I got a chance to re-shoot many of my older coins today using my new camera set up. This is the first one. The coin has a good amount of wear but still remains attractive to me. Here is the old cell phone picture: Here is the re-shoot: The new picture shows pretty much how it looks in hand. Not sure why I switched the sides in the new picture. Doh! Post your old and new pictures! John
New image is much better IMHO. I had to re image all my coins when my computer died on me and I lost many of the old images. I still have a couple.
New image is definitely better. Here are a few pictures of a couple of coins taken earlier in my collecting and then more recent reshoots. Same camera & lens, just different lighting and coin support based on some tips from @dougsmit :
Although the new photo is focused a bit better, I'm a fan of the original photo ... I like the contrast in the toning (but both photos are pretty sweet) => great coin!! (congrats)
Nice! I like the new pictures, and you have the obverse and reverse correct in that one. Not much difference between the old and new here, but the new captures the toning a little better.
@Bing your old images were very good but I like your new ones even better. I upload all my photos (of all kinds) to cloud storage to avoid losing them. This is a great option now. Micosoft one drive (for example) offers 1 TB of storage for $70 per year. That is enough for my 20 years of digital pictures. Plus you can access them from all your computers, phones, tablets, etc. Just saying in case some folks are not aware of these newer options. John
It is amazing the difference small changes in lighting can make. And not just the angle but the "color" of the lighting from different types of bulbs or natural light. I had to turn off all the older light bulbs in my room to avoid getting red highlights on my new photos. I only left on the LED photo lights I was using.
Yes, he opposite is also common. Before many of us switched to daylight balanced LED or compact florescent bulbs we used "older" 2800K tungsten bulbs and set the camera to correct for the yellow/red light. However many people worked in a room with a window spilling blue daylight usually seen on the edges of silver coins. Forgetting this cost me many reshoots. The easy answer then was to work at night. Today we have to remember to turn off the room lights or replace all our old bulbs with daylight bulbs.
The OP cellphone photo makes the coin look like it has a wonderful toned surface. I'd prefer a coin looking like that than the coin in the reshoot.
I like the toned appearance of the original photo, it is just not how the coin actually looks. The original photo is also very out of focus.
Here is my ORIGINAL Shot: Iona Kolophon AR Tetartemorion 530-520 BCE Archaic Apollo Incuse Punch 0.15g 4.5mm and my LATEST Shot: YUP! It is the SAME!!! Took approx 21 photos of this one and finally GAVE UP!!! Frustrated and said "The Heck with it! I have a photo!" LOL.
Try pulling the camera farther away from the coin. The lens you are using may not be able to focus that close. You can always crop the extra space around the coin on your computer.
Saw this today and thought of the OP's coin: So now you can add to your reference: Goltzius, Sicilia et Magna Graecia, Plate XXXIIII, no. III var.
Yup. Someday I'd like to own an original copy of this work but I keep spending all my extra funds in coins or new books.
Nomos from Calabria were one of my favorite denominations to photograph. Not sure if most were found in a hoard a while ago; then acquired their tone through old coin cabinets; but a lot seem to carry iridescent toning.
