I have noticed that there has been a number of threads/posts from members asking which cameras work best with taking pictures of coins. I have been playing with my camera (Sony CyberShot DSC-H2) for a little over a year now and have gotten a little better with it. Alot of factors come into play if you really want good quality pictures of your coins. Experiment with your lighting. Try different types of lighting sources/bulbs. Some people find that natural sunlight seems to work best. Its whatever works for you!! Camera steadiness, if you can take nice clear pictures of coins just holding the camera in your hands then you'e a truly gifted photographer, I tried and I cant do it. Its a good idea to purchase a copy stand or a tripod for your camera to keep your camera motion to a minimum. All of this including your camera settings, lighting and lighting angles play a major part in good coin photos. I found this article written by Mark Goodman to be very helpful not only explaining more in detail what I've already posted but also including photos and illustrations to clearly understand how to do what Mr. Goodman is explaining. Which camera that you choose is certainly up to you but if you're taking alot of pictures of coins then make sure that the camera you buy has a Macro setting, this is a must for taking good quality photos of your coins. Read reviews written by people who have bought the camera that you're interested in. Reading these will give you a more realistic concept of what the pros and cons are. Just reading Sonys, Nikons or Canons product descriptions isnt going to tell you how the camera operates when its in the consumers hands and in its various environments. Its no different than buying coins, find the product that you want, read whatever you can find about the product then decide on your purchase. Remember, as a novice you're potentially investing anywhere from $100 dollars to $1000 on a camera. Know what you're buying before you buy it. Read Mr. Goodmans article for a detailed descripton and enjoy your coin photography!!!! http://www.coinimaging.com/photography.html
Honestly, I'm still a novice and I feel that my pics. have been ok. I only spent $175 on a Samsung Digimax V800 with 8.1 meg. So far it seems ok
I bought a Nikon Coolpix 4300 (4.1MP) several years ago. It has a Macro setting and shoots very nice pictures. It is also fairly light in weight making it easy to attach to my microscope. The directions and menus are very complicated for me otherwise, it has been a great little camera.
I decided to go ahead and go past the point shoot models... I have 2 DSLR's I have an Cannon 40D and a Nikon D3. There is a world of difference in the images able to be captured... but they can get very pricey.
For such info on photos of coins there are numerous web sites for just that. I think one is called Table Top Photography. Also, on some coin web sites there are separate forums for photography. For example on the www.coppercoins.com web site there is just such a forum. If someone wanted to they could go to almost any coin forum and type in the search place for coin photography and end up with many, many posts. Then print it all out and make a book. So far I've get 5 digital cameras. Used to have well into 25 of the 35mm film type cameras but gave all away. My problem is if I have the coin, I don't need to take a photo of it, I just look at the coin. To each his own.
