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 Replies: 12 / Views: 2,790 |
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Valued Member
Canada
72 Posts |
I'm very new to photographing my coins and my first attempts are not stellar. So far, I've just been using my phone (Samsung, I dunno how many MPs) and a desk lamp; poor focus and image quality. I also have a decent Fujifilm mirrorless camera but that doesn't seem to focus well for my coins. So what are other people using to take pictures of their coins? How are they positioning the lighting? Any advice on how one might take photos of small die cracks etc. through magnifiers?
Thanks in advance!
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
9163 Posts |
There is a thread about '$400 for a set up' which will tell you a lot.
Also a thread on taking pics with a cell phone.
Do a search for these,
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
I use a mobile device (phone, tablet) and position the light so it is facing the coin from the opposite side from where I am taking the picture.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2784 Posts |
gg_cu welcome to the forum. would you like some help on how. to use your full frame camera. if you do list your lens and your camera. I will help and there is a couple more full frame coin photographers. I use a DSLR for some but I really like my full frame camera. here is a quick photo I did for a friend. as you can see. I never removed the coin from its roll. this photo was taken with a full frame camera.  |
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Valued Member
 Canada
72 Posts |
Hi Rocky! I use a Fuji X100F, 24MP with a 23mm prime lens. As far as I know macro isn't its forte.
Thanks!
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2784 Posts |
gg_cu wow you got some camera. that viewing screen if what I am reading wow. give me some time. I am hoping AK comes on here. we will hopefully get you going. you have quit the camera there.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1375 Posts |
I don't have that camera, so I only know what I can read about it, but it doesn't appear to have a macro setting and it does appear to have a fixed lens. If I'm right about these two things, using this camera for macro photography doesn't look promising to me.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2784 Posts |
gg_cu ok your camera has a macro s setting. you have to keep the camera 3foot 9 inches from the coin. your camera has fine focus setting. how you would do your fine focus setting. your rear viewer has a special magnifier from 2.5 all the way to 6 times magnification. this is where you will fine tune your focus.
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Valued Member
Canada
72 Posts |
Alright I try that, I have some stuff I want to photograph over the weekend so I'll take your advice and see how it goes. Thanks!
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4038 Posts |
The only hope you have with the fixed focal 23mm lens is to do lens "stacking", but even then it will be hard to get to high magnification since the fixed lens has such short focal length. There are a few short lenses available to stack with. There are 28mm lenses that will get you 23/28=0.8x; 35mm lenses that will get you 0.66x; and 50mm lenses that will get you 23/50=0.46x. It is the latter that I'd recommend starting with. A good one that will be cheap and easy to get in order to prove the concept is the Nikon 50mm f/4 EL-Nikkor. This lens should be set to f5.6. Mount it in forward orientation (tape it in place if you have to) and then you should set your camera to its infinite focus setting (mountains). Move the camera to ~4 inches or so from the coin, and then move it manually up or down to focus it. You can try using the auto focusing in the camera but I expect manually moving will give you better quality. With this method you can probably do very well, and it won't cost you much. Here are some examples of the lens to get: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-50mm...AOSwFmxaVQSehttps://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-EL-N...AOSw7p5aWRUvhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/NIKON-EL-N...AOSwVLRaXpATAgain, mount it with the threaded side facing your existing lens. Tape it in place with masking tape or duct tape or similar. Set its aperture to f/5.6 and your camera lens to infinity. I am not 100% sure how this lens will work with your camera but I think it's worth a shot for $20. |
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Valued Member
Russian Federation
172 Posts |
In fact, Nikon produced both an El-Nikkor f/4 and an El-Nikkor f/2.8. The El-Nikkor 50mm/2.8 is a 6 element, 4 group design, and the 50/4 is a student budget version - a 4 element, 3 group design. The El-Nikkor 50 mm f/2.8 is considered much better for extreme macro than the 50mm f/4, and given the availability of f/2.8 50s, don't bother with the f/4 for extreme macro photography as they are sold at similar prices so you may as well get the better one. Read more at http://extreme-macro.co.uk/el-nikkor-50mm-28n/
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Valued Member
United States
167 Posts |
http://goccf.com/t/306761#2628931I bought a setup for photographing coins from a guy who advertised here. One requrement was that I be able to photo large coins as I collect these. The setup came with an 18" stand and a 75 mm enlarger lens. This was able to photograph about 1/2 a coin so upon a freind's advice I bought a F2.8 50mm enlarger lens on ebay. Unfortunately the enlarger lens I got is bent on the outer rim. While other parts appear ok, I'll never be able to attach a filter to it's end. Is this a problem? Should I return it or keep it? It was $35 and I bought it as "used but good condition" not bent? Also even with the 50mm, my photo setup is still a bit too small for big coins.
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Valued Member
Russian Federation
172 Posts |
Gallienus, "used but good condition" means there no any bent.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 2,790 |
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Posted 01/28/2018 11:23 am
