It actually looks pretty good, but the color is a little dark. There is a shadow, (possibly your camera) or something else over some areas of the coin. For my photos, I use two halogen lamps, the necks bend so I can get the lighting just right. There are many different types of lights that can be used. The detail is pretty darn sharp, I assume you are using the Macro focus feature on your camera. Also check your white balance, and adjust it accordingly. None of us know what your coin looks like in hand, so we can't say if it is spot on, but we can critique the photo itself.
Frist thing....crop your pictures. You're wasting space with the black. Second thing, use a WHITE background and calibrate your cameras white balance to the background.
For your first attempt I think those are some really really good photos. You will definately get better them more you practice but for your first attempt, Well Done!!!
I did use the macro setting, and you have to get my camera very close to the coin. I just held a maglight at the space between the coin and camera. I know you need light, I was thinking about a light ring for the camera. It is a Cannon Powershot that my Daughter gave me. I will have read up on the white balance. What does that do, and do any of you guys use the light rings??
Only things I see are - crop the pictures and get a couple of lights. I have not used the ring lights. I have two 40 wt GE reveal lights. My pictures are not great, but they are sufficient for me. Getting ready to post a couple of IHC upgrades. I find with copper sometimes dark backgrounds work best for me.
Does your Canon have a fixed lens with zoom capability? If so, check your settings to see if there is a "Super Macro" option. With zoom and super macro, you can place the camera further from the subject to allow more light to hit it. Chris
Not a bad first attempt. :thumb: The lighting seems a little uneven, creating some darker areas on some parts of the coin and lighter areas on other areas. Keep on shooting and experimenting with the tools you have at hand, every coin seems to have it's unique characteristics that requires special attention when imaging them. Below is a list of Numismatic Photography threads from recent-past CT discussions that I've saved and post on occasion when I see members starting out in coin imaging. Have a look through some of these, you might find some useful tips and techniques: Numismatography Book Review – Numismatic Photography by Mark GoodmanGreat Coin Photos! How do you take them? Photoshop your pictures to make professional looking images Diffused Lighting Coin Photography (Capture the Color) How Best To Photogragh Coins Axial Lighting System ... Or Not Axial Lighting (continued) Lighting direction when photographing ancient coins Scanning coins Trying to get better pictures... Cheap Coin Photography
I have a couple Canons but I prefer my SD700IS for coins. What model do you have? One stupid thing Canon did is remove the ability to zoom while in macro mode. My old 770 zooms up to 4x while in macro mode whereas my SD880IS will not permit zooming in macro mode. DUMB! Optical zoom is a powerful tool in coin photograpy because it lets me get more light to the coin by holding the camera further away. I typically use a zoom between 2.2 and 3.4x. It also lets me take very close pictures of surface features like die cracks and doubled device areas. If your camera allows it, use zoom and camera distance to fill the frame...this will reduce or eliminate cropping. White balance adjusts the camera so your colors are more accurate, i.e. white is truly white. I really dislike anything but a white background for coins. A lot of people here recommend black, yea, it looks "sexy", but it makes it IMPOSSIBLE for me to guage their white balance. When white balance is off, all of the coins colors are off too.
I'm using the Canon Powershot A590 and it's very frustrating to have a camera advertised as having optical zoom and then finding out it doesn't work in macro for distances under 12 inches.
Yes it does, but like someone said, you can't zoom and use the feature. I have to get the coin about half an inch from the coin. I am sure that I need to try another camera that will let me stay away from the coin, and have zoom capabilities, and still use the macro setting. It is almost impossibe to get light on the coin as close as I have to be. My daughter has a couple other cameras, and I will get another one from her. She had one over here the other day that had 3 lenses. One of them was about 8 inches long?? I don't know what kind of camera it was, but it sure looked like an expencive one. I will keep trying until I get it right!!!
I forgot to mention one trick the might work on your camera. With my SD880IS I can zoom in normal picture mode, then switch to macro mode and the zoom stays set. I can't adjust it while in macro mode, but at least I can use it at a fixed setting. Give it a try.
Too bad about that, I was more interested in the '67 RS the OP had for his avatar. That looks like a sweet ride.
