I put together a new coin photography setup in the last month or so. I started with a Nikon D40x which I've had for a little over a year now, a small, cheap 12-inch copy stand and two gooseneck desktop lamps with daylight CFL bulbs. That worked pretty well and took nice enough pictures in its own right, but I knew it could be better. I kept the camera and lamps the same, but added a large Olympus copy stand, Olympus focusing rail, and Sigma 150mm macro lens. What a difference that setup makes! I know I need to work on lighting at this point, because I'm having problems getting larger things (like the medals I have pictures of here) adequately lit. This setup is very easy to use and makes taking nice pictures a breeze. I'm planning to try this out on some smaller pieces next - quarters, dimes, half cents. I'd love some feedback, and have included some "before" pics taken with my old setup for frame of reference. These are some before pics...
Wow - what a difference. Congrats on some great pics. I wish I had your set up. Where did you get the copy stand? Seems that those are no longer available around where I live.
I got mine on eBay. Was about $250 with shipping, but that's partly because of the focusing rail - those aren't cheap. Still, if one were using a DSLR, I'd get a copy stand with around a 36 inch column or bigger. With a point-and-shoot, one of the little desktop-sized ones would do. You can get those for less than $50. I actually saw a really great one on eBay earlier this week that retails for $1000 (with lights attached, which this had) that went for about $135. The attached lights are the only thing I'm wishing I had. Just throw "copy stand" at eBay and be willing to wait a month or two for the right one to show up.
You can have a metal shop build you a copy stand for next to nothing. All they are are pieces of sheet goods bent with a few holes/slots punched in them for bolts and screws.
If you get a DIY one you'll want to buy a nice, reliable clamp with camera mount to attach to the length of pipe or rod stock or whatnot they give you for an upright.
Nice pics! I just started reading Numismatic Photography by Mark Goodman today. Do you by any chance have that book? It's inspiring me to want one of these setups as well. I know the book has had mixed reviews here but for a novice like myself, it's teaching me a lot about how to light different coins with varying contrasts. I'd recommend it. Your after pics are looking really great. They look like they could use a little more light though, to eliminate the dark areas. Just my humble opinion. Where is your light(s) positioned on the last coin? I'd be interested to see what it would look like if you put them at 10 and 2. Lighting looks like it could be the trickiest part.
As a matter of fact i do have that book! It's what inspired me to get a macro lens with a 1:1 reproduction ratio and a long minimum focal length, which necessitated the better copy stand. My lighting was tried at 4 and 8, 10 and 2, 4 and 10 - a number of locations on various pics (most of which you wouldn't have seen because I deleted them). And you're right, lighting is one of the hardest things to get right. I still need to work on that, maybe get some different lamps and bulbs. As far as a mini-review of the book goes, here's my take: if you've done a bit of reading on your own, it can point the way towards next steps, but if you're much more than a novice you won't be likely to get much out of it. Large swathes of the book could have been comfortably cut, and some general coverage of principles of photograhy would have made it a much more solid all-in-one numismatic macro photography reference. Long story short, the book is probably worth buying for most people but it won't solve all your problems.
I agree with your opinion of the book. Below is a link to a review I did of this book a few months ago. Book Review – Numismatic Photography by Mark Goodman Nice photos by the way. Yes, your lighting needs some improvement but you will be taking GREAT photos in no time. (I'm working on it. I still need to buy a copy stand.)
I would completely agree with your assessment. I should note that I would classify myself as a novice or intermediate photographer so I did find it to be pretty helpful. I probably know more than the average person but would be out of my league with people who really know what they're doing. I'm trying to get there. The book can be had new for $18 now and it is thinner than I expected too. But good general information. It got me thinking about things that I hadn't before such as leveling slabs to make up for the way the coin sits within the slab in order to make sure the whole coin is in perfect focus.
