Depth Of Focus

I'm new to photography myself, and probably not the best to answer this question, but I'm writing anyways because I'm curious about this, and want to see if I'm anywhere close to the mark.

From my own experimentation and from what I've read, generally, you want to take your shots directly above the coin, and not at an angle, because you'll get distortion of the image (however slight) because of the angles. Some even suggest using a level both for the platform the coin is set on and the camera, to ensure it's perfectly perpendicular. That's not really what you asked about, but I'm throwing it out as a note.

My understanding is that the only real way to increase depth of field (the range that comprises the closest distance in focus to the farthest distance in focus) is by reducing the aperture (higher f-stop number, e.g. go from 4.5 to 5.6). Others on this forum have actually suggested that I use f/8, which can be a nice sweet spot for aperture.

In macro photography, the depth of field can be very very narrow at wide-open aperture levels. So much so that the distance from the lense to the high points of the coin is in focus, but the field of the coin isn't, or visa versa (which is another reason why a perfectly perpendicular camera angle tends to get better results). So it may be that even taking steps to increase depth of field will not give enough of an increase.

Still, reducing the aperture size (higher f-stop) increases DoF. Also, higher f-stops tend to be "sharper" as a general rule anyways (which is also why people squint when they can't see something, I assume?).

Of course, the trade off is that with a smaller aperture / higher f-stop, less light is allowed to come into the camera, which impacts your exposure. You either need more lighting, or longer exposure time, or higher ISO, or combinations of all three to get the same exposure with higher f-stops.

However, higher ISO tends to be "grainy" (for film) or "noisy" (for digital) because it's too sensitive to light for accurate rendition. For excellent images, try to keep ISO down as much as possible.

Lighting can be controlled, but more light isn't always better; too much light will be "harsh" (washing out details because of no contrast and zero shadows). So this may or may not compensate, depending on the scenario.

Of course, the other solution is longer shutter times (using a tripod or copy stand with either a shutter release or timer).

Anyways, that probably doesn't help much, and your camera may not even allow you to manipulate f-stops and the like, but I'm writing this more for my own education and in hopes that some photo-veteran will see it and offer corrections if I'm mistaken in any of this, as well as some better help for you.

quote:

---

I am having trouble getting any depth when zooming. I have an 8 megapixel Kodak with a macro setting. I use a 10X loupe over the lens for getting real close

---

Sounds like serious overkill to me. I have a 4MP Olympus and can fool some people that I used a microscope. With 8MP you shouldn't need a loupe. Also you shouldn't need to zoom at all with the macro setting on, in fact a lot of cameras disable the zoom in macro mode for this reason. You should be able to get an inch or less from the coin in macro mode.

Ditch the loupe and the zoom, move closer, and I'd bet your depth issues go away and you still get photos that will rival any entry to mid level microscope.

Straight on photo's can be done like was mentioned ,,but If I'm understanding what you doing is trying to get the camera to see what you see on the coin .

The best advice I can give for phot's that are not straight onto the coin is focus in the middle of what you want to show ,, not top not bottom but in between .

Most of the time to do this I have to hand hold my camera ,, I can't get the angle and the distance right on a tripod ,,and then lighting adjustment have to be made to shade the area to reveal what you can see with your loupe and eye .

That "pretty flower" is Macro mode!

perhaps I should explore this forum more ! Been having problems taking pics of my coins for the first time .........don't know what I'm doing.
And once I can take a good clear pic of a coin.........not sure yet if I know how to post it here on the forum.
I've got my xd pic card now with some pics on it........ but my computer isn't recognizing it when I "plug it in". .......... So now I'm stuck again

I know when I plug my camera into my PC I just use the supplied USB cable. I have a memory card in my camera, but I don't actually pull the card out to download anything. I plug in the cable between the two and it automatically comes up after a few seconds and asks me what I want to do. If you are using a card reader, I would imagine you just need to find the drive it is using like metalman said. You may have to access windows explorer for it to show up.

Eaglefoot, Windows should recognize it as soon as you plug it in and then turn on the camera. If not, the first thing to do is verify that USB port is working. Just plug a mouse or something into it to check. Exactly what camera is it? You do have to set the camera to PLAY after you turn it on. Always make sure the camera is OFF before you plug it in!

Hummm....what camera do you have? It should come back into focus when you depress the shutter half-way. My lens distance is from 1" to 6" away. I like to be as far away as possible to let all my lights do their work.