The CT photo gurus were discussing the effect of high Color Rendering Index (CRI) lighting on coin photos in a thread a while back. In a nutshell, the Sun is rated at 100 CRI. The higher the CRI value of light you are using the better colors will be reproduced in your photos. Over 90 is good, 95 is better. I realized the CRI values on the cheapo LED light ring and LED bulbs I was using were probably very low. I found a pair of $7 bulbs online that were rated at 90+ just to see how much difference it makes. It makes a lot of difference. Here is the old photo with low CRI lighting. Here is the first photo I took of the same coin using the two 90+ CRI lights. Wow. Maybe the $250 light panel rated at 95 CRI is worth investing in... the color is much better using the new cheapo lights, but still not exactly true to life. Much better, but there is room for more improvement. Please post any experiments you have done with CRI lighting values. John
Dramatic difference! The almost complete lack of glare makes the coin appear a little flat in the new pics, but the details really pop!
Hi John, Thank you for sharing. Other than CRI, did you use a different lighting set up in your second photo. The two photos are different in many respects, not just colour so curious what else you did to improve the second photo. The first one has more overexposed "shiny" parts. Thanks
The first photo used a ring light around the camera lens and two side lights. The second photo only used the two side lights. I reduced the exposure time significantly in the second photo. The first photo is pretty over exposed. John
Thanks John, I have mixed results when I use 2 lights from the side. I find that the light from 2 directions can obscure the legend and other details. That is not the case in your photo above where all details are cyrstal clear - out of curiosity how did you position them?
There are many 95 CRI LED panels on eBay for a lot less than $250. I paid $29 for mine. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...3.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xl116b.TRS0&_nkw=l116b&_sacat=0 I'm currently using a L116B Viltrox but there are many others. Mine is larger and brighter than needed but had the advantage of only having one color balance setting while many also allow warm white settings I don't need. They are sold for a wide variation in prices and packaging. Most don't come with a battery or 12V A/C converter (you only need a battery if not near an outlet and I have several 12V standard plugs left over from other things. It MUST be a 12 V one. I do not think your improved photo was all due to the CRI upgrade. There are many factors that can ruin a photo. However, the image is much better so whatever you did, keep doing it.
