Last year I respooled a roll of 120 film onto old 620 spools and loaded it into a Kodak Bull's Eye 620. Still worked. The pics were nothing special but it still worked. I tried the same thing with an older Kodak folder that used 116 film, and that was trickier. But results were interesting. http://www.flickr.com/photos/formerairline/3302704716/sizes/o/
Doug , You need to read between the lines a bit on my post. In an indirect way I said how important lighting is . The key is with a great lens you can position your camera further from the coin thus allowing in more light . As for taking pictures of coins in slabs , experienced pros can work around practically any slab type issues they may encounter. Even an amateur like myself eventually will find a work around even if it takes me 100 pictures attempts to do it . The pictures I post here are low resolution because they first must be compressed on my end due to files size restriction , and then they are further compressed when I up load them . From my experience there is no substitue for a high quality lens. I have no doubt if I had a better camera set up my photos would be higher quality. The question is can most people get great pictures with a $ 300 point and shoot ? Yes they can if they know what they are doing. If you don’t have a clue what you are doing a $ 1500 camera and lens wont help. However for someone who wants to take their photography to the next level they need to take the camera to the next level as well.
I almost fell out of my chair laughing at this. I have noticed that this tends to happen as the thread gets larger most of the time. I do know lighting is most important when taking coin pictures but I do not know much about cameras and there quality which is why I made this post. I really appreciate veryones inpput and the beautiful pictures that were posted. Maybe one day I will be able to take some shots like you guys do. Thanks
I have to agree with Mark since I made the same point in the Numismatography thread a while back. Here is what I wrote: While lighting is the most important factor, eventually you will reach the limits of your equipment with a standard point & shoot and the only way to see improvement will be to upgrade to a DSLR with a macro lens.
And there are a lot of young collectors on this forum who can only dream of such top shelf equipment. Better that they purchase something that can take adequate, respectable, realistic shots. Better they learn the basics of photography before they go out and pick up a "do it all" automatic. Better that they learn that "lighting" is really the key to taking good pictures....
There are a lot of collectors period that can only dream of such top shelf equipment. The only reason I have one is because my girlfriend bought be a DSLR for X-Mas. I always faced a dilemma. Spend $1K on a camera or buy another coin. My point and shoot served me well for years. Check out this one I took with my point and shoot last week. I am going to be hard pressed to improve upon that!
A co-worker ,whose hobby is photography , strongly suggested visiting this web site: http://www.dpreview.com/ She says that for the types of things I am interested in , such as capturing RPM's , Double Dates etc very clearly , I should look into getting a digital camera that has more than just a macro setting. She says the term used for super sharp close-up shots is "MICRO". So apparently there are digital cameras with MICRO setting instead of just MACRO. These MICRO capable digital cameras do not require the purchase of the additional lens that most DSLR's do.
Technically speaking the term 'macro' is supposed to be reserved for photos where the image on the film is as large as the item itself (1:1 ratio). This mans a lot less these days with digital sensors of so many various sizes. Certainly you can get cameras capable of greater magnification far beyond normal macro including microscope cameras but many of these lack the ability to record an entire coin as well as just a mintmark size speck. You just have to buy what fits your needs. The advantage of a DSLR and accessories is that it is possible to add accessories and shoot small parts or back off and include everything as desired. Those who only collect flyspecks may be satisfied with microscope cameras. The attached image is a DSLR shot with about $50 worth of accessories. The same thing could have been done with $1000 worth of accessories or a dedicated microscope camera. Pay your money and take your choice. 'Better' is a meaningless word unless accompanied with 'for what'.
Agreed , right tool for the right job. For me my Logitech 9000 pro webcam is fine for capturing high def images of complete coins and to a lesser degree some macro stills/video from about 3 inches from the object. Figure that only cost $80.00. Plus it helps me see things better on my computer's LCD. So now I can get 1 of those stereo-microscopes for under $150.00 and I should have all my bases covered for a total of $230.00.
Among the decorations on the Roman Legionary standard was a Capricorn. The coin was issued by Septimius Severus in 193 AD to honor legions that supported him when he declared himself emperor.
