Any Tips for Taking Better Photos of Coins?

Here's what a Lincoln Cent MM looks like when imaged with a cheap 10x microscope objective:

 

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That looks great @rmpsrpms - do you have a link for the scope?

 

Not a scope, but a Canon Rebel XS 10MP DSLR with a 10x Bausch & Lomb objective.

 

That is so clear! Do you just hook that to the lens of your camera? How much does it cost?

 

Wow, thanks for tall of this very helpful info, guys! I’m definitely going to try some of this stuff out when I get the chance. It probably will not be until tonight though.
Thanks again.

 

What sort of adapter holds that objective in place on the body (or vice versa)?

 

The simplest approach is:

Camera -> EOS-M42 adapter -> M42 extensions -> M42-RMS adapter -> objective

The image above is focus stacked so you need to be able to move the coin or the camera up/down in small increments. There are a number of ways to do this.

 

You guys with your slick exotic focus stuff.

 

Yeah, IMO... too much work for the occasional need.
2 adapters, bellows, and a focus rail, and then post-processing. I think I'd rather just get a digital scope.

But, your photos are awesome!

 

BLASPHEMER!!!!

 

Yep, it's a tradeoff. If you want super sharp photos at these magnifications you need to put in some effort. If you're just looking for quick pic, then a digital scope can do the job.

 

I may look into a scope. Do you know of a nice one that would fit my camera? (Nikon 3100 w/18-55mm AF-S lens.) Maybe a link?

 

No scopes will fit your camera, or mine, or his, straight out of the box. You'd need a Barlow adapter (I think that's what they're called for microscopes), that replaces one of the scope's objectives, and mount to the camera.

Other option is a scope that has built-in digital hookup.

 

Lots of good information being posted in here. It took me a little while to get caught up.

White balance was brought up, which is a BIGGY... Also having a fairly accurate display helps as well. If your display is not accurate, then you cannot ensure that the image you captured is accurate.

Stability is another big factor. This can be accomplished in many ways, either a tripod or copy stand. I prefer the copy stand approach as you can ensure that the coin and imaging plain are parallel to each other, which in turn ensures that you have a nice sharp focus from rim to rim on the coin.

Lighting has been addressed as well. Some of the most popular lights to use in numismatic photography are available from Ikea either online or if you have a local store. The Jansjo model is an LED based goose neck design with a fairly small head that is very easy to move into the exact position you need. However, these lights do NEED to be diffused as they use an RGB array to produce the white light. Without diffusion you will see specular highlights reflecting off of the surfaces of any coin with decent luster. The diffuser prevents this from happening. There are several different ways of diffusing the light from simple tissue paper, waxed paper taped to the head of the lamp, to using my favorite method, coin tubes. I use half dollar tubes made by Coinsafe. They are easy to identify as they are the square type with corners that protrude a bit. I remove the lids from the tubes and then place the actual tube over the head of the light. The diameter of the Jansjo head fits very snuggly into the coin tube. The translucent white plastic of the coin tube diffuses the light very well while not cutting down the amount of light still being transmitted. One drawback to this setup is that flare is easy to introduce, so you have to really pay attention to your setup.

 

@V. Kurt Bellman I see you are interested in a coin only type of setup. A fantastic lens that @rmpsrpms recommends and I use on a daily basis, is the Rodenstock APO Rodagon D-1:4. It is a duplicating lens that really shines in the magnification ranges required for coin photography. It's pretty compact, and works best in a bellows setup. It is an incredibly sharp lens. They can be found used for between $200.00 and $400.00 on eBay. I have attached an image below that is 100% in size and not sharpened so you can see the kind of detail it is capable of. Keep in mind that these were shot with a Nikon D800E with a full frame 36.3 megapixel sensor with an effectively cancelled anti-aliasing filter. They were shot using 4 Jansjo lights with the diffusion method mentioned above.

Click on the image to see full resolution:


Click on image to see full resolution:

 

It is indeed possible to do WB accurately with any monitor, no matter how inaccurate. The RGB values are absolutes, and don't change based on the monitor. How the monitor interprets them is where the inaccuracy comes in, and if you adjust the image to "look right" on your monitor, it may not look right on mine. But if you adjust WB such that it is accurate on RGB basis, then it will be highly portable across different monitors. Any inaccuracy is the fault of the user, not of the image.

 

Yes, thank you for the clarification. My remarks regarding the monitor were meant to be towards editing the image post production.

 

That's pretty much what I use. However, I use a white board to bounce the light for a window. Softer light

 

Interesting. Thanks for the update.

 

Did anyone ever provide some info about the software they use? I too am curious.