What scanner to use

Green, while a point and shoot camera does work, it works "best" if some type of tripod is used.

I have a Sony DSC that works best if I attach it to my tripod to stabilize the image for autofocus.

I also invested about $1400 in a Canon EOS Rebel T3 with a nice macro lens and Copy Board with lights but I just cannot figure certain things out like how to get the coin image to show up on my laptop "before" I shoot the image. For whatever reasons, I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and invest my time into the camera as it's a lot harder than I imagined.



The above image was taken with the Canon but the White Balance is all screwed up and I don't think I have enough lights.



Just a lot of work.

 

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I'll be getting a current new scanner. How do the eBay folks post up the hundreds of items at a time...photo each one when the coins are $1.00 or so?

 

Good luck with the scanner. I tried one at first but didn't like it. Ended up using a point & shoot.

There aren't many rules on eBay about the quality of images so they can do what they want.

 

With a dedicated camera set up, it's not that difficult to reasonably quickly image a larger number of coins. As with most things in life, practice doesn't hurt either.

Personally, I would ditch the new scanner idea and work towards even an inexpensive camera set up (copy stand/tripod, goosenecks, etc) if results mattered, but to each his own. Welcome to the forum, sir.

 

If you hit any CoinTalk members name you get a little bio on them. There is a option to Ignore them. That's blocking. You won't see any more of their future posts on any thread.

 

Here's the basics:

1) Coin and camera lens plane perfectly parallel and solidly stable. Macro photography involves very shallow depth of field, and if the coin is tilted with reference to the camera you will likely not get the whole surface in focus. Further, angled images subtly distort spatial relationships, and can deceive the viewer on date and feature positioning when you're trying to attribute.

This is most easily accomplished with the coin on a flat surface and the camera pointed straight down at it, employing a tripod. In a pinch you can use the corner of a table - it will fit between two legs of the tripod and give you enough overlap to safely place the coin. Here's how you determine alignment: Place a small mirror on the flat surface where the coin will sit. Using the camera's viewfinder, arrange the camera so you can see the lens reflected/viewed exactly in the center of the viewfinder. When the lens reflects exactly in the center, you are perfectly parallel to the shooting surface.

2) Delayed shutter. Do not trigger the shot with your finger on the button; you can introduce vibrations which will mess up the pic. Use a couple seconds' delay so the camera sits still when the shutter triggers.

3) Lose ambient lighting and nearby reflective surfaces. Extraneous lighting hurts contrast, as does light reflected into the lens which does not come from the coin. You don't have to be completely paranoid, but for instance the silver surface (if it's that color) of a computer next to your imaging rig can reflect enough light into the lens to hurt the shot. So can your monitor.

4) All lighting should be the same color temperature. "Color Temperature" is the "shade" of light - you'll see it described as "Warm White," "Cool White," "Daylight" etc. - and it's measured using the same Kelvin scale as used in astronomy to describe the color of stars. You will hear much advice on what color temperature of lighting to use, and I'm telling you that doesn't matter. Virtually every camera of the last ten years can correct for color temperature, and your Nikon has the ability to do Custom White Balance, meaning you can effectively tell the camera what you want it to call "white" and work from there. But using differing bulbs makes this task much harder on the camera and may in fact keep it from getting your color right.

5) Ideal lighting (in the majority of cases) is two lights at roughly 10:00 and 2:00 to the coin. I am a fan of the Jansjo gooseneck LED lamps available for ~$10 at Ikea; they're a tad weak, but infinitely flexible and very small, which is an advantage I'll explain in a moment.

Your Nikon is capable of focusing (in Macro Mode) upon an object 1cm from the lens. Generally speaking, point and shoots are best with coins at the wide end of their zoom. However, zoom lenses are optical compromises which inhibit Macro capability and it's possible that your lens will be happier pushed a little further from the coin and zoomed in slightly. You will need to experiment with this. At its' widest zoom, you will likely have to be within 6" of the coin - maybe 4" - to get a good large image, and this will make lighting more problematic, a factor to consider. If your camera can do nice images while using some zoom, you're better off with the greater distance from the coin. Ideally you want to be at least 8" from the coin to most effectively utilize lighting tricks.

That's because another generality is that lighting will be best when closest to the lens, pointing as close to straight down at the lens as possible. This is where those tiny Jansjos come in handy; they create very little heat and can come as close to vertical above the coin as any light source. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule of light placement; lighting is about the only "subjective" part of this whole skillset, everything else in photography being simple math (this amount of Exposure plus this Aperture setting at this ISO makes the coin come out right, hard numbers).

Those are terms/techniques you should learn about photography as time goes by, but your L100 does not offer manual control of much of that, so it's learning you can delay while you concentrate on the other stuff I'm talking about here.

OK, that's a start. If you would like to work together on it, start a dedicated thread and we'll work with your Nikon step-by-step to dial it in and maximize its' capabilities. I have experience working with folks on this exact camera, and although it's not exactly a dSLR with a dedicated Macro lens, I know it to be capable of producing images good enough to grade from.

19Lyds, my photographic concentration is on Canon equipment. I'll bet I can help you get the T3 straightened out; you're already an excellent photographer and only need product-specific technique, and I've been shooting tethered with Canons for almost ten years.

 

I would love to shoot tethered...but I like coins more. The "hobby budget" can only take so much.

 

The software is free with Canon dSLR's....of course, that doesn't help if you don't own one.

 

Maybe one day.

 

I'm not sure about Canon (but is safe to assume it's the same), but used Nikon DSLRs can be purchased these days for what may be surprisingly little money. As long as one takes care when buying, it's an option worth considering, especially if one has an interest in photography beyond coins. Just be mindful of the model and it's options/limitations, making sure it will fit your needs/wants . This, of course, doesn't solve the need for lenses (which are more important than the camera and shouldn't be skimped on) but if willing to stick with the brand, would allow for building whatever set up one chooses without a large upfront investment in arguably the least important component.

 

Thank you so very much. Very, very helpful.

 

$400. Pony up that much, and I'll show you a rig capable of anything from full slabs to microscopic detail, at professional quality.

 

With a camera all you need to do is stick it on a tripod pointing where you will put each coin and click the button each time for both sides. I took 50 photos of some coins, it took under a minute for each coin using that method. Then just grab the SD card and put in your computer if your computer takes one.

I use a Nikon D5200, the main reason I have it is for general photography but it certainly is good to have on hand when taking photos of coins. I just wish that my 55-300mm lens would focus on coins

 

I don't doubt it, but I wasn't talking about buying such a camera solely for coin imaging.

 

I'd love to see it!

 

It'll look rather like this:




Canon dSLR, bellows, duplicating lens. A used camera can be had for less than $200, the bellows and lenses run less than $50 each.

 

At this point only coin photography. I do appreciate the input.

 

Why? You take such wonderful travel photos........

 

Haha! Thanks...Sigh...I should learn a little more considering what a wonderful opportunity I've been given. Green, I think I'll try harder.

 

Thanks, Dave.