Photographing My Coins & Not Happy with What I Did

I just finished imaging all my slabbed Capped Bust half dimes.
I have 30+ of them.
The pictures mostly appear to be ... soft, i.e., not quite in focus.

I'm pretty sure my camera setup is capable of doing better.
So my question to myself was "Where am I going wrong?"

First Thought: I am taking a coin the size of a dime and enlarging it about 15 times.
The details on the coin just weren't created for that, particularly circulated ones.

Second Thought: I need to be more careful with my focusing.

Third Thought: I'm not using the full resolution capability of my camera.

I don't think shooting through a slab is my problem.
I polished them all before I started.

I've decided that the most likely culprit is the resolution I'm using.

I'm about to start photographing all my raw Capped Bust half dimes.
I'll remove them from their 2x2's before imaging them.
I'll increase my camera's resolution and do about a 10-coin test run.

One thing I won't do, at least not at this time, is reshoot all the slabbed coins.
Taking the pictures is easy.
Editing them consumes large chunks of time.

I'll do a followup post about the sort of results I'm getting.

 

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Can I see some pictures that you have already taken? Also, what camera do you use?

 

I'm using a Nikon D90 DSLR with a Nikkor AF-S Micro 60mm 1:2.8 G ED Lens
I'm working at getting some images put together.

 

After looking at my manual I found that I was shooting at the highest .jpg resolution (JPEG Fine).
The only thing better is NEF (Raw).
So I'll stick with the JPEG Fine.
But I moved my lens a bit closer to the coin giving me a slightly larger image.

Here are two slabbed coins both graded XF-45.





Here's a raw coin with the lens slightly closer.
I grade this as XF-40.



Now I'm beginning to think the other images were affected by the slabs.
But I'm also finding that focusing on the raw coin is a lot easier.

Bottom line though is that I definitely won't crack coins out of slabs.

 

Are you using auto focus or manual? For these macro shots I've found that going manual is often a better option

 

With the 1831 and the 1833...it almost looks like part of the coin is in focus and part of the coin is not. What is the aperture setting you are using. You might want to stop down the aperture a little bit to increase your focal length.

Also, how close are you to the coin when you are shooting. Based on a google search, the minimal focal distance for that lens is 7.28 inches so you need to be no closer than that.

 

I've always done manual focus since the distance varies a bit with the slab thickness.
I use f11.
That seems to give me a reasonable depth of focus.

But I'm shooting from about 4 inches which works for the small coins.
If they get up to quarter size then I have to back off.
The geometry of the setup causes problems with larger coins.

 

Back off to about 8 inches. That is your issue. Yes, the coin is smaller and lower resolution as a result...but your lens can't focus properly at that distance.

 

I've always gotten much better results by cropping later than having blurry pics to begin with.

 

I totally agree. You have to work within the limits of your lens to get quality results. The minimum focal distance of the macro lens I use is 11.8 inches.

I was shooting Lincoln Cents last night and it didn't even fill up 20% of my EVF...but I got good crisp images.

 

You also have to watch for how the images are transferred to your computer (wired vs wireless) and the cropping software which can have an effect on the file.

 

Do you have 'live view' capability on your camera, Kanga? With that option you are able to really zoom in on what you're shooting and making sure that all areas are in focus.

 

And use the 'raw' shots. You lose a lot of information with jpeg. Does make a difference in the post processing.

 

Agree with @green18 about using raw so you can make any post processing edits. I believe, at least with a Canon DSLR, that you also get the jpeg image when you select raw on your camera.

 

My Nikon has that capability.
I know that you get the best resolution with the "raw" format.
I just haven't tried it yet.

 

It's not the resolution that is better...it's the file isn't compressed so you don't lose any data. It's much easier to clean up exposure and process after the fact using a raw file.

 

Up your fstop. The reason it's soft, is because the focal plane is too narrow. We call that bokeh. Works great with people photography (Within reason) with coins, not quite as much, unless the focus is dead on. Also, Raw images are much easier to edit, because you are working with the entire image, not a subset of the image saved as a jpg. You have a lot more data to work with in raw.

 

I think at f/11 he is fine...that should give plenty of depth of field. The issue he's having is he is shooting from 4 inches away with a lens that has a 7.28 inch minimum focal distance.

 

Change you lens to a macro lens. Will shorten the focal distance.

 

Depends on the lens. He is using a Macro Lens if you look above and specs on it are a minimum focal distance of 7.28in. Heck, the macro I use has a minimum focal distance of 11.8in.