Taking Pictures of Coins

I am trying to find the best way to take pictures of my coins. Does anyone have any ideas? The only camera I have is on my iPhone. Taking nice pictures of my coins would greatly enhance my experience on this site.

 

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you want high quality pics, get a good digital camera with macro, camera stand and multiple lights, you want semi decent cheap pics, get a usb microscope,, all depends on what you want and your budget,,,

 

@WingedLiberty uses a camera phone for many of his pictures. Maybe he'll check in with some advice.

Some good advice from Ken above. Digital 'point and shoot' types of cameras with macro capabilities are fairly reasonable and produce excellent results. Using a tripod and employing the camera timer, to reduce camera shake, are a must.....

 

Has anyone ever shown a decent picture of an entire coin with a USB microscope? I can't remember.

 

This is what you should do. If not and you decide to continue using your phone you're going to have to come up with a way to mount and stabilize the phone and put the shutter on a timer.

 

I've never seen any good photos of larger coins take by an "out-of-the-box" USB.

Chris

 

Let me refresh your memory. Here's an entire coin:

 

I've posted a lot of coins with zero complaint on the photos. It's not top of the line be it's good enough.

 

Using my wife's point and shoot with a tripod, a flexible lamp, a CD stand and a piece of cardboard I took the photo below. I used MSPaint to crop and combine the photos, no other editing. I believe it is a very accurate portrayal of the coin in hand.



I've had some fun with coin photography and I suppose it's become a side hobby.

 

I use the Dino-Lite AM-411T with the MS35B Rigid Table Top Pole Stand. With this combo I can image a full shot of any size coin.

 

An iPhone is, in my personal experience, as good as any non-dSLR camera for shooting coins. They are easily the class of all smartphone cameras and the equal of all but the best point-and-shoots for the purpose (and the best point-and-shoots are older models). Experimentation with lighting, and adherence to the cardinal rules of macro shooting - firm rest for camera, exact squareness to the subject, delayed shutter so you're not touching it when it snaps - will result in perfectly gradable images. I know half a dozen collectors who have refined their iPhone technique to this level.

 

Do you have an estimate on all the materials it would cost to take those pictures?

 

I spent less than $2 because my wife already owned a camera, tripod, and I took my CD stack holder that I already owned. I also had a copy of MSPaint preinstalled on my computer.

 

I have some experimentation with lighting to do with my iPhone!....I called a camera store and they said it would cost $300-$400 to make quality, gradable images of coins. I'm not quite there yet.

 

Whoa! Time to slow down.

 

a usb microscope will take full coin pics as long as you have a stand that will raise the scope up high enough above the coin, like 2old's setup..

 

Point & shoot.......

 

I disagree, sorta. You give me a $400 budget, and I will set you up with an equipment list capable of professional results from (literally) microscope-level magnification to full-face coin images and slab pics as well. It requires purchasing used, but there are many reputable outlets for everything on the equipment list.

In the meantime, your iPhone is very_much_worth pursuing to the limit of its' capabilities for full-face images. It gives limited magnification, so Cents and Dimes will be smaller images than the optimal 800-1000px diameter, but you'll be pleasantly surprised by what it can do.

 

pics post: editing right now, will get photos flipped counter clockwise. This was what I did with my phone. Resolution is there but lighting and placement is not consistent.