Camera and copy stand for coin photography

I always use two lights because of the evenness of lighting you get. Especially for the reverse of your coin, be careful to position the lights so that one light doesn't fill the other light's shadows on the striped in the shield. 9:00 and 1:00, maybe.

 

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I gotta get me a copy stand.

 

I take a lot of photos and have been intrigued by the ability to tether a camera to a laptop to enable a full screen view of the image before taking the photo. I use an Aven Digital 5.0 Mega Pixel Mighty Scope, 10x to 200x Magnification mounted on an Aven Mighty Scope Stand. This is tethered to my laptop via a USB cable. This isn't really a camera but rather a digital examination scope used in medicine and industry. It is quite a bit cheaper than a digital camera and has limited uses. However it allows me to view the image on my laptop to adjust the focus and lighting before I take the picture from my laptop, by clicking my mouse. This saves a lot of time and virtually eliminates the need to retake a picture. I can move the scope up and down the stand to expand/reduce the field of view and thus the resulting magnification to adjust for different size coins.

There are a lot of digital examination scopes like this on the market, but this one is built better than others made in China. The software for tethering it to a computer isn't great, but it is simple and works OK. The focusing mechanism is not as fine as for a camera either and takes some patience to get it just right. I sometimes enlarge the image via the software to observe how well focused it is before I snap the picture. Coarse focusing is done on the scope itself and fine adjust is made like a microscope by adjusting the elevation of the scope via the adjustable stand. I've learned to save images in jpg rather than the default .bmp format and then re-save the image again in jpg when I crop the image and name it using other image editing software. This seems to greatly improve the resolution. Once you set up for a particular size coin you just replace and orient the coin and click and move on to the next one. The focus is manual. It has LED lights on the unit that provide OK illumination, but I use supplemental lighting with daylight type lamps I bought at a craft store and a little LED flashlight I purchased for a couple of bucks at a hardware store that has a light focusing lens and popup lantern providing diffused light. With the new LED lighting or even cfl lights the color rendition is easy. If I had the $ I would buy a Canon Rebel Digital SLR or a Nikon, and a macro lens. These two cameras also allow for tethering to a computer and taking the picture remotely. But they are much more expensive as well as bulky.

I've attached a photo of the device as well as an example photos of a small transit token showing lots of detail and a large medal to demonstrate the range of this device.

 

I'm really loving this copy stand. Here's a pic of the new setup. The two surprises with the setup were that the lamps required socket extenders in order to use the reflectors, and the camera required an AC adapter since mounting the camera blocks access to the battery compartment. Once the camera is mounted you don't really want to have to remount it frequently since centering and leveling it are not trivial tasks. It's extremely easy to move the camera vertically, and the measurement indicators on the center post make it easy to note the best height to use for each coin. With the camera tethered, I can also take shots remotely without worrying about the camera moving.

 

If you only shoot coins and most coins are about the same size (10-30mm or so) there is no need to buy an expensive copy stand. Wood vibrates less and is stronger than some of the flimsy metal tripods and stands that are sold for good money. I made this one just to prove to myself that it could be done. Critics will say that the camera doesn't move up and down. That is not important. If you need to get closer, put a book under the coin support (CDR spindle). If farther, use a shorter support or a zoom lens. The idea is to hold the camera still not to impress the world with your equipment. This uses scraps of flooring and other lumber but you can duplicate it in ebony if you must. Then it would cost enough it would impress folks.

 

"I made this one just to prove to myself that it could be done. "

I'm impressed!

 

That's a great idea to fix the camera and adjust the height of the coin instead. For raw coins I think you'd be looking at more like a 10-40mm range (to accommodate something the size of an 8R), and sometimes you'd want to photograph an entire slab. You could definitely add to the wooden support structure though to include a higher tier with an alternate point for securing the camera.

You are right in that fundamentally the picture quality is about the camera, the lens, and the lighting, and the copy stand is only about securing the camera/lamps and keeping the camera from vibrating. The cheaper copy stands are flimsy and will not do this well.

In my research it looked like anything up to the $200 range would guarantee you some load bearing parts were made from plastic instead of metal. All metal construction started at about double that, with not much in-between, which is why I went with a used one for about half the cost. I'm not sure what route I would have taken if I couldn't find one used, but for the price I paid, I'm happy with it and the convenience of the bells and whistles.

 

Ok I've been playing around with different angles of lighting. Here's an attempt to reshoot my SQL Type I type coin compared to the seller photos (which I liked to begin with).

Seller photo:

My photo:


Seller photo:

My photo:


I think my shots capture the color of the coin faithfully, while the seller photos do not. Having said that, the seller photos look more lustrous, especially the reverse. I think my shots are more in focus than the seller shots, but the seller shots seem to go out of focus only toward one side of the coin. The seller shot of the reverse really brings out the detail in the wings as well. I'm thinking perhaps they shot the coin at a slight angle from being propped up at one end? Overall I think I prefer my shot of the obverse and the seller's shot of the reverse. Any idea how they captured the luster like that? Is it a tradeoff between capturing the color? Am I lighting the coin too much? Any comments would be appreciated.

 

I like both your images better. The exposure looks right on, and having it in focus is kind of a good thing His lighting is at a lower angle than yours though, so it's showing more contrast and drama. The higher the lighting, the more flat the image will look. If you haven't tried it, I'd bring the lights down to a lower angle and see what you think.

 

Ok here's the shot again with two lights positioned better. I was able to bring out some additional color, for example these new shots capture the color in the wing feathers well.