My attempts to photograph a drachm of Azes II, a very difficult coin to photograph due to it's small size. The first attempt left a lot to be desired: Dark and not very detailed This is my second attempt: Color is more true to life and Athena's detail stand out a lot better I think. Some light issues are evident though which could be improved in the future: Which one do you like best?
Definitely #2. Just seems a bit fuzzy. I have yet to search through this forum to find out how to improve my photos (which definitely need it). Seems like everyone likes Doug's method with the plant pot. (?)
The first image seems sharper and the second one has better color. How small is the coin? I am finding that my camera won't focus closer than about 8 or 9 inches from the coin so I shoot in the highest resolution and crop it. I have also found that I get the best results when I point a single light source at a white wall about 3 feet from the camera. I have the blinds on the room window closed but get some light from the window. I think you can get some very good results if you play with the lighting.
I'm actually considering an LED ring which another cointalk member talked about in some thread, and it seems to distribute light evenly across coins. Anyway, I'm probably going to give it one last attempt at rephotographing it tonight, and see if it turns out better than #2: I have some ideas that may work.
#1 is definitely better, solely because it is in focus and the second image is not. This looks like the type of coin that will benefit from being tilted slightly towards the light source, brightening the fields. Maybe that's what you did with the second images? @alde may be correct about the second images being taken with the camera closer than its minimum focal distance.
I don't have that reverse and I have not tried it but do think this one might benefit from the ring light. On silver, be careful not to overexpose the shot. You might improve the color and light angle on the first but blanked out highlights and fuzzy focus is permanent so my favorite will be the one you take next (or after that). My coin is just a bit easier to shoot since it is a tetradrachm (with Poseidon).
Attempt #3 I think this might be as good as I'm going to get it. The obverse and reverse reflect light very differently and the small size doesn't help me either. What do you think of this attempt vs the other two?
Thanks. Over time I hope to improve lighting, but the camera itself is finally adequate (no more cell phone cameras for me). I'm using a Canon Power Shot SX720HS. It's not super high end, but definitely a superior lense and photo sensor than anything you'll find even in the highest end phones. Eventually I want to stop using seller photos and replace them all with my own. That will be a long term project.
Nice coin, Salient! I have some drachma and (tetradrachma?) I enjoy looking at imagery and comparing the differences. Anyway, I took your first image and messed around with the contrast levels a bit in Photoshop.
Your third image looks pretty darn good to me. I would be happy with it. I use a 30 dollar led light ring on all photos that happens to fit perfectly on the end of my lens. Sometimes I use additional led lights or natural light to supplement it.
Good job. I forgot what camera you use but it certainly is true that some do better wwith very small coins than others. There are things you can do that might help but then we are getting to the point that the photography is more of the hobby than the coin. The 7mm Thasos coin below was done with focus stacking software allowing better control of depth of field. Still, what really helps more than anything on small coins is to have very high grade coins and that is not easy to do at the magnifications in question. This photo suffers badly from dust specks smaller than are easily cleaned off. At a reasonable enlargement, it makes little difference.
Doug, that's an impressive photo of such a tiny coin. Great coin too. This photo stacking software sounds interesting but like you say, the point of collecting is not to take pictures. It is fun to share the coins with friends though and have an accurate record.
