Would someone one the list tell me a good digital camera and the lens that would be needed to photograph my coins? As I understand it, the closer the camera will focus the better. I cannot afford a $1000.00 for a camera. I am hoping someone might have a $300.00-$400.00 recommendation on a digital camera that will use interchangable lenses. I hate to spend the money if what I purchase will not do the job. Please keep in mind that I am a beginner with coin photography. Please use my email address below as to not tie up the list. Thanks, Jim jparks@uky.edu
I use a canon A300 powershot 3.2 Mpixel. Works good for macros. Hard to capture luster on the closeups though. You can get if for under 200$. You have to get a small tripod or set something up to get the macros using the timer. Also get a card reader for your flash drive and buy rechargeble batteries
I have limited experience photographing coins. I do take a lot of snapshots. As long as your equipment is of some quality, the rest is up to you. A Sony, Panasonic, Kodak, etc., major label in a medium price range ought to be appropriate for a beginner to learn with. If you buy a great camera, you will own it for a long time and it will take you a long time to work up to it. The camera is just a tool. I worked for a coin newspaper for a year and shot maybe 50 different layouts and spreads. We had a little work area set aside with black walls, glasses and such to throw light, a spotlight, and so on, and a digital camera hooked to a Macintosh. Spend an hour on a shot, and you eventually get it right. Michael
my nikon coolpix 5400 can take photos as close as 1/2 an inch we bought ours for 600 a year ago so good chances are its down even more... its nikon so it can use other lenses... chances are you might find a higher grade nikon now for around the same price we payed for ours... its 5.1 megapixels you can see a review here http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp5400/
i love my canon s400. i'm still a noob with it (i'm a noob with a canera in general), but i've gotten some really swell pix with it. i also have a couple of big memory cards so i can take multiple pictures of each coin so i can get just the right one. have you tried scanning your coins? that's fun, too.
