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 Replies: 6 / Views: 2,071 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
891 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
Hmmm...what is a "fox close up lens"? If it's a "macro" lens that screws onto the filter mount of the current lens, those usually have their limitations. One limitation is less consistent sharpness across the lens field (edge to edge of sensor), another would be problems with chromatic aberration (color fringing on edges). I see a little of both in your pictures. You'll get the best possible images with a macro lens designed by the maker of your camera. --Just my take after doing years of macro photography with various lens setups. Despite the limitations of your gear, I like the shots.
Btw: you might possibly sharpen the edges by shooting at a smaller aperture (f-stop). The will confine imaging to the central part of the lens which has the best color and sharpness. I find that F-11 is a good number.
Edited by KurtS
03/14/2008 04:29 am
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Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
Hey Southern Yankee, I think your pics are pretty darn good! I'm just getting started with coin photography, there's a quite a few people that will help you out here. What kind of lighting are you using?
Edited by mr merc
03/13/2008 11:42 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
I would agree with both Kurt and Mr. Merc. The pics are good; I see you shot at f/7.1 (from the EXIF data). If you go to F/9 or f/11 you may see some improvement in edge sharpness because of increased DOF. I would bet big money that the Canon lens (I can't remember the number) would yield better results than the Fox. With optics you nearly always get what you pay for. Or at least, if it's cheap, it is usually limited.
Still...your pics are more than good enough to show the quality of the coin. Congratulations.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
891 Posts |
Thanks everyone. The lens came in a set of +1, +2, +4 and +10 macro. And yes they screw onto the filter mount. Got these on the cheap for 20 bucks. I think I have seen them for about 40 can't really remember. Been awhile. I would call them generic lenses. Actually not that bad for what they are. I was suspecting the lens quality was not as good as the one made for it. Pretty much the consensus here. f8 is the limit of the camera. I have shot at that and it helps a little but still have the same issue. So I will be getting the new lens and then take it from there. This is a picture of my setup. Nothing fancy but works for me. I use 3 Ott work lights I think they call them. I have tried all different types of lights and can get almost the same results with each. But for simplicity these better suit me. Thanks for all your help.  |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Great pics, Yankee. The softness at the edge is very likely due to the add-on lenses. As Hunter said, with optics you get what you pay for. Honestly, that weakness doesn't take away from the subjective quality of the images; I'd call that a pretty well-spent $20.  A point to be noted: Depth of field is inversely proportional to format size. For instance, the S2, with its' 1/2.5" sensor (5.7x4.28mm) will show the same depth of field at f/5.6 as my 350D (22.2x14.8mm sensor) would at f/12. Those numbers are completely pulled from my nether regions, and are therefore probably not accurate, but the point is that an S2 IS will achieve enough depth of field to shoot a coin at a much wider aperture than my 350D. So, for the nickel, Yankee could probably widen the aperture to f/5.6, and get a brighter image for a given exposure while retaining sharp focus. I own an S2 IS; it was the camera I used to shoot coins before buying the 350D. At f/8, I could easily shoot tilted coins and keep the whole image sharply focused. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
891 Posts |
Thanks Dave
I can't complain about the lenses they served my purpose but it's time to upgrade.
I am very happy with the S2. I use it for all my outdoor picture taking. Takes some great photos. If I can get rid of the weakness I will be more than happy with this camera for my coin photos. Just have to do some reading on the lenses available for this camera. Not quite sure which one I need.
I will have to shoot some with a wider aperture I could use the brightness. The Ott lights are nice but they are not the brightest. With a nicer lens I think I should be able to do that and not have the weakness. Hoping anyway.
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Replies: 6 / Views: 2,071 |
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Posted 03/13/2008 10:37 pm
I'm shooting a S2IS with a fox close up lens. Couldn't pass them up for the price. I wonder if the lens is causing the weakness around the rim area. Does anyone know if the lens from canon is crisper or is this the limit of the camera? Will have to look into that. But anyways let me know what you think good or bad. Thanks for looking.
