My dad has a Sony Cybershot DSC-F828. Yesterday I spent about two hours taking photo's of my coins, the best of which I will post below. My problem is that I have to get almost 1/2"-1" away to take a clear photo. Using the zoom is pretty worthless as it blurs the image right away. Would a macro lens help with being able to position the camera further away, also allowing more light to hit the coin? With it being so close now it's hard to get any kind of light on the coin. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v154/burks/DSC016231.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v154/burks/DSC01609.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v154/burks/DSC01615.jpg Thank you.
Yes a macro lens will definitely help. And I wouldn't worry about getting to close as long as you stay within the limitations of the lens. I have taken coin pics 1/4 inch away from the coin - it works great.
http://cgi.ebay.com/MACRO-LENS-SET-4-SONY-CVL-M3358-DSC-F828-DSC-H1-1-2-4_W0QQitemZ7591249052QQcategoryZ48525QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem - Good deal? How do you get decent lighting that close? Further away wouldn't be a problem but 1/4" doesn't sound like much room to get decent lighting.
Each lens has a different minimum focal length - I use a Nikon 5400. Some cameras have 1/2" - 1" and so on. Mine is 1/4". And it allows plenty of light in - light doesn't need a very big hole to get through. They also make a lens for this camera with a ring of lights around the inside of the lens and you set the camera right down over the coin and take the pic. You can't even see the coin when doing this - but it works like a champ.
Here is an example of recent pictures I've been taking with the lens I bought in the above auction. Still need work on my lighting. Image editing isn't available until I get home. ANACS slab: Brown Box Ike:
I want to, but have yet been able to find a way to do so, is to take the IKE example above and zoom in and get a real close look at say the mint mark, or a few of what few hairs he had left and just get a real good close up shot ... like i said, i havent had much luck... I get the same problesm as you Burks. I need to get SOOO close to the coin, and yeah about 1/4 USING a maco l lens (i even tried a wide angle lens) and it still doesnt help. I got this dime in my legacy set last year that has this black mark on his head. My luope doesnt do a good job getting a look at it, and my camera just wont let me get close enough to see what it is - is it a line (scratch either above ro below) or a piece of hair... i just canot tell.... alas, i just keep trying... Good luck top you too
I have tried, admittedly not as hard or as long as without it. My lens is like 4 inches diameter, and the loupe about 1". my camera sees 2 different focuses 1 inside the loupe the other outside... even on manuall focus, i cant (havent yet) gotten it to look right .. ill keep chugging away at it
You could go to the drugstore and buy a magnifying glass with a 4" lense - they make 'em up to about 4 power.
In my opinion the best way t photograph raw unslabbed coins is to lay coin on a black towel or black construction paper . that way no light is reflected from the back ground . This really necessary if you are using an automatic focus and aperture camera . Because any light that come's into the lens will affect exposure speed and f-setting, with a dark background the coin and only the coin will affect the automatic settings. I use a sony Cyber shot 5 mega pixle with a Carl Zeiss lens . I take all photos at 5 mp and edit from there if needed.
