Here is the deal. I have a Nikon D60 slr with a "kit lens" of 18 to 55 mm. The only way I can get luster to appear on a coin is to photograph it at an angle. But when I do this, I cannot get the entire coin in focus, it's either the top, bottom, or when I focus dead on, the center is in focus, but the outer areas are not. I've seen pros image the coin laying flat on a table, but when I do this, there is absolutely no luster, no matter how I position my lights. I'm wondering if perhaps the limitation is my kit lens, I'm starting to think it's not destined for macro photography. Here is what I have tried. -Adjusting the lights, which does not help my focusing issue. - Adjusting my aperture, too big, and the image is dark, too small and the coin is out of focus. I've tried F8 to F16, and it does not seem to help. - Adjusting my shutter speed. Helps with exposure, but does not help the focusing issue. I've also heard shooting farther away. My lens is about 4 inches from the coin. But when I zoom out, details are lost. Maybe you can help me. I have some really nice coins I just got that I would like to image.
First of all, four inches is way to close. There is no way it will lose focus if you back off to 8-10 inches. Check your focus settings. Mine has the option for "center" focus or "area" focus. Also, check your metering settings.
Well, then my best guess is it has to do with the focus settings or metering like I mentioned. Seems like what is happening, is that when you are farther away, it is trying to focus on the entire area surrounding the coin, instead of focusing on just the center (the coin). I have a nikon, and when it change I to center focus, two "arches" appear to show where it will be focusing. These are taken from 8-12" away. My camera is just a point and shoot too, so you should have these options.
Actually the one taken at 9" away was manual focus. I will try again. I noticed the top of your coins is black, what would cause that? Mine are like that too.
Light position, intensity and the toning. I will adjust the lights if it warrants it. Depending on the surface or color, I can not have that top shadow so dark.
Here is another photo showing the difference between 4 and 9 inches. At 4 inches, the text on the ngc tag is nice and sharp, and so is the coin, but at 9 inches, the text is "soft" and so is the coin. Both images were used with autofocus.
I think the issue here I'm finding is trying to hold the camera dead on to the coin. I think if the coin is tilted to the left or right by even a millimeter, it causes a portion of it to be out of focus, because then the plane of the coin is not flat in relation to the sensor. I would like to invest in a copy stand, but does anyone here use one?
