Testing out new macro lens & looking for feedback

This is a great thread, it has me thinking across the board about my photography. I really appreciate getting to read all the suggestions that all of you have been making.

@Volante I think your photos look great, the macro lens you bought was good buy, thanks for starting this thread.

 

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Great thread @Volante! I can use all the help, good pointers by Doug, much appreciated

 

I recently photographed my collection with a 105 mm macro. I found a few things that help. A tiny piece of dental wax works great to hold high relief coins on top of the offset and is very adjustable. I used a Kenko extension tube to fill more of my frame with coin. Lastly, a remote control to activate the shutter will allow slow shutter speeds. Even the simple act of your finger pressing on to the shutter release button on your SLR body (when on a tripod) will cause camera shake. Oh, and I used an 18% gray card, which are only a few bucks, as a background, so I could achieve accurate white balance that represents the coin's true "look." Still too lazy to focus stack so my depth of field is still too thin on some coins. Here's a drachm from Apollonia Pontika:

 

I'm curious for those of you that are focus stacking, how do you select the various focus points to shoot? Is your camera on some sort of finely adjustable rail and you step across a couple mm? Or are you manually turning the lens a degree or so between shots? Or are you focusing by eye on different areas (depths) of the coin?

 

Another excellent idea! You can even use it to make sure images of two different coins, one darker, one lighter, are presented with the same settings, so you can compare them directly without having them in the same shot.

 

The program I use requires that you input the images in proper order with the one focused most closely first. This can be done in either of two ways. The easiest is to focus manually on the nearest point and shoot picture #1. The move the focus ring the smallest possible amount in the direction required to move the plane of sharp focus down just a tiny bit. NEVER back up. Repeat until the sharp focus reaches the most distant part of the coin. If, when you finish and the program has done its work, there are fuzzy spots in the coin, you probably have a bad image or did not make enough steps along the way. Combines starts by calculating the offset (x and y) to correct the centering of the input images. If it displays over 10 pixels, I throw out the image that is different or start over and be more careful not to move the camera when focusing. You need a solid camera stand for this. You can use that expensive tripod if you must but a camera stand made of scrap lumber is more solid and costs a fraction as much.

You can also leave the focus setting alone and move the camera and lens down closer to the coin with each shot by the tiny amount. I have found the program to be forgiving of the amount as long as you adhere to the near first and far last rule. You might be able to hand hold all this and I have done series for some subjects but NOT for coins. Below is a three image stack of resting reptiles in a terrarium. Such images look more natural if you leave a background that is out of focus but that is not important for coins.

 

Are those your pets, Doug? They’re super cute!

My first lizard was an anole.

Erin

 

Great, thanks much for the details, Doug. And nice shot of the pets, I guess they know how to hold still for you

 

I like pets who know how to pose....coins are very cooperative.

 

Thanks Doug, I do appreciate your help. I have been doing the same thing as you opened with. I'm continually searching for new ideas. I hope this helps others as well. Cheers and Happy New Year.

 

Me too! And he is really HANDSOME.

 

Okay , I have a question, what is the best way to change the background on a pic. I have been trying to use paint but I am not happy with my outline. Anyone have other suggestions for me?

 

Photoshop is $9.99 a month on a subscription basis, or you could get a free photo editor like GIMP (haven't used it but I know it's out there). The task of masking out a background is pretty straightforward, but varies by app.

 

I also would be interested in this answer... without the monthly fee.

 

Ok, here are some images of the sockets I use to elevate and also accommodate coins that are of high relief that tend to tilt if shot on a flat surface. They range in size from 10-19mm. I do have a large non metric socket that is larger than the 19mm. They do provide a stable platform. Anyhow, it works for me.
The tape (Gorilla) prevents damage to the coin.

I hope this helps some folks out there.

Cheers

 

Hi Volante,

You have been given good advice here. I also think that your photos are excellent and don’t need any improvement for most purposes.

I usually use a 50mm Macro lens for coins as it has a shorter focus distance but still leaves plenty of room for lighting. I also use from f8 to f11 as, after that, you run into problems with diffraction.

You mention that you will be looking for a focus rail. Some focus rails are better for coins than others. I use an older Minolta macro rail that is marvellous. I team it up with a Soligor Multflex photostand and thus have a portable, very small copy stand (see photo 1). As the camera is attached to the base on which the coin stands any slight movement in the camera is negated by a similar movement in the stand/coin (I don’t mean for you to move the camera). If you can find a similar focus rail that has rails that progressively issue out of the main rails you can add a professional stand as I have - or simply bolt a flat plate to the end of the rails.

For a “poor-man’s “setup somewhat similar to the above you can simply get a flat flash holder (photo 3) that attaches to the bottom of the camera. You will need to add a flat base at ninety degrees to the “flash” end (some flash holders have a handle at one end. Take the plastic handle off and you have the same). The main problem is that you need a reasonably long flash holder (or long plate) to accommodate your focal length. You simply use the screw knob which attaches it to the camera to get the approximate distance and then use the camera to fine focus.


All the best,

Col.

 

There's also Photoshop Elements, which is quite capable and non-subscription (usually $70-100).

 

I use bonanza.com. It is free, can be a little flakey at times but pretty reasonable on the whole.
https://burner.bonanza.com/

 

I got rid of my old copy stand before I had replaced it. It was cheap (about $20) but fully functional. Now all I see is stands costing over $100. Does anyone know where to get a decent inexpensive model?