Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
Coin Photography by Budget and Skill
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="kirispupis, post: 7951297, member: 118780"]The following is what I would recommend for low, medium, and high setups.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Low Cost</b></p><p>1) Buy a piece of white velvet either on Amazon or from your local crafts store. Rough cost is $10-$15.</p><p>2) Get a pair of small flexible lamps. Ikea sells <a href="https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/naevlinge-led-clamp-spotlight-black-30449885/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/naevlinge-led-clamp-spotlight-black-30449885/" rel="nofollow">these</a> for $15. You can probably find similar ones for a similar price online.</p><p>3) If your coin is at least denarius-size, take a small lego piece. A white one with four knobs works best.</p><p>4) Place the lego piece on the velvet, and the coin on the lego piece. If the coin is small, then just place it directly on the velvet.</p><p>5) Use the lamps to illuminate your coin as you see fit. You're going to want them hitting it from either side, at an angle.</p><p>6) Using an IPhone or Android, put it in zoom mode and take a photo.</p><p>7) Post process in the phone to increase brightness enough that you can't make out the velvet.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Medium Cost</b></p><p>1) Buy an SLR with a macro lens. A 100mm macro works best. The SLR or mirrorless camera doesn't matter much.</p><p>2) Buy a ring light that fits on the end of the macro lens. Even better, buy a dual head flash like <a href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1358149-REG/canon_2398c002_mt_26ex_rt_macro_twin_lite.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1358149-REG/canon_2398c002_mt_26ex_rt_macro_twin_lite.html" rel="nofollow">this </a>one.</p><p>3) Use either black or white velvet as you wish. Match your lego piece to the color of your choice.</p><p>4) Use something to increase the distance of your coin from the velvet. I use a chemistry stand that I bought for ~$30 on Amazon.</p><p>5) Set camera settings to ISO 100, 1/200 (or whatever your camera says is the flash-sync speed), f16.</p><p>6) Set your flash to manual mode and experiment to see what power illuminates your coin well enough.</p><p>7) Take a photo. If your hands are super-shaky, you may need something to hold the camera, but the flash is what's freezing the image.</p><p>8) Process your photo as necessary.</p><p>9) Optionally, lean a reflection board next to the coin to obtain a reflection. I use <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CDHJ6SU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CDHJ6SU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1" rel="nofollow">this </a>one.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>High Cost/Advanced</b></p><p>I honestly haven't gotten here yet. What I would expect to do is the following:</p><p>1) Same camera and macro lens, but without the macro flash. For larger coins, a tilt-shift lens such as the Canon TS-E 135 would be great.</p><p>2) Due to the small size of the coin, I expect that multiple speedlights triggered from the camera would be the most flexible. Some reflectors may also help.</p><p>3) I would expect some gobos would be necessary. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0367860279/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SZE94XLX8AX4&dchild=1&keywords=light+science+and+magic&qid=1634316975&sprefix=light+science+and+%2Caps%2C238&sr=8-1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0367860279/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SZE94XLX8AX4&dchild=1&keywords=light+science+and+magic&qid=1634316975&sprefix=light+science+and+%2Caps%2C238&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">This book</a> details their use. </p><p>4) A light table would also help, as I expect some lighting from below (if this is a white background) would be nice. I built a small one once from some PVC and plastic sheet from Home Depot for about $40.</p><p>5) A small stand to hold the coin say over a small basin of water could also be intriguing. I wouldn't expect to find one on the market, but would have to 3d print one.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here's a few samples from the "medium cost" setup. I'm tempted to try a more advanced setup over the holidays.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1377593[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1377595[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1377599[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="kirispupis, post: 7951297, member: 118780"]The following is what I would recommend for low, medium, and high setups. [B]Low Cost[/B] 1) Buy a piece of white velvet either on Amazon or from your local crafts store. Rough cost is $10-$15. 2) Get a pair of small flexible lamps. Ikea sells [URL='https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/naevlinge-led-clamp-spotlight-black-30449885/']these[/URL] for $15. You can probably find similar ones for a similar price online. 3) If your coin is at least denarius-size, take a small lego piece. A white one with four knobs works best. 4) Place the lego piece on the velvet, and the coin on the lego piece. If the coin is small, then just place it directly on the velvet. 5) Use the lamps to illuminate your coin as you see fit. You're going to want them hitting it from either side, at an angle. 6) Using an IPhone or Android, put it in zoom mode and take a photo. 7) Post process in the phone to increase brightness enough that you can't make out the velvet. [B]Medium Cost[/B] 1) Buy an SLR with a macro lens. A 100mm macro works best. The SLR or mirrorless camera doesn't matter much. 2) Buy a ring light that fits on the end of the macro lens. Even better, buy a dual head flash like [URL='https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1358149-REG/canon_2398c002_mt_26ex_rt_macro_twin_lite.html']this [/URL]one. 3) Use either black or white velvet as you wish. Match your lego piece to the color of your choice. 4) Use something to increase the distance of your coin from the velvet. I use a chemistry stand that I bought for ~$30 on Amazon. 5) Set camera settings to ISO 100, 1/200 (or whatever your camera says is the flash-sync speed), f16. 6) Set your flash to manual mode and experiment to see what power illuminates your coin well enough. 7) Take a photo. If your hands are super-shaky, you may need something to hold the camera, but the flash is what's freezing the image. 8) Process your photo as necessary. 9) Optionally, lean a reflection board next to the coin to obtain a reflection. I use [URL='https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CDHJ6SU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1']this [/URL]one. [B]High Cost/Advanced[/B] I honestly haven't gotten here yet. What I would expect to do is the following: 1) Same camera and macro lens, but without the macro flash. For larger coins, a tilt-shift lens such as the Canon TS-E 135 would be great. 2) Due to the small size of the coin, I expect that multiple speedlights triggered from the camera would be the most flexible. Some reflectors may also help. 3) I would expect some gobos would be necessary. [URL='https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0367860279/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SZE94XLX8AX4&dchild=1&keywords=light+science+and+magic&qid=1634316975&sprefix=light+science+and+%2Caps%2C238&sr=8-1']This book[/URL] details their use. 4) A light table would also help, as I expect some lighting from below (if this is a white background) would be nice. I built a small one once from some PVC and plastic sheet from Home Depot for about $40. 5) A small stand to hold the coin say over a small basin of water could also be intriguing. I wouldn't expect to find one on the market, but would have to 3d print one. Here's a few samples from the "medium cost" setup. I'm tempted to try a more advanced setup over the holidays. [ATTACH=full]1377593[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1377595[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1377599[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
Coin Photography by Budget and Skill
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...