So, I am trying to improve my coin photography. I have read Numismatic Photography by Mark Goodman several times and set up my DSLR on a short tripod with lights around it to create the lighting I think I need. However, I am having a very difficult time getting good focus. It feels like the top part of the image is in focus but the bottom is not. I don't have the aperture wide open on my lens (it's a f/2.8 lens) so I believe I have enough depth of field...but maybe I'm wrong. I shot this image at f/4, 1/160, ISO 100, 50mm using a 24-72mm lens and you can see its a bit fuzzy...especially towards the bottom where the date is. Any advice?
Just a couple thoughts on things that might be quick and easy to check: Check the minimum focal distance on your lens - if you have the item too close to the lens, it might just be inside the working range of the area that can be in focus. This was a mistake I made, too. Check to make sure your stand (where the coin sits) is the same level as your camera lens (in other words, make sure they are both level or at least out of level in the same way.) One way to check is to put a mirror on your coin stand and make sure the image in your viewfinder is just a circle (not out of round, which would indicate it's not level.)
Stop the lens down to f8, make sure you can actually focus at the distance you're at, check the level of the camera either with a mirror or a bulls-eye level. If you can get the camera a little farther away and use a longer focal length, you can get the lights in a little closer.
Thanks for the advice...I put it to work, what do you think of this try? OK. So, I think a big part of it was I was encroaching on the minimum focal distance of the lens. I raised the tripod up a couple inches and then just shot it at 70mm to make up the difference. This was shot at f/8, 1/20, ISO 100 using remote shutter activation. I think it looks much better. Also, no post-processing done on this image (I had to lighten the previous one a bit). The only editing to this shot is I rotated it slightly and cropped it. Thoughts and suggestions?
Also be aware that most dslr cameras have an anti-aliasing filter intended to smooth out individual pixelization that naturally occurs with the medium. So a mild sharpening of the image is often done in post-processing. Here's yours, sharpened a touch with 0.3 radius. You can decide whether this looks closer to the actual coin or not.
Actually, I does. Thank you for the advice. This coin is actually a Notgeld token struck on an iron planchet so the sharpening really brings out the texture on the surface of the piece.
Much better. You can probably change the ISO to 200 and cut the shutter speed to 1/40 without introducing noise. It'll reduce any minor motion blur you may be getting. Is raise the lights a little more to see if you can brighten up the surfaces.
One more question: are you using the DSLR's mirror lockup feature? If not, try it; that's another big source of vibration leading to blur, especially for macro work.
Ok. I haven’t been using that. Forgot all about it. I’m more of a landscape photographer most of the time so learning the macro stuff is taking me some time.
Can you tether your camera to your computer? This will give your computer the ability to control your camera and also allow you to do a better job focusing.
Also, don't forget that sometimes the coin is tilted in the slab. It's good to check for this and if necessary, shim the slab before you change your F-stop for greater depth of field.
I'm not sure if you've checked your camera is perfectly perpendicular to the coin. I literally have a level that I bring out to make sure my camera is oriented properly. And, I agree, your second shot is much better than your first! Perhaps just a touch too bright in spots, and a little darker over on the right side than I'd like - but a vast improvement. Play around with the light location and see if you can get a more even light across the whole coin.
OK, here is my next try. f/8, 1/60, ISO-200, 70mm I think the reverse is a touch fuzzy but overall I think it looks pretty good. I think I did OK for day 2 really trying this.
I leave one of these sitting on the back of my camera when is not in my camera bag. It'll cost you $2-3, maybe.
I'll track one down, thanks. I think the best thing for me to do is just practice. I know some will be better than others...but I do have photography skills so I think it will be something I can pick up. I am posting a pair of threads today, one in U.S. Coins and one in World Coins where I will slowly post coins from my collection to share with CT as I work on this new side of my photography hobby.