Greetings, My usual - a coin, a bit of history and a billion photography questions. 190 A.D. was pretty close to Commodus' full descent into the madness that seems to come frequently to those that inherit absolute power. Commodus even renamed Rome Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana while also changing his own name to Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus. Seemingly mild changes when compared to thinking one is the incarnation of Hercules. Megalomania apparently does lead to some appealing coins: Commodus 177-192 A.D. sestertius RIC III 598 Mars Struck around 191 in Roma L AEL AVREL COMM AVG P / FEL MARTI VLTORI AVG COS VI P P S C Mars standing right, holding spear and shield set on ground to right 29mm 26.37g On the reverse of this somewhat rough example you can make out the phrase VLTORI, which is part of MARTI VLTORI or to Mars, the Avenger. Unfortunately most of the Fel Marti is off the flan or worn, but the VLTORI can be fully read if I squint! The Temple of Mars Ultor stands in the Forum of Augustus in Rome and was built to commemorate Augustus' victory in 42 BCE at the Battle of Philippi over the assassins of Julius Caesar. The building became the place where important military decisions were taken and a site of several state ceremonies with a military connotation. Temple of Mars Ultor, Rome - Ancient History Encyclopedia Another great example of absolute power corrupting absolutely, and a really good contrast to the above rough bronze: Elagabalus 218–222 A.D. denarius RIC IV 107 Libertas Struck 220-221 in Roma IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG / LIBERTAS AVG Libertas standing left, holding pileus and vindicta; star to right 19.5mm 2.65g If you made it this far you probably expect a photography question. Well you are in luck! I recently invested in a macro lens and used it for the above two coins. Yes I had to come up with a good story to post these coins so I could get some pointers. The focal distance was just under 1-foot, but I'm not sure how much I should be zooming or extending the lens (it extends quite a bit). Said another way, what distance should I position the coin so that the lens doesn't extend (or what focal length should I use). It's a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. Also my image sizes are apparently getting larger and I had to take a screen snip of the Commodus bronze to upload it. Where do you all host your pictures? Let's see your megalomaniacs!
Great coin examples, @IMP Shogun ... Here are a couple Megalomaniacs from the OTHER side of the Continent: Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang - 1st Emperor to unite China China Qin Shi Huang 34mm 8.5g ban liang 221-206 BCE 半两 Primitive Line script rare ex Dr Alex Fishman Again: China Qin 220-180 BC AE 12 Zhu Ban Liang Blank H7.7 And, the person whom everyone in Asia seems to be descendant of: Mongols- Ghazna mint Khwarezm Genghis Khan 1206-1227 CE AE Jital Islamic RARE - only "The Just Kahn" in title Album 1969 Tye 329
I fail to understand why you don't want to extend the lens. That is what a macro lens is for and you have a good one. I have the old model before IS. A sestertius will fill the frame at about 6" from the front of the lens. I don't have a Mars but here are three lesser sestertii.
I did have the lens fully extended, but I thought it'd be better if it was not. So to answer your question I really have no idea what I'm doing and still experimenting with the camera and also learning how to describe what I'm doing (yes, poorly). I was under the impression the minimum focus distance of the lens is 1', which is measured back to the camera lens. So if the lens is 100mm or 4 inches that's about 10 inches in your example if you were 6" away - at the distance I had it I could not get the coin focused with the camera closer. I'm extremely happy with the improvement and ease of use (maybe it was too easy so I'm second guessing myself), but I know I can be improve further.
Set the camera to manual focus and then see what is sharp at the closest distance setting. That will tell you how far you are from the coin and what is in the field at that distance. That should be close to what it takes to get a whole denarius to fill the frame. You will have to be a bit further away for the sestertius. Having this information, you will be able to figure out where to start when shooting various subjects. You can use autofocus when shooting in most cases but this setting the lens to the closest distance will demonstrate things that will come in handy. Macro photos require a bit more care than things far away. Practice on things that mean nothing so you will be able to shoot what you want when the time comes. I trust you have a solid camera support. That will help.
The ladies were just as bad!....Queen Didda Rani became one of the most ruthless rulers of Kashmir. Being clever and manipulative she ruled for more than 40 years, firstly as regent for her son, whom some say she killed, and then as sole ruler until her death at the age of 79 in 1003. She also had two grandsons murdered at very young ages to keep her grip on power..Not someone to mess with! Diddarani 980-1003 AD Copper Kaserah or Punchshi 18mm (5.62gr) Obverse- Goddess Ardochsho/Lakshmi seated facing in half lotus position, with Nagari legend 'Sri to left 'didda' to right Reverse- Queen standing facing and sacrificing at altar holding trident, with Nagari legend 'Diva' bottom right
