Thinking of new camera for coin pictures

Like several others, I have owned both Nikon and Canon digital SLR camera rigs for shooting coins. The Canon hardware included their entry level macro lens. The Canon photo quality was inferior to an inexpensive Nikon CoolPix in close-up mode costing half as much.

I eventually threw the whole group of Canon T1i equipment up on eBay which fetched about $400 at the time (a true gift looking back now) and after a few years messing with a P835 CoolPix which served me well, bought another SLR, this time a Nikon entry level SLR kit costing $400 including a standard and telephoto lens. The standard lens takes pretty nice photos of coins, and without having to make adjustments between shots, an important consideration if you are shooting a series of coins and don't want to spend a month of Sundays messing around with focus etc.

 

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My photographer W. Hansen prefers natural sunlight and basically uses a hand held camera. M. Porcius Cato Ar Denarius 89 B.C. Obv. Female head right Rv. Victory seated right Crawford 343/1b 3.90 grms 18 mm

 

While I hate to give up the capability of shooting at night, I am also becoming a fan of natural daylight through a north window. I still have my ringlight and directional LED's standing by as backups on my current rig but they only get turned on when I don't like what I see with the light from the window.
I posted this elsewhere here.

I will never understand the desire to shoot coins handheld. I prefer sharp photos of what are often less than perfectly sharp coins. In 2020, I plan to do more photos of the same old coins rather than chasing so many new ones in vain while the rest of you are paying more for coins and less for cameras. I make no claims of my brand being better than other brands but I will point out that I find more value in posts that include a sample photo of an ancient coin than those that only post words. We could discuss whether it is better to make the best, sharpest, well lit images that show every fault of our coins or leave the viewer wondering what the coin will look like under close examination.

 

I'm also an "only daylight/natural lighting" aficionado. There is no substitute. The auction catalogs might offer something that suffices, but for true nearly-in-hand visuals you have to go with natural light me thinks.

 

Just as a mater of interest this is what I am getting from Samsung S20 phone with no macro setting. I think the result is OK for ebay.

My issue is there seems to be a lot off fiddling about cropping and resizing. To list a large number of items it takes forever, and seems too labor intensive if listing cheaper coins starting at $1. (The danger is they may sell at $1)

Is there a quicker solution.

 

Color looks to be a little off, too orange. I use Paint Shop Pro-7 editing software to crop etc. Takes only a minute or two and the photo looks pretty good. My own experience has convinced me it's a waste of time to sell inexpensive coins on eBay. Once postage, fees and commissions are paid it becomes a public service performed free of charge. If you can't get at least $35 for it then it's pretty much a waste of time.

 

Thanks princeofwaldo
Certainly makes more sense to only work with higher price coins.
I have been listing coins in bulk which seems a better way of turning the ones you dont want back into money.

The NZ penny is BU, but I would agree it could probably be toned down a little.
I think I used a desk lamp with eco bulb. But the tone can vary according to positioning. Here's an example on a tatty 5 Rupee note with the desk lamp re-directed. The lower image is more natural.