CC Morgan Pics With My New Nikon D40x

One more:

Generally these look pretty good. I find the focus "soft" and not quite enough contrast...what lens are you using? Have you done any processing to increase contrast and sharpness, or are these untouched?

(Nice coins, by the way!)

Thanks for the comments. Except for the last pic these pics are untouched. I added a little bit of contrast to the last pic. I've played around in photoshop with more contrast but it tends to accentuate the bag marks on these coins.

Nice shots, and beautiful coins by the way!

Great pics, I don't think they are "soft" at all. I do think you just need a little more light and a hair of white balance adjustment (assuming your background is white). Nice camera!

OK, it looks like you've got the camera pretty well figured out. Nothing left to talk about there.

From my viewpoint, using a diffuser will likely increase the "washed-out" look of the coin - you lose the opportunity for contrast with diffused light because it leaves very little shadow upon which to base the contrast. If you're using CFL's, you're probably unable to get them perpendicular enough to the coin. Especially with lustrous silver, I'm a fan of direct lighting to create the necessary contrast for what I think is a "good" coin picture.



Remember, though - it's about what works for you, not for me. I shoot pics like the one above because I like them, not because anybody else thinks they're "good" pics. If the details are clear, and you're getting a fair representation of luster, then the result is satisfactory.

I use two small MR16 spots for lighting, totaling 100w. I can get them close enough to the lens to touch the barrel, and they're so small that I can get pretty much directly above the coin. Note my sophisticated lighting rig:



I've since gone to a copystand for the camera instead of a tripod, but the lighting setup isn't changed.