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 Replies: 7 / Views: 2,942 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
549 Posts |
I'm in the process of trying to photograph a lot toned coins with sharp colors. My camera is a SONY Cyber-shot DSC-W7 (7.2 megapixels). I know it's not the best camera to be using for coin photography, but it's all I have.
I can take fairly decent coin photos in macro mode of "normal" coins. I'm having a lot of trouble with these toned coins though. If I photograph one coin at a time, I can somewhat capture the correct look of the coin. However, I need to be able to take a "group shots" of no less than 4 coins. No matter what I try (flash, no flash, white background, colored background, direct light, indirect light, etc.) I just can't seem to get the coloring in these coins to photograph correctly. They all come out looking dull and unimpressive.
Any pointers from the pros? (I am NOT a pro, so it can't be too elaborate). Thanks!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2600 Posts |
Gobbi, Superdave has created some amazing results taking photos of coins and has posted many threads here on the subject. Look thru the photo section or PM directly and he could give you the titles. He is very helpful and I am sure would have ideas for you.
Jim
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
549 Posts |
Thanks Jim. I had done a quick search before I posted and the only recommendations I really saw were testing out different lighting and white balance/macro settings on the camera(which I had already tried), plus some elaborate setup recommendations involving plastic milk containers, tripod, and filters. I thought maybe somebody might have a quick and easy solution. As it turns out, I had been overlooking the most basic solution all along. I never really paid much attention to the "special scene" selections on my camera's mode dial. I noticed one this morning which had a picture of a snowman on it. I thought it was worth a shot, since snow is shimmery and similar to the effect I wanted to capture from the toned coins. I took 3 quick shots in this mode (with normal incandescent indoor lighting, macro, and no flash). The photos came out pretty darn good...not exact, but close enough for ebay photos (which is why I needed decent pics). Apparently I have no need for a fancy setup or special lighting...I just needed to know how to use my camera! Edited by mahgobbi
01/12/2008 2:41 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
The people I know who really know how to do toned coins almost exclusively use axial lighting; it's been my experience that shooting toning with direct lighting never quite captures the best effect. You end up with some of it lit nicely, and the rest not at all:  Like you say, mahgobbi, it's good enough for an ebay auction, but still not faithful to the actual color. Check this sub-forum for discussion about axial lighting - that's a process I've yet to study. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
549 Posts |
Wow, the toning on that coin is beautiful!! I wasn't clear in my other posts, but the toning I'm trying to capture is NOTHING like what you posted and nothing of any real value. I started collecting only about a month ago, but between a "good" bag of 5,000 wheats and a 5,000 coin collection that I picked up this past week, I've come up with a lot of Lincoln cents that show some toning in pink, purple, blue, etc. My kids and I would pick out all the "pretty" ones and set them aside. Some are nicer than others, but none are going to command a premium of any kind. I was going to start an album with just toned coins, since I have examples from about 60 different years (and some of those years with multiple mint marks). I ultimately decided that if I went that route I would more than likely become obsessed with filling in the books and, more importantly, obsessed with upgrading to "nicely" toned coins. I figured it would get very expensive, so I decided to just sell them on ebay in one big lot. Serious collectors will have no interest in them, but there may be some beginners or people with small kids who will think they're cool and bid on them. I might not get much of anything for them, but I'll start the bidding at $.99 and see what happens. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
This Half Dime was photographed with the onboard flash for illumination, but I'm lucky to have a dedicated macro lens that allows focus at 8" or so from the object.   |
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Valued Member
United States
374 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
Thanks, IHPO8S. I'm reasonably satisfied with the pics of the Half Dime, but there is still a ways to go to get it absolutely right. I think the focus is a bit off (not much, but some). |
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Replies: 7 / Views: 2,942 |
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Posted 01/12/2008 2:37 pm
