[Ancinets] I built a camera stand (umm...yay?)

Well, after a long long time of being frustrated with my coin pictures, I have taken action.
Per the helpful instructions on Doug Smith's website, I made a nice camera-holder-thingy and took a few sample photos.



Because I measured the focus length of the camera wrong, I had to shorten the dowel length quite a bit. On to the photos!

These first four are my efforts before building the stand and using an incandescent bulb.



These next four are with the stand and cloud cover daylight.







This last shot is from just a few minutes ago using a newly purchased CREE daylight bulb.



Keep in mind that my photography and the stand are works in progress, any help or tips are appreciated. I have one specific question for Doug: for your "foam tube" used to make a deep black background, how far above/below is it compared to the dowel?

BTW, post either the hardest coin you've photographed, or the shot you're most proud of (of a coin please).

 

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A little bright but I like them!

 

Quite industrious, vlaha! With some tweaks and help from Doug I'm sure you'll be snapping beauties soon.

What camera are you using? Are you able to control the aperture, shutter speed, focus and the like? Since your black background is light/medium gray in the pictures, some camera adjustments need to be made.

 

I love the photo's it takes. That off the backround look is very cool. Well done!

 

I love the looks of the camera stand (very crafty, my young friend) ... the photos are a tad washed-out, but as the rest of the shutterbugs have already stated:

=> I'm sure after a few camera tweaks/suggestions, you'll be golden!! (great effort)

 

My foam tubes are slightly shorter than the dowel (about 1/2") but I don't see this as critical. I have discovered that the tube is really not necessary and you can accomplish the same thing with a foam shield on the side that the light comes from as long as it shadows the background. I was having trouble with the tube edge and wall away from the light showing in the photo so I tried it with just a partial shield. Understand that my photo rig is in a constant state of 'development' where I try something to make some feature better only to discover that it made something else worse. The photo below is today but may not be tomorrow. It shows the half coverage foam light shield. The scrap wood just below the coin on the side away from the lights supports a reflective strip on the other side which throws a little light on the bottom edge of the coin to enhance the 3d look. The Philip shows the effect on a thick coin. It does almost nothing on a thin one. I show all the lights on but any given photo rarely uses more than two of them. Which ones depends on the coin.



I always suggest building a junk stand to get the measurements right before putting it effort on fine woodworking. That should be obvious from the sloppy stand shown on my site. After you get everything just right, you can duplicate it in ebony if you must. Each camera will require different measurements so get your 'good' camera before you decide on something 'final'. My pages are not to be taken as instructions but as suggestions on how you can apply yourself and do better.

On my screen, your photos with the black background are a bit light. I suggest not using auto exposure but finding exposures that work using trial and error and setting them manually (unless the camera is so basic that it will not allow manual controls). I'm lazy. The camera I use for most photos is my third best and is left set up on the stand while the others are ready to take other subjects. If I want a really great shot of a really special coin I can substitute the big dog but that only helps if I want a 12x18 or larger print.



I am considering going back to my 70-200 zoom lens and freeing the 100 macro for other uses. A zoom makes the fixed stand more useful while the prime macro lens benefits from the adjustable stand I made from the old enlarger (Durst M600).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Durst-M600-...263?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51a494ec77
Of course you would want to find one with a broken lamphouse and pay 1/4 this price. Photo hobbyists often have piles of broken things saved for such purposes. I have no idea what the next change will be.

 

I'm using my brother's Nikon coolpix L28.

Who knows, nope, yes.

The idea behind the black tube is that it gives a deep black background, so camera adjustments wont be necessary on that count, I only have to create and implement the aforesaid tube.

Thanks Doug, I'll try to find/use the manual exposure.

 

I expect to see some nice pics of your latest acquisition......when it reaches you!!
Nice effort with the stand. a bit darker and some shadow and they will look great.

 

Great lookin' set up Vlaha, cute like a round of 30.06, is that a 308 Winchester on your work bench..

 

Nope, it's spent a Mosan-Nagant round.

 

It is never that easy. Auto exposure cameras try to make everything a medium gray and this works fine when the subject is made of various middle of the road tones. However when the background is tube blackened, the camera will lengthen the exposure in an attempt to bring detail where there is none. That is where you have to override it and tell it to nevermind the black and just expose for the subject. Some cameras allow you to set the exposure to be read only from the center but that has drawbacks as well so the best way is to take a picture and see whether you got what you want and repeat until you do. After a while you will learn what exposure works best because you are smarter than the program in the camera which never learns what is important in a photo and what is not. Some modern cameras are taught to look for a pattern of a face and set focus and exposure from that part.

The next step is to learn to use postprocessing software which allows you to look at the coin and the photo and change things until they match. That is easier if you get as close as possible with the original exposure.

 

Alright, after messing around with the exposure and creating my foam tube, these are what I came up with:





I'M LOVING IT!!! Thanks for the tips guys, I'm still not done, so keep 'em coming.

 

Hot diggity dog, that's looking fantastic! Bravo, vlaha!

 

Good job. At the top of the head I see a bump about where the laurel wreath would be. I doubt on a coin this worn you will ever find an ID we can all accept.

 

*pretty sweet*


Man, I'm all choked-up inside ... that was kinda like watching a baby deer takes its first steps!!



=> awesome outcome!!

 

beautiful pictures Vlaha, well done ........
if you find that the coin looks better in hand with more detail than in the photos, try dropping a light lower to enhance the shadows. Sometimes the coins can look quite 'flat' when all the light is above.

 

Nice job with the set up and the latest pictures! Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

I haven't gone beyond pointing and clicking at my coins on a window sill, so I'm afraid I can't offer much useful input, but your efforts are certainly inspiring.

 

YOC is 100% correct about trying dropping the light angle and how that could improve details. However it could also increase surface texture (roughness) and increase the severity of the glare on the upper edge. Worst, it could start a shadow in the countermark that obscures some detail there. The suggestion to try is is spot on but the final decision of which photo is best overall remains for your selection. That is why so many of my coins get shot over again. After you have an image it is easier to see what we might have done differently.

 

Good idea YOC, I'll try messing around with that more.

 

nice camera holder thingy....that last photo looks great!