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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Kevin Mader, post: 8221684, member: 106826&quot;][USER=132770]@Richard Kennedy[/USER] I think that you might want to pass on the magnifier.&nbsp; I bought one of those too.&nbsp; I was curious how it might work, but I found it difficult to get proper lighting to perfuse the area under the small santoprene skirt.</p><p><br /></p><p>My recommendation is to use a setup like I posted above.&nbsp; Lifting the specimen as you are doing is a good idea as it separates the subject from the backing.&nbsp; You can&#039;t tell in the shoebox setup, but I lift the coin about 1/4&quot; off of the backing.&nbsp; That phone I&#039;m using is an iPhone 5, so with a 12, you should be ahead of me on the technology.&nbsp; So, you might be better off than you think.&nbsp; Again, though, it takes time to master photo taking, but if you approach it as part of the hobby, you might be delighted to see your progression.</p><p><br /></p><p>As for a budget, I suppose that hasn&#039;t been a limiting factor for me.&nbsp; Instead, I rather like the challenge of taking solid pictures with simple techniques and creative setups.&nbsp; Folks here and elsewhere have offered tips and setups that I&#039;ve leveraged well.&nbsp; And so can you.&nbsp; I really think that you might get superior photos using your iPhone 12 over the magnifier.&nbsp; But even with that said, you might find that with some experimentation that you can get more mileage out of your magnifier once you figure out the limits and limiting factors.</p><p><br /></p><p>Variety hunting is fun and can be productive. As you develop your eye, you&#039;ll need us less but in between, sharp photos will help us assist you.&nbsp; Here&#039;s how I get my close-ups when I need to.&nbsp; I use an AmScope (one of their cheapest) and shoot photos using my iPhone through one of the oculars.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1444136[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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