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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kirispupis, post: 7743432, member: 118780&quot;]Since this isn&#039;t a photography forum, I can understand that there are several basic photography concepts that aren&#039;t fully understood, so I&#039;ll illustrate them here and explain how they relate to coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>First of all, what shutter speed do you think I used for this photo?</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1325749[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Many would be surprised to know I used 1/10th of a second. But how did I catch these drops in motion? The answer is the shutter speed really doesn&#039;t matter. These shots are taken in a relatively dark room, and then multiple flashes and strobes light it up. When you trigger a flash, it fires for a very short period of time. In fact, the further down you power it (say to 1/64 or 1/128), the shorter the duration, because all the flash is really doing at full power is providing light for a longer period. So, in this case the light is what is freezing the motion - not the shutter speed.</p><p><br /></p><p>Next question: when was this photo taken?</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1325752[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>This photo of a heron was actually shot very late in the day (8:30, which means I&#039;d been up for hours). The sun was already high and was shining on this heron as it flew. There was a river bank right behind it, but due to some shade and distance, the background appears black.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, applying these concepts to coins means that setups don&#039;t need to be complicated.</p><ul> <li>You don&#039;t need a tripod or anything equivalent, because the flash is what&#039;s preventing blur. Of course, you do want to set your shutter speed near to the flash sync speed of your camera (typically 1/200 or 1/250) so less background appears.</li> <li>You can achieve that black background by distancing your coin from the background. This is easily achievable with a simple stand - and mine is made of two Lego pieces.</li> <li>You can make the background darker by using a fabric that doesn&#039;t reflect, such as velvet. White backgrounds are easier, since any camera store should have some pure white paper.</li> </ul><p>In terms of reflections, I believe there is the misunderstanding that I&#039;m actually putting the coin on its edge, which is absolutely not the case. My coins are always laying down, and I just place the reflective sheet snug next to the coin. If by some chance the coin does fall, it will only travel a few inches to the velvet. My entire setup is also on the carpeted floor, to reduce potential energy. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Personally, I like the reflections, though I understand it&#039;s a personal choice.</p><p><br /></p><p>In terms of aperture, I&#039;ve done a bit of focus stacking but I haven&#039;t really found it necessary for coins. Even my Alexander Tet looks fine at f/11.</p><p><br /></p><p>Since I don&#039;t have a permanent spot for my setup, it takes me all of a minute or two to get it ready. The setup may sound complicated but it&#039;s actually very simple.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s another shot of a Karshapana, supposedly right after Asoka.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1325755[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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