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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;jtlee321, post: 2166055, member: 73983&quot;]Next time I set up my camera for taking images of coins, I&#039;ll take a photo of the setup.&nbsp; Right now, I&#039;m using a Canon 60D and 70-200 2.8 non IS lens with a $35.00 extension tube I bought on Amazon.&nbsp; I am using two goos neck desk lamps I bought at Walmart using some LED bulbs I bought at Ikea.&nbsp; I am using a tripod to mount my camera and a oversized clip board on the floor to provide a flat sturdy surface to mount the lights and hold the coins.&nbsp; There are two lighting setups I use.&nbsp; The first is for most coins.&nbsp; I use both lights set at 10 and 2 o&#039;clock.&nbsp; The hight depends on the surface of the coins.&nbsp; The second setup uses one light placed directly at 12 o&#039;clock with a sheet of glass set at approximately 45 degrees.&nbsp; I place an object between the coin and the light so that there is no direct light from the source.&nbsp; The glass reflects the light straight down at the coin.&nbsp; This set up is used for showing toning.&nbsp; It does not do a great job for showing luster.&nbsp; I use live view and the zoom function in live view to manually focus the lens.&nbsp; Once I have the correct focus I set the camera to the 2 second self timer.&nbsp; This allows for any vibrations to subside when I push the shutter button.&nbsp; Also the live view mode prevents mirror slap, which causes vibrations throughout the camera and lens.&nbsp; When shooting at anything slower than 1/30th of a second, any vibration at all can cause the image to blur slightly.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am a professional photographer and have been taking photos for nearly 13 years now.&nbsp; Granted, coin photography is new to me, but the principals of photography stay the same.&nbsp; Here is a tip.&nbsp; All lenses have a sweet spot for sharpness with the given aperture.&nbsp; Most lenses are sharpest at the middle f- stops.&nbsp; So a lens with an aperture range of 4.5 - 22 will be sharpest around f8-11.&nbsp; I shoot all of my coins at f8-11 depending on the size of the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are a couple of examples of my images.&nbsp; The first are using the first setup with two lights.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]417469[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]417470[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]417471[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]417472[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]417473[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>And here are a couple using the second lighting setup to capture the surface patina and toning.&nbsp; The Indian and Lincoln Cent are the same coins you see above.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]417474[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]417475[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]417476[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]417477[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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