So I got a camera with macro...

Before running out and purchasing anything, try this. Take your camera outside and place on a flat service. Not in the direct Sun though. Now place an object directly in front of your camera within a few inches or up to 6 inches. Try to use an object with printing on it. Now if both the camera and the object are not moving slowly press the trigger or button to make a photo. Since those objects are stationary, and if the photos come out blurry, vague, out of focus, etc. then you know it's the camera that has a problem.
You may want to move the object away one inch at a time to see if and when the photos come out clear. And don't forget to put it in macro.

 

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What camera do you have?

I use a cheap Canon SD700IS, it takes great pictures once I mastered the technique and settings. With my camera, there is ZERO need for a tripod. As long as the lighting is strong enough, the camera is great at autofocusing. With poor lighting, it's HORRIBLE. As Carl said, digital cameras require much stronger light when compared to film. The CCD's are just not that sensitive and the optic system just can't properly focus. On another note, the Canon models (and most other) require you to depress the shutter button HALF WAY to focus, and then fully depress to take the shot. I've helped a couple people there were not doing that, just pressing all way down and then wondering why the shot was blurry.

I have to disagree about using the optical zoom function. All of my best pictures are taken from 2.8x to 3.4x optical zoom. It allows me to keep the camera further from the surface which allows more light in. It also allows me to completely fill the frame with the coin....a common error I see. For the best picture, be sure to fill the frame with the coin. Just don't use digital zoom, only optical, otherwise you can get pixelation.

The other two important settings are white balance and exposure. White balance calibration should happen often, several times during a shoot. The exposure setting really depends on the coin and lighting. You have to experiment to get just the right level. Over exposed shots lose detail and create glare, under exposed the coin looks darker than it should.

My last piece of advice it to use a solid, white background. A simple piece of copy paper works for this. Calibrate the white balance at the same distance and angle as the shot. It will help with more accurate representation of coin. Plus, us experienced guys appreciate a white background because only then can we guage the accuracy of the white balance setting. Here's a sample shot of my results:

 

timer feature

There is much good photo advice from everyone. If your photos are still out-of-focus, then follow the suggestion by Just Carl to see where your camera will provide a sharp photo.

I use the timer feature with the camera on a tripod. The timer feature takes the photo without your hand touching the shutter release and possibly shaking the camera.

Very best regards,
collect89

 

The very first thing we should really know is what type of camera.
The second is, well we need to know what type of camera

 

A Kodak M893IS, I think.

 

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=12412&pq-locale=en_US\


First thing, turn down the resolution, I would drop it to 2.2MP. You don't need a 3296 × 2472 size picture. You'll have to reduce it anyway for web use, I take my pics down to 100k or slightly less for web. The camera has IS (image stabilization) so you shouldn't need a tripod.

The optical zoom is 3x on that cam, not very good for macro, but is should suffice. Make sure the cam is set to "macro wide", that's good for as close at 3.9" (again, not very good). Keep the cam about 6" away from the coin and use optical zoom to fill the frame.

 

Yup what he said :hail:

 

Thanks BadThad. I'll try to follow all of that advice when I get some free time, and I'll let you guys know what happens.
I knew this wasn't the best camera in the world. But I figured I could get some decent coin pics with it. And it was about the only camera we could afford right now, with it being $80 at Sam's.

 

Don't do that. Take your pictures at as high a resolution you are able. Crop at high res then resize in software. You'll end up with better images, especially if you wanted to zoom in. The savings in disk space just aren't worth it.

 

Hey guys. I've been home sick today. So I decided to try another round of pics with the camera. I think I have tried just about everything suggested in this thread, besides getting a copy stand or tripod. Is it true what some people have said that I shouldn't need a tripod since my camera has image stabilization?
Also, my coin photos are still bad. Worthless really. The only one that even came close to decent was one that I took outside in the sunlight.

Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone else has more advice.
Thanks.

 

Here's another good article I found today that might be of help to you.

If your photos improve when you go outside and use sunlight, it means the shutter speed when inside is probably down at the 1/30th second level and there's no way to prevent blur when handholding at that speed, even with image stablization. If your camera has a manual "speed priority" mode, set the speed up to at least 1/100th second.

 

If you are really interested in taking pics of your coins, I would recommend Numismatic Photography by Mark Goodman. Its a relatively short read but taught me how to get the shots of my coins that are in my albums. My other suggestion is to go ahead and use a tripod and use the timer on the camera. Even with a tripod just pushing the shutter button on my camera created enough shake to blur a lot of my pics.

 

I need some more HELP! lol
I've been taking some pictures of coins outside. I've gotten pretty good pictures of one of my coins. The difference between it, and all the other ones I've been trying to get pictures is that this one is circulated and the others I've tried to photograph are BU and blast white.
Is the glare from the uncirculated silver coins causing my problems? What do I do to remedy this?
Thanks.

 

What is wrong with the pictures? Without knowing that, we can't tell you what you are doing wrong...

 

Sometimes it's necessary to diffuse or bounce the light source. This will soften the glare.

 

There is a book that just came out by Mark Goodman called Numismatic Photography. It's really interesting & goes into best ways to photograph coins. It also refers to the bouncing of light & stuff like Green just mentioned.

It's not a huge book but very interesting.

 

YES YES YES!
I've heard about this book, and so many people recommended it!
Sounds like a great book!

Now, the original question, was asked a little while ago, but I want to answer it anyway! LOL
My camera is not a high end camera...
EXLIM CASIO 6 Megapixel
THE ZOOM IS CRAP! (Even with marco)
I don't zoom, I take pictures from anywhere from 7 inches to a little over 1 foot away.
On the camera, I crop the pictures, I go to edit, then trimming, and I trim the pictures with ease. Then I clean the rest of the picture up, and make it look good, with using the crop function on my photo editor
A lot of people have troubles with their cameras, and it is always mostly the same thing
1. Standing too close
2. Not having it on a focus for details
3. Not good lighting
4. Not good angles

To take good pictures, it is always best to take the same picture under different angles and lighting..
I take most of my pictures, under a lamp, with the flash, with the coin on an easel. I take the pictures, somewhat hovering over the coin, about 9 inches away, and I do it with the camera going down, so I am basically standing over the coin. (THIS MAKES THE PROOFS LOOK GREAT)
Here is an example of what it looks like, when I use this technique on the proof coins.









(These are all NGC PF69's)

Hope these tips help...

 

When shooting proof coins I often diffuse the light using a piece of drafting paper (translucent tissue). Roll the paper into a cylinder shape and place the tube over your coin. Shine your lights onto the outside of the tube and the diffused light will radiate inside the tube & down onto the coin. Then, shoot the photo with the camera aimed down the tube.

If there is toning on the mirrors & you want to depict it, then you may need to shine diffuse light directly down onto the coin so the light reflects directly back & into the camera.

Very best regards,
collect89

 

That is a good idea! And T$, I don't zoom either. I just take the pictures from further away and crop it. If you practice getting the lighting correct, you can learn how to make nice coins look like extreme coins. Here is an example.