I wish to see everyone's slab shot set up. Getting the consistent lighting angle, and making them match has been a pain.
I'm not at home, so I cant show my setup. But for slabbed coins, here is how I do it. Which is one of many ways to do it. I don't have many slabs, and all are toned coins, so I struggled for a long time until I think I was able to capture good images. Since the plastic slabs cause a ton of glare, I position the lights like this. I also tilt the coin up slightly. *slab shown here is not mine This yields these results: PS Detecto. I like how you spend the time to crop and do the reflection, but you should rotate them properly!
No sir I do not use a dslr. I use a point and shoot. A dslr is great, but is the least important factor. This one was taken with a $60 camera:
That's a great picture. I actually prefer the lights a bit higher. By that I mean instead of 9 and 3 o'clock, I prefer 10 and 2. Try it yourself and see what you think.
Absolutely. I sometimes do that as well. for me it depends on the type of coin, and the type of slab.
Detecto, I think outside of the shadow from your slab prongs on your Barber Quarter, it's a very nice image. Here's a Morgan Dollar... And here's the setup I use... -LTB
Yeah Detecto, I also failed to mention that your image is pretty good already. Looks like it could use a little more light, or evenly distributed light. Based on the shadows from the slab prongs, you appear to be throwing much more light at it from one side. One more suggestion. It also appears you took the reverse image upside down. A lot of times this will produce unwanted results. This is really based on the lighting positions, but unless you are using a setup like Louie has there I would suggest taking the obverse and reverse images the same way you will be displaying them in the final photo.
The halogen lights I use wash out all toning. The rainbows get washed out on my wheat cent. The barber did not do too bad: The Cameo Proof Quarter did not do as good as I hoped: The wheat cent did not turn out good at all. I am going to try to find some cheap CFL lights. The halogens take a ton of adjustments to get the original photos back to original color.
I have never used the ikea lights. I use regular, flexible desk lamps with GE reveal indoor floodlight bulbs.
Ok, I'll give you my opinion whether you want it or not. These are my opinions, and some will certainly have a better way, or just disagree. There are many ways to do it. But in my experience, here is what I think you should consider: I have those exact small halogen lights. They came with a lightbox I ordered. Those suckers get crazy hot, and even start to melt the plastic casing. They also like to tip over. You know what I'm saying Detecto! Anyway, they do wash out color. Getting the new lamps and bulbs changed everything. This did come out good. As you will certainly find out, all circulated silver coinage without luster will be the easiest ones to photograph. The light isnt reflecting within the devices and on the fields, so they always come out the best in most any lighting. First thing I notice is your reflection in the fields lol. You need to back the camera up, use more indirect lighting, and work with the brightness control on your camera. I can see your reflection, or possible the light itself, in this one. The lgihts are too close to the slab, or they are directly over it.. not sure, but I see something distracting. For the color: Try using indirect lighting, lower the brightness control on your camera. When you are editing the image in your software... Try adjusting brightness/contrast, or try "auto-color". Remember though, adjust them to according how it looks in hand, not what you wished it looked like. Here is a quick adjustment to your Wheatie. The first was auto color, and the second was brightness/contrast adjustment. I have no idea which one represents your coin, but it's just to show as an example.
LOL cmilladoo! Those are my wife's books, I only used the box because my Jansjo lights weren't tall enough. BTW gbroke, you got some skills generating those images using a point and shoot. -LTB
I read this thread and had to go home and start taking pictures of my coins. Here are the first couple: Only using one light right now, looks like two is the trick. Thanks for getting me motivated Detecto.
Nikon D7000 with Sigma 50mm Macro lense. Crappy tripod, nice 5500K bounce light, but I really need two. I end up trying to avoid the glare off the slab from the single light, and then the images look too dark. I shot at f8 and between 1/20 and 1/30 second I think, letting the ISO bounce around as needed. I am really into camera gear for photos of the kids/kids sports, but shooting coins is a whole other animal. Kennedy Proofs I did last night were really tough, and now that I look at the white NGC holder, they all look grey. Good enough for insurance purposes, but not really anything to post here and brag about. I'll keep playing with it, as you should too. Oh, and if anyone here has Adobe Lightroom 3 or 4, Tethered shooting directly from camera to PC is really the way to go. Nice big images instantly to PC, adjust as needed. Shutter release is even a click within LR.
