can tell!
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,705 |
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Posted 08/04/2013 11:57 pm
