Was I wrong about cell phones?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by dougsmit, Jun 1, 2015.

  1. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I have said on several occasions that cameras take better pictures than phones. Before now, I've never had much of a phone so I was basing his on what I had seen posted by others. My daughter provides my cell phone on a family plan in trade for child care and now has given me my first 'Smart' phone (Samsung Galexy 6S). Below are my first coin photos with it. How much of the problems I see are my ineptitude and how much the camera. All strike me as too contrasty with poor tonal renditions. Perhaps I will find a setting that will improve the matter but, for now, I'll consider the phone for emergency coin use only. Hints welcome.

    The colors here and surfaces are just not right but I don't know how to improve.
    phonec2iovi.jpg
    The bright silver denarius faired best of all. Contrast made it sparkle.
    phonecosimin.jpg
    The gray silver tone here looks OK but is not smooth and subtle as on the coin.
    phonehadalex.jpg
    The coin is dark but the contrast really killed the smoothness.
    phonec2eros.jpg
    Shooting with the phone's built in flash gives good detail but nothing but glare. All the rest here were taken with the same Ott light I use with my camera.
    phoneflasheros.jpg

    To me the bottom line is that the phone can make sharp photos but I have not figured out how to control the tonal range with the controls see available. Considering that one can get a decent camera for less than a phone, I'm not ready to switch.
     
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  3. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    I like the shots but do you have your original photos to make comparison? Your best representations of what you want the coins to look like?
     
  4. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    Tone has been the biggest problem I've had. Does your phone have the ability to set the white balance on the camera? I've never tried with my phone but thought it worth mentioning.
     
  5. fred13

    fred13 Junior Member

    swamp yankee likes this.
  6. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    This is another Samsung Special.

    ShapurIreshoot_opt.jpg
     
    chrsmat71, Mikey Zee, TIF and 3 others like this.
  7. onecenter

    onecenter Member

    Very nice photos. I know little to nothing about ancient coinage and I am impressed!
     
  8. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    I'm still having difficulty with using the camera on my S5, but once in a while an image comes out perfect like this one. The other side I can't seem to get into focus w/o a glare:
    a.jpg

    this is with my camera:
    Phokis, Federal Coinage.jpg

    The S5 shot is an almost exact copy of the the coin while the camera shot has too much glare. I'll keep trying.
     
    chrsmat71 likes this.
  9. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    BTW, here is the image I had prior to these last:
    Phokis, Federal Coinage.jpg
     
  10. RaceBannon

    RaceBannon Member

    I think for photos snapped with a phone...those OP shots are pretty dog gone good! Crisp detail and the lighting isn't that bad with or without flash.

    My phone certainly wouldn't take shots of that quality.
     
  11. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Doug, your smart phone images are still better than most other people's coin photos regardless of what type of device they used.

    As for your observations regarding contrast, iPhones also add a whopping amount of contrast and saturation (if picture is taken in moderately strong light). I can't tell about saturation, but it does look like the Samsung is liberal with automatic contrast enhancement.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2015
  12. kaosleeroy108

    kaosleeroy108 The Mahayana Tea Shop & hobby center

    me i have been dieing to upgrade!!! still using a hydro xtreme
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2015
  13. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    I don't even own a phone (when I'm off the job, I'm off the grid!!)

    ... oh, but my young wife always has her phone in case of emergencies (ummm, or in case we have to settle some sort of trivia question that I usually lose)

    ... but if I did own a phone, I'm sure that I'd end-up taking photos of my thumb?!


    ;)
     
  14. Kasia

    Kasia Got my learning hat on

    my samsung 3 is not the best camera - perhaps the 6 has been improved for that.
     
  15. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    And the 5.
     
  16. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    This coin was sort of difficult to photograph. It kept wanting to come out blast white (PB) color like Bing's second photo. I moved the fluorescent light away and illuminated the entire room. Then I used http://apps.pixlr.com/editor/ to increase the brightness / contrast till it looked right.

    KoJ_opt.jpg
     
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  17. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    Same thing here....

    GrosTourPhilIVAD1285-131425mmx42_opt.jpg
     
    chrsmat71, Mikey Zee and zumbly like this.
  18. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    These two were laid flat with no adjustment.
    HalinPyu_opt.jpg

    20141102_Secular_opt.jpg
     
  19. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Wow, Anoob! You've obviously been working hard to improve your images. Kudos!!
     
    Kasia and Ancientnoob like this.
  20. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    Thanks for noticing TIF. It means a lot coming from you.

    I have quite a few coins that one does not see everyday, some are represented in reference only as a drawing and thus by not taking the time to give the specimen a proper photo, then I felt I was doing the hobby a disservice.
     
  21. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    While on the topic of photos...

    How can improve this photo? The coin has been mechanically buffed and appears very bright silver. (Its rare and will tone later not worried)

    Bahram VI yr. 1 AD 590
    bahramVIyr1JayAD590.jpg
     
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