Thinking of new camera for coin pictures

Some may disagree, but considering modern cameras (and phones), well they dont make a whole lot of difference. This biggest deciding factor is light. Plain and simple. And, no, I have not figured it out yet, so dont ask me!

I'd love to hear what specific kind of lighting people are using (no generic terms, like "I used a desk lamp").

 

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A few years ago I bought a Nikon 5300 which I now use for coin photography. I have a variety of macro lenses but do not use them. The high resolution of the 5300 allows me to photo the coins with the 18-55mm zoom that came with the camera. I can focus close enough to crop the photos without loss of detail.

By far, the best investment that I have made for coin photography is my copy stand. I had put off buying one for years and finally bought a relatively inexpensive one on Amazon for a couple of hundred dollars. The setup has two position-adjustable lamps so I bought daylight photo bulbs to achieve the correct white balance without the need for much post processing.

 

I am happy with a variety of lights but prefer twist compact florescents with daylight (5000-5500K) balance and a CRI (color rendering index) of 90 to 95 according to what you can find. LED's work but I seem to like the CFL's better for some reason. I do not recommend reflectors since the light is harsh. I ruin more images by trying to get too complex with lighting than just using one bulb but I'm always trying to improve on the simple light that gives.

 

I'm going to go pick up some bulbs tomorrow. I'll get a couple of CFl's and a couple of LED's and try both. The bulbs I have are generic cool white LED'S.

 

I'm going to go pick up some bulbs tomorrow. I'll get a couple of CFl's and a couple of LED's and try both. The bulbs I have are generic cool white LED'S.

 

I find a single bulb usually results in the best pictures with most coins. Some coins photograph well with axial lighting, where the coin is shielded from direct lighting but the light source is reflecting on a piece of angled glass through which the photo is taken. This works well with coins with reflective surfaces because the light source reflects directly onto the face of the coin, rather than from an angle. My avatar is an example of this.

 

I bought some 5000K LED lights and these are the first try. Again at F/8 and letting the camera do the rest. I did lighten them up a bit in post processing. The medieval (French Charles the Bald) is more silver looking in hand but the Louis XIV looks pretty accurate to my eyes.

 

Is there any relation to the number of lumens of a bulb and its results? I read that 5600k simulates noon time daylight. Are there various amounts of lumens to a 5600?

 

No - lumens measure brightness, while the 5600K refers to the colour temperature - the colour of Black Body Radiation at 5600 Kelvins. Higher temperatures are bluer, then whiter, red is a relatively cool temperature.

ATB,
Aidan.

 

OK, so assuming I get a 5600k, how many lumens should I get?

 

To be honest, I'm not sure how bright a light you need to get, so hopefully someone else can say what they have.

I'm currently using an Aputure LED panel (5500K) which mounts on the camera hot shoe (they have other models) and quite happy with it - they quote brightness in lux instead of lumens (1 lux being 1 lumen/m^2) and it's adjustable in any case: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01ITRLJIW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ATB,
Aidan.

 

Thanks for the input. I was having some troubles with the bulbs I bought from Costco. Luckily there is a hardware store a couple miles away. I bought a 5000k 1500 lumen bulb. Below is the first shot I took. I think it is a vast improvement over what I was doing before.

 

Instead of using a high-quality macro lens, I would instead recommend taking pictures a bit higher up, with a standard lens.
Assuming your camera has a decently high megapixel count (20+), then you could simply crop the images small and still retain a high amount of detail.

 

That looks great Ken. Is that with just one light source? Can you give a bit of detail on your setup? Also, is the coin just sitting on a white background?

 

I knew someone might ask. Honestly it was taken with an iPhone. I havent pulled out my DLSR for a couple of years. The phone takes just as good photos (for my needs) and there are no cables or cards to deal with to transfer the pics (since I have an iMac all I do is push a button on the phone and they just transfer magically through the air). Unfortunately I got rid of my copy stand a couple years ago, so I have devised a method of stacking coin boxes next to a plastic container (which is semi-transparent) with a grey backing. I just lay the phone on the boxes and shoot the coins that way. Its a bit of a redneck type setup, but it works. I'd like to get another copy stand, but they seem to be $200 and up nowadays (the last one I bought was $20).

And yes, it was just a single light, which is why there are shadows at the bottom.

 

@Ken Dorney , thanks for the info on your setup. Coin photography can be frustrating but it's rewarding to get good results. My main goal is sharing my pictures here on CT but also for keeping a record.

 

The number of lumens is the least important figure. If the light is dim, you just have to leave the shutter open longer to compensate. This image was exposed at 10 seconds f/10 with one small daylight balance twist CFL positioned so no light fell directly on the coin. The photo is not as pleasing since there is not much you can do adjusting light under those circumstances and this coin needs help with the contrasty toning.



Similarly hard to adjust is the sun. This was taken inside near a window but with no direct sun hitting the coin. In either case you can tilt the coin slightly and change some of the reflection patterns. The daylight shot really plays down the texture/tone problems on the face. I would call truth somewhere between these two shots so they are both destined for the trash. Which looks like the coin? Both do according to where you are when you are looking.

 

@dougsmit, your last post is very informative. I was trying to shoot an Anglo Saxon penny of Atherlred this afternoon and had great difficulty with harsh shadows. The surface of the coin looked horrible. I now see my lighting was too harsh. Tomorrow I'll start experimenting with lower light, manual settings and long exposure.

 

Here's a picture and some details on my current photography setup. It has changed over time, but this is what I've currently landed on:


The camera is a Nikon D3200 with the 18-55mm "kit lens". The copy stand is a cheap one from Amazon that will probably be replaced soon, but it's worked well enough for the last couple of years. The platform I use for the coins is a piece of craft foam with a small dowel rod stuck into it and covered in black velvet. I surround the dowel rod with a sort of tunnel made of thin, dark foam rolled into a tube that helps create a nice dark background that makes it easy to get the black background I like to use for my photos. The lights are some cheap lamps I found at my local department store with daylight LED bulbs and the ceiling light in my office has daylight LED bulbs as well. Often for bronzes, especially those with irregular patinas I have the best results by lighting up the wall as best as possible and avoiding any direct light hitting the coin:


For silver, on the other hand, sometimes I use the lamps but occasionally for heavily toned silver I will actually use the camera flash. Most of the time(90% or so) it's far too harsh and I have to find another option but I always try it because sometimes it produces the best results:


If there's anything I've learned since I started taking coin photos it's that no two coins are the same and I often have to experiment with multiple techniques before I arrive at a photo that I like for a given coin. I have a handful of techniques I will commonly try but occasionally I've had to try something completely new like sticking one of the lamps on top of the bookshelves you see at either side of my camera setup or using the flashlight feature on my cell phone to get light coming from a third direction. And sometimes, even with this equipment I simply don't get a picture that I like for a coin and have to share the dealer's photo. That's happening less and less lately, but still occasionally happens.

As far as things I plan to change about my setup, the copy stand is high up on my list. It's become less and less stable over the years and seems to have been irreversibly damaged during my recent move. It shakes enough from the shutter movement that even when using a time delay or remote trigger, around one-third to one-half of my photos are ruined from the vibration and it seems to get worse after every photo session. Additionally, I'm looking into finding some white material to line the sides of my bookshelves with and some material to diffuse the light in cases where I need some direct light. I'm also planning to pick up some of the extension tubes that Doug has mentioned to experiment with.

 

Thank you all for posting your experiences and knowledge of coin photography. It was very informative.