I know this is really lame, but is there some secret about how to use a digital camera to photograph coins? We have an HP 5 mega pixel digital camera, but try as I might, I can not get a usable image. I've tried in daylight, under different types of lamps to no avail. Help!! Thanx, Lee
The probable cause of your problem ids that you are not using the macro feature of your camera. This is of course assuming the camera has a macro feature. For more info in them see this thread - http://www.cointalk.org/thread8136-camera-for-coins.html When I take pictures I have the camera in macro and I use my 10X loupe. By first positioning the loupe so its in focus and then placing the camera lense right against the loupe I an usually get good closeups which I can enlarge and crop once the images are transfered to my computer. The hardest part is having the pateince to find the right combination that works for your camera. Hope this helps. BTW my avatar photo was taken using this system so you can use that as a judge of my abilities.
My recommendation for an inexpensive method (thanks to all the members here that helped me with this) 1. Tripod (I bought a small travel tripod for less than $20) 2. Black background (old t-shirt or piece of cloth) 3. Lighting (two inexpensive desk lamps and flourescent (because they stay cool) daylight bulbs - less than $20) 4. Lighting diffusion (plastic grocery bags over lights - free with grocery purchase) 5. Turn on the macro function (usually a button with a flower icon) 6. Turn off the flash 7. Check your camera manual for the minimum macro focus distance (you won't get a clear shot with the camera closer than this) and set to spot focus if possible 8. Take a lot of pictures with different lighting and angles, then choose the best. 9. Circulated coins are easier to photograph than MS or PF which require more work and experimentation. Have fun and be patient.
No. If it works it works. You do have to be careful concerning scratches to the coin or scanner but as it said if it works it works. I find that scanner images only look good at the resolution in which they were scanned. Zooming in is almost imposible because the image pixilates so quickly. This is why I chose a digital camera.
It is not a bad way, per se, but I have found that scanner images tend to fail to show a coin's luster (even though they are great for showing surface details).
