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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1859583, member: 19463&quot;]My foam tubes are slightly shorter than the dowel (about 1/2&quot;) but I don&#039;t see this as critical.&nbsp;&nbsp; I have discovered that the tube is really not necessary and you can accomplish the same thing with a foam shield on the side that the light comes from as long as it shadows the background.&nbsp; I was having trouble with the tube edge and wall away from the light showing in the photo so I tried it with just a partial shield.&nbsp; Understand that my photo rig is in a constant state of &#039;development&#039; where I try something to make some feature better only to discover that it made something else worse.&nbsp; The photo below is today but may not be tomorrow.&nbsp; It shows the half coverage foam light shield.&nbsp; The scrap wood just below the coin on the side away from the lights supports a reflective strip on the other side which throws a little light on the bottom edge of the coin to enhance the 3d look.&nbsp; The Philip shows the effect on a thick coin.&nbsp; It does almost nothing on a thin one.&nbsp; I show all the lights on but any given photo rarely uses more than two of them.&nbsp; Which ones depends on the coin.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]312336[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]312337[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I always suggest building a junk stand to get the measurements right before putting it effort on fine woodworking.&nbsp; That should be obvious from the sloppy stand shown on my site.&nbsp; After you get everything just right, you can duplicate it in ebony if you must.&nbsp; Each camera will require different measurements so get your &#039;good&#039; camera before you decide on something &#039;final&#039;.&nbsp;&nbsp; My pages are not to be taken as instructions but as suggestions on how you can apply yourself and do better.</p><p><br /></p><p>On my screen, your photos with the black background are a bit light.&nbsp; I suggest not using auto exposure but finding exposures that work using trial and error and setting them manually (unless the camera is so basic that it will not allow manual controls).&nbsp; I&#039;m lazy.&nbsp; The camera I use for most photos is my third best and is left set up on the stand while the others are ready to take other subjects.&nbsp; If I want a really great shot of a really special coin I can substitute the big dog but that only helps if I want a 12x18 or larger print.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.pbase.com/dougsmit/image/129530665.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I am considering going back to my 70-200 zoom lens and freeing the 100 macro for other uses.&nbsp; A zoom makes the fixed stand more useful while the prime macro lens benefits from the adjustable stand I made from the old enlarger (Durst M600).</p><p><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Durst-M600-Photographic-Enlarger-/350653574263?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&amp;hash=item51a494ec77" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Durst-M600-Photographic-Enlarger-/350653574263?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&amp;hash=item51a494ec77" rel="nofollow">http://www.ebay.com/itm/Durst-M600-Photographic-Enlarger-/350653574263?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&amp;hash=item51a494ec77</a></p><p>Of course you would want to find one with a broken lamphouse and pay 1/4 this price.&nbsp; Photo hobbyists often have piles of broken things saved for such purposes.&nbsp; I have no idea what the next change will be.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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