Hey everyone does anyone know what is a good inexpensive coin camera. I want to make sure I can get better pictures and closer details. Thanks and have a great night.
Google is your friend...try a search for a point and shoot that has a good macro lens and setting. You dont need but 5 megs....cam sometime larger shows to much...as a 10 meg image take correctly can be blown up to fit a wall. Some small led lights make for easy lighting... i use book lamps run on 3 aaa batteries. And you may want to shop ebay for a used model that you found to of interest.
This whole setup cost about 20 dollars. Maybe 30. The lights had shield on them. I took them off. They made reflection i didn't want. The dragon is my prop. Set the camera on it and use the timer. Then a sample image i shot with this setup with a s9+ cell phone camera.
That looks like a good set up. I saw on google where someone takes a small black pipe and sets up a selfie ring light on top and then works the phone camera in on top of it. Should I try to avoid using the flash on my phone camera?
Yes I don't use it. Normally the flash reflects off the slab. I don't use it on raw coins either. I just use those 3 lights all the time. The bulbs are CFL daylight bulbs. Those are 75w specifically that I have.
75 watt-equivalent, right? I'm one of the rare ones who actually likes CFLs. Not so much a fan of LEDs, though naturally I use a lot of them. Because that's mainly what's available now and henceforth.
I use my cell phone, it's a Samsung. I took this yesterday using the pro mode. I have this white thing I received in the mail. I lean it against my coaster, the use PhotoScape (it's free) to crop. Oh my now my secret is out
Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions. I guess it takes time to found out what works for each person. It does not help that I am very impatient
Paddy 54, if you come back to this thread, do you have to buy a macro lens, or is that something that comes pre attached to the camera? Also, what are Megs? Is that something like pixels? any info appreciated. James
Some camera have a macro setting. Other camera need a lens. Macro lens aren't cheap. And require some knowledge to operate.
One person's cheap is $20, another's is $1,000... There is a very good, but dense, long-running thread across the street (ATS) on serious photography on a $400 budget. https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=158182 There is also a DIY copy stand build for around $300 here: https://petapixel.com/2022/06/11/how-to-build-a-diy-t-rex-stand-for-macro-photography/ I personally use a copy stand I bought off eBay for $50 - they're hard to find now and cost $150, but it's been years. A Canon T3i (2011 camera I bought in 2013). And the Canon (non-IS) 100 macro lens (since I'm using the copy stand, the extra $ for the IS seemed silly). Introduced in 2003 there are a couple newer iterations, but it's still a great lens.
I did recently upgrade my lighting to the "TOMLOV Digital Microscope Gooseneck LED Fill Lights, 6-Watt Aluminum Auxiliary Spotlights with Dimmable Switch, Brightness Adjustable" which have recently gone unavailable. They are too dang bright, even on dimmest setting. But an opaque water bottle cap and a wrap of electrical tape fixed that.
Thanks for the information Burton. I know about the photo threads but they all seem to turn into a quagmire of acronyms and meaningless numbers (I set my wbl at 4.3") or everyone declares there is no way to take a good picture.
Pretty sure your white balance is measured in Kelvins and your minimal focal distance in inches, but I get the meaning For the record, degrees Kelvin are the same degrees as Celsius, but the zero points are different (absolute zero vs. freezing point of water).
