I have noticed a lot of coin pictures have an overall yellow wash. I have tried taking pictures through a microscope and get the same effect. However, I also see many posts with pictures taken through microscopes that are normal colored. Can someone tell me how to avoid the yellow wash? Thanks.
The only way to avoid any color cast regardless of the lighting is to correctly white balance the photos. This can be done automatically in camera or as elaborately as using a color checker card with the lighting set-up.
Read your camera's manual. There is probably a section describing white balance & lighting type. Select the camera option that matches your light source type (sunshine, Tungsten, Fluorescent, etc). If the resulting photos still exhibit the wrong color, try fixing it with your photo editor. There is sometimes a white balance correction or "instant fix" feature that works well. P.S. only use one type of illumination. Do not mix fluorescent bulbs with Tungsten bulbs.
For close-ups, I use a traditional stereomicroscope which has halogen lighting, and it doesn't leave a yellowish cast. The scope utilizes a gooseneck camera attrachment which slips over one of the eyepieces, and it has no settings features at all. Chris
I agree with everyone regarding white balance. However, if you are unable to dial in on the proper whit balance settings, that's still ok. Post processing software can be used to simply do an "auto-color" on the image. This will do the proper adjustments in most cases. edit: I see collect said the same thing.
I notice that when I use different color back grounds I get a different type photos. I have found that with silver I get better pictures with black or dark blue back grounds. With copper or bronze coins I get better photos with green and gray back grounds. Just me playing around. This helps me with some of the yellow tint. I get more yellow tint with a white background. I am still learning the scope. I notice that if the coin has any type discoloration and is not bright silver my scope will changed the shade with white background, but if I change the background to dark blue it will not do this taken the same picture.
Actually biged, here is a tip for anyone wanting to get a little more serious about imaging coins. Background color plays a roll in this. To get the most accurate white balance from your lighting and setup, it is best to not use a preset white balance setting, but rather create a custom white balance setting. Most modern cameras, including my point and shoot, have this option. Using either a white background, or a "grey card", you can create the best possible white balance setting. This is how it is for my camera: Find this setting on your camera. Should be in the same area you would select preset white balance options. Point it at your background just like you were shooting a coin, and push the button. The camera will then create a custom white balance based on your current lighting and background. I have found this to produce the most accurate colors. On a side note, here are some other settings that will always improve your coin photography. AF area mode: center metering: center-weighted Here is an example of a coin shot with a predefined white balance, and then with my custom white balance. Predefined: Custom: With that being said, you should not change background colors depending on the coin composition. If your setup and settings are good, then the image will always be a good representation of the coin. Maybe this will help someone. -greg edit: Here is the instructions for my camera to create the custom white balance. If anyone cares...
OK, I tried setting the white balance. Unfortunately my camera has only a few preset values and cna't be customized. Oh well, its a new camera or more coins - not much of a choice. Thanks to all who tried to help.
I would expect one of those presets would be for normal incandescent/tungsten light - did you try it? What model camera is this? Dave
Yeah, you'd think so, but I tried them all - there are 7 - and none work. The camera is a Fuji. I think the issue is that my microscope has a fiber optic ring light, and the camera just doesn't know what to do with it. Thanks
