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 Replies: 32 / Views: 8,718 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2815 Posts |
A new phase of coin photography has begun for me. For the past month I have been in talks with Ray (rmpsrpms) about purchasing one of his systems. In the end, we decided that System-3 would be ideal for my purposes. It is a very compact system that doesn't take up a lot of room either- a real plus! It measures just 6" x 9" x 18" high, including the camera. The star of this system is the 75mm Apo Rodagon D 1:1 duplication lens, which many coin photogs rave about. Here are a couple of pictures of my new setup, along with the link to this system on Ray's website. http://www.macrocoins.com/example-system-3.html    Ray also suggested adding a lens-mounted diffuser and transfer disk to the system, which I gladly did. All in all, the total system + shipping was $639. Having this new system will open up new areas of numismatics for me since I'll be able to take high quality images of coins of all sizes, from dimes to silver eagles. I'll also be able to take nice, in-focus close-up shots of smaller/finer details like mint marks, die cracks, VAM anomalies, etc. I also created new background templates for raw coins as well as those in TPG holders. Here are a few examples of re-shoots that I have done so far.      Moonlight Mint....   Hobo Coins.....
   A big shout-out to Ray Parkhurst, who was a tremendous help to me during this process. His expertise in this field in second to none, and he offered it willingly AND enthusiastically, I might add. Thank you, my friend! I finally have what I've wanted for a long time!  Edited by Darth Morgan
02/25/2019 1:46 pm
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
His Copyright is from 2015,wonder if he knows. Site loads slow and no prices? John1  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
10625 Posts |
Congrats Darth! That is a great system that Ray puts together. Mine is very similar to this one with the exception of the lens. That Rodagon D lens is my dream lens.... And excellent images!! btw, which Canon body is that? |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2815 Posts |
Thanks, Dave. It's a Rebel T6 body. It's nice to finally and fully utilize this camera.  John1- I think the reason his site doesn't list prices is because his systems are so customizable. For instance, my system is actually a modified system 3 with attached lens diffuser. He states on each system page to contact him regarding work to customize a system based on your need. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
9156 Posts |
Congrats Darth and yes Ray is good at what he does I got mine from him 3-4 years ago and really like it.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9395 Posts |
Looks like a great coin photo setup, and you're getting really good results with it.
Your 75mm APO Rodagon D 1x looks a lot fancier than mine, which is all plasticy.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1298 Posts |
Great looking photos Darth. Thanks for sharing. Ham
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5663 Posts |
Congrats, fantastic photos! Very classy background templates as well.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2815 Posts |
Thanks, guys! I'm really happy with it. I find myself looking at all kinds of different coins to buy now since I can now take full, hi-res images for studying. As I said, it's opened up a whole new world of collecting for me.
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Moderator
United States
187851 Posts |
Fantastic setup and some excellent examples! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3323 Posts |
Your photos are great. I've been considering a camera stand like this for some time, but the prices always put me off. I found some old microscopes for sale on surplus, but they wanted me to buy all 40, so no...
I'm just using a small tripod and the stock lens that came with my 6. I am sure that the lens setup you have would vastly improve my shots. I'll look for something like it. Thanks for sharing.
"Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae
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Valued Member
United States
175 Posts |
Nice setup Darth. I've had my System 3 that Ray built for a few months and I'm still getting use to the software and lighting and overall I'm very pleased with it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2815 Posts |
Quote:
Nice setup Darth. I've had my System 3 that Ray built for a few months and I'm still getting use to the software and lighting and overall I'm very pleased with it. Yes, indeed. Another advantage of this system is the ability to composite a glamour shot of a slabbed coin. Look at this 2017-S EU Kennedy half dollar graded SP70 by PCGS. This image was originally taken with my iPhone. The slab itself looks great, but the coin suffers from harsh noise. It's not the coin's fault. This is just how the iPhone camera sees it with that setup.  However, I now have the ability to take close-up shots of the obverse and reverse and insert them into the original slab image for a much improved image. close-ups:   After application to original image:  I've done this before with graded coins in my collection where a TrueView image was available (i.e. Gold Shield holders), but I'm stoked about being able to do this now with ANY coin in a holder. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
9156 Posts |
Very nice pics, what soft ware are you using?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10034 Posts |
Wow Darth! Great pics. An' akin to professional work in my opinion!
How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halveshttps://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2815 Posts |
Quote:
Very nice pics, what soft ware are you using? I use Adobe Photoshop CS5, and I love it. I've used it for several years now without the need to upgrade. Here's another example showing a direct, side-by-side comparison of a slab image:  Quote:
Wow Darth! Great pics. An' akin to professional work in my opinion! Thanks! |
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Replies: 32 / Views: 8,718 |
Posted 02/25/2019 1:42 pm
