| Author |
 Replies: 21 / Views: 4,094 |
|
Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
|
|
|
|
Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
It's a telephoto lens attachment; it will have the opposite effect of preventing you from getting close enough to the coin to get a large image. It's made for bringing things closer which are across the street; by using it, you trade off ability to focus on objects which are relatively close to the lens (even things that are only close because of the zoom, and not actually physically close). With it, you will likely have to keep the camera so far away from the coin for it to focus that the resulting image will be even smaller. It's the opposite of a macro lens. What you're looking for is a macro extension lens. It's a different type of optic, ground differently for close focus. There's one built for your camera, and I found it cheapest at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-20071...p/B00005LEMVIt's not cheap. In addition, I'm unclear whether or not it will require an adaptor to fit your camera; if so, one is available for $15-ish. Photographic optics as a whole are not cheap; I'm guessing that the lens you linked, as cheap as it is, would give unacceptably poor results even used for the purpose it's supposed to. You've proven yourself able to pretty much reach the limits of what your current camera can give, and those limits are quite high. 900-pixel images of a Large Cent are certainly acceptable for posting and grading purposes. Have you been bitten by the bug, like I was?  |
|
New Member
United States
37 Posts |
I have a 2x teleconverter I used for my Nikon FG film camera and I was never very impressed with the pictures I got from the teleconverter. Teleconverters may have improved and they are a cheap solution for making a lens longer but most people I have talked with even if they have one are unimpressed with the results.
What camera body are you using? At the risk of hijacking the thread, I have wondered if it would be a cheap elegant solution to try using a good used Macro lens which is compatible with your camera body there is another thread about this further down. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get a nice used manual lens for not much more than the teleconverter and you really don't need all the automatic stuff for coin photography.
|
|
New Member
United States
37 Posts |
I'm would think SuperDave is right. A normal teleconverter probably won't help you with macro. If it did I doubt that you would be satisfied with the results.
|
|
New Member
United States
37 Posts |
Sorry. I see that you don't have an SLR. The manual Lens solution wouldn't work.
|
|
Valued Member
 United States
143 Posts |
|
|
Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
I truly do not believe that you really need another camera. The quality of your work right now speaks for itself. Yes, I understand the need for improving your lot with lighting, but rather than spending the cash on a brand-new camera, spend somewhat less on a macro attachment and refine your skills with the tools you have. If your needs go beyond just coin photography, consider upgrading to a Canon offering in the S3-S5 range, proven cameras with excellent inherent macro- and telephoto- capabilities. A quick ebay search indicates that there's a healthy market for used C-5000's; they're going for about the price of the Kodak. The camera you linked is new; it has nice features, but hasn't established itself in the market yet. The low price makes me wonder what compromises were made in relation to other cameras with the same capabilities....This is very much a get-what-you-pay-for field, and the price worries me. 7 megapixels on a standard-sized sensor requires sophisticated optics and software to work well at all, much less offer a noticeable improvement in quality over a 5MP. One critical lack which jumped out at me is the lack of manual white balance adjustment. Color is critical to coin photography, and possibly the hardest aspect to regulate. Manual white balance correction is imperative. |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19952 Posts |
I agree with Dave, your pics are fine, just keep what you have and experiment more with lighting.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
I just want to thank everyone for helping me along with my photography. Yes, SuperDave I think I've been bitten by the bug! I will be posting some more pics from my collection tomorrow. I found this lens set on ebay, what do you guys think? I've researched a little on bower lenses and they seem to be decent quality. http://cgi.ebay.com/Close-Up-Macro-...EW_W0QQitemZ190063783133QQihZ009QQcategoryZ30059QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem |
|
Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
quote:
I just want to thank everyone for helping me along with my photography. Yes, SuperDave I think I've been bitten by the bug! I will be posting some more pics from my collection tomorrow. I found this lens set on ebay, what do you guys think? I've researched a little on bower lenses and they seem to be decent quality.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Close-Up-Macro-...cmdZViewItem
I was unable to find anything bad about Bower, either. All the same, I'm stuck in the "you get what you pay for" frame of mind. It may be that the optical tradeoffs such a cheap price demand won't interfere with your particular type of photography. It's not a real big monetary risk. If it were me, chances are I'd risk it. |
|
Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
Well I went ahead and got the lenses. I figured for the money it wasn't too bad a risk. I'll post some pics when I get them. I've got this coin up on the practice grading forum.  |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19952 Posts |
White balance seems to be off a bit...note the bluish tint...bring more light.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
BadThad, I believe you're right. I'm going to get more or better lighting to the coin.
Thanks!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
If white balance is off, you don't need more light, but you do need to adjust the camera for the temperature of the bulb you are using. Either that or change light sources to match the white balance as it's set on your camera. Your pics look pretty good aside from white balance. With just a bit more tweaking of your system, you'll have some excellent photos to share.
|
|
Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
It seems like the Merc was shot under tungsten (incandescent) light with the white balance set to either Cloudy or Sunny; that usually gives the bluish cast to the resulting pic.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
Yes Dave, the shot was under 2 40 watt GE high intensity tungsten bulbs. I set the white balance to one touch white balance. For one touch white balance you set up your camera for the shot, lights on, and then go to your white balance menu for one touch white balance, click OK and the white balance should be correct. There's also a manual white balance adjustment that I will try next WB+/-. What's the overall concensus of types of lighting used for coin photos?
|
| |
Replies: 21 / Views: 4,094 |
Posted 03/08/2008 7:25 pm
