Photographing coins

[Gaillo]

Anyone have tips on photographing coins? I use a Canon A1100IS digital camera for most of my photographing, if that matters for tips, techniques, etc.

I've tried a few coin photos using macro mode, and having the flash turned off seems to do better than with it on.

[1970 Silver Art]

The digital camera that I have is a Polaroid T1031. Nothing special about it. It gets the job done. I use a mini tripod to keep the camera placed in the position that I want. I sometimes use a plastic coin holder to place the coin in a certain way that I prefer.

When I take photos of my art bars, I also use the macro function and I turn the flash off. I take a majority of my art bar pics outside because most of the time, I can get the "true look" of silver art bar. I use certain "dark" backgrounds to make the silver bar stand out. I plan to eventually buy some equipment to take some silver art bar pics inside.

BTW: I end up messing up several times before I get it right but there is nothing wrong with that.

If you are taking pictures of silver coins or bars (outside or inside pics), then you might want to position the coin or bar to where the "shine" of the coin will not "blur" the details of the silver coin or bar.

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a photography expert and I do not play one on TV. I also do not play one on the Internet. ;D

BTW I am still learning more about taking pictures myself. It is a continuous learning process for me.

[Saul Mine]

Since coins are small and won't sit on edge you have to lay them flat and point the camera down. So you need a sturdy support. I use an enlarger stand, as do most of the coin shooters I researched. The best enlarger is a Besseler, selling for about $100 on Ebay, and $50 to $100 for shipping. I didn't get a Besseler and I wish I had.

Some people use bare light bulbs and some use color balanced lamps. The biggest problem is how to mount the lamps to get enough light on the coin without shining into the lens. I wasted some money and effort and finally decided to do all my shooting outside. Find some open shade, which means you can see the sky but not the sun, and that is the best cheapest light you can get. But you have to work outside. If you want to work inside you are on your own. TIP: Good lights are $20 on Ebay so don't bother with anything else, except maybe the bare bulb method. One site suggested halogen lights. You'll have a hard time finding lamps that don't cast annoying shadows, and they cost $25 or more to learn that. Get something made for the purpose. It may seem expensive, but it's not as expensive as buying stuff you can't use.

I use a Kodak DX7440 which costs about $40 to $70 on Ebay. It's wonderful. You could spend a lot of money trying to find something equally good. You'll need the macro lens set, $20, and maybe a tripod. Your tripod will cost more than the camera, but you can wait until you really need one before you get it. A cheap tripod is hardly worth carrying out of the store, so don't waste your money trying to be cheap.

Here is the site that pointed me to the DX7440. (http://raydobbins.com/photosetup.htm)
You can search for "coin photography" and find all the tips you need.

[Gaillo]

One other thing I forgot to mention in my original post...
I've found that when taking coin photos using a tripod, if I use the "timer" function, the photos come out crisp and clear, without any "shake" artifacts.

[1970 Silver Art]

One other thing I forgot to mention in my original post...
I've found that when taking coin photos using a tripod, if I use the "timer" function, the photos come out crisp and clear, without any "shake" artifacts.


That is very interesting to know because I have never used the timer function on my camera. For me, using a tripod eliminates the "shake" artifacts and using a tripod works really well for me. I do not have a regular size tripod. I have a mini-tripod that I use and that works really well for me because I can adjust it to almost any angle to get the picture that I want. I bought the mini-tripod from WalMart (cost = about $6) and so far it has worked very well for me.

[madfranks]

I know a decent amount about photography, I took a photo class in college and to this day use photography in my professional career.

Consider the background color of what's behind your coins. If you photograph a gold coin against a black background versus a white background, the coins will look very different.

Your nicest pictures will be with the coin flat and the camera directly above it, so you get the full face of the coin, not slanted. But the shadow of the camera may interfere with the coin so you need to make sure your light source can still reach the coins. A camera flash IMO is too harsh on the highly reflective surface of a coin and you'll risk getting too much glare on the face of your coin.

Personally I think natural daylight is the best for coins, daylight offers full color rendition so every color is distinct and clear. Incandescent interior lighting does not offer full color rendition, so your gold coins will look dull if lighted under incandescents. Fluorescents offer better color rendition, but still not perfect.

If you're photographing a coin for sale, make sure to get pictures of the rim. Many numismatic collectors want to see what the rim looks like. Rims are easy to damage and if you have an ex-jewelery piece, there might be some solder or clasp damage on the rim that you should make sure to document.

[madfranks]

One other thing I forgot to mention in my original post...
I've found that when taking coin photos using a tripod, if I use the "timer" function, the photos come out crisp and clear, without any "shake" artifacts.


"Shake" artifacts are from a too-long exposure setting on the camera. If the light is low, an automatic camera will compensate with a longer exposure time to get the necessary amount of light, and any unsteadiness in your hand will cause the shakes to appear. Three ways you can solve this. One, get into an area with brighter light, make sure your coin is bright and well lit. Two, secure the camera to a tripod to avoid the unsteady hand completely. Three, if you have a manual camera, set the exposure time manually to a very short exposure, and the camera should compensate by opening the aperture wider to allow more light in quicker.

[gunDriller]

i had a Nikon Coolpix 990 that i bought in 2000 for about $1000.

it was lower resolution (2048 x 1536) but it took great pix.

it eventually began behaving like Wall-D (mind of its own) so i recently got a Nikon Coolpix 880. much higher resolution, but ... it was so much easier to take pix with the older camera.

maybe i should read the instructions.

the only way i can get good pix now is to take pix at different times on different days, depending on the cooperativeness of the camera. LOTS of pix. then some will turn out OK.

[TomD]

I know a little about it, the trick is in the lighting.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2722/4515775949_7981691e4d_o.jpg

[1970 Silver Art]

I know a little about it, I'm TomD.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2722/4515775949_b10ff77430_b.jpg


Awesome photo Tom! Thanks for sharing. Only the best....... :)

Welcome to Gold-Silver.US. :)

[TPTB]

:D.....

[Twisted Titan]

What is on the front of that Coin Tom???

[TomD]

Sorry TA, haven't been around in a while--

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/4516412052_ef90c923cb_b.jpg

[Anothercoilgun]

-Always be steady as in use of a tripod or locked down some way.
-No flash.
-Keep the camera out of the reflection.
-Turn off auto focus. You may use auto focus but once its locked in turn it off and let it stay.
-Focus before a shine is produced. Light glare keeps auto focus from reaching optimum setting.
-Use as much natural lights as possible. Increasing the brightness with software produces a haze. Control of lighting is the true art and that is a whole sub forum in its own right.

You should be good to go!

[Festina Lente]

I know a little about it, the trick is in the lighting.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2722/4515775949_7981691e4d_o.jpg


My gosh, that coin is beautiful. Why can't the US mint demand such standards?

Excellent photography as well. 1+

[SLV^GLD]

What happened to V2.3/TomD? Did we lose this member or just gain him?

On topic, my camera (Sony A650) will make an entirely different color balance depending on whether or not the flash is used regardless of whether or not the flash is present. In other words, if I enable flash but mask it with electrical tape or similar so that no light escapes I will get an entirely different balance than if the flash were disabled for the same picture setting.

Can anyone explain this?

FWIW, pictures are much better with flash enabled and I have used electrical tape to block the flash so that I can get the better picture. Additionally, I will get a better picture with flash enabled even outdoors in full sun where even an unimpeded flash is entirely irrelevant to the lighting of the subject.

[TomD]

"What happened to V2.3/TomD? Did we lose this member or just gain him?" Neither

There is a concept called color temperature, white balance is another name. Books can be written on it so I'm not going to get it across in a few paragraphs. Basically if your camera thinks it is shooting under daylight (5500 degrees K or Kelvin) but you are really shooting under tungsten light (2700 K), you shots will come out all orange. If you google white balance and then read your camera's manual on the same subject, you will have a much better idea on how to control it.

When you raise your flash, you set your cameras white balance to the color temp of your flash. You can do the same thing just by going to your menu and setting WB manually. All of my coin shots are taken under daylight (5500K) bulbs. I'll sometimes add a single tungsten light to introduce some gold colored light to spice it up some. Example below.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x229/TomD77/baldeagleobv2.jpg

[KumbayaMan]

"What happened to V2.3/TomD? Did we lose this member or just gain him?" Neither

good to see you Tom... As always, great pics ;D

[SLV^GLD]

I have an understanding of what temp/white balance is but I had never made the connection to the fact that my camera would be adjusting that setting based on the flash state. This makes perfect sense. I will work on manually adjusting the WB to see if I can get the desired color balance without the washout of flash. Thanks for that excellent pointer.