I have my eye on a USB coin camera/magnifier and am interested in a decent scale for my coins as well. I have seen the Dino Lite USB camera/microscope and seems to be at a good price point / feature point... Are there any other relatively inexpensive options out there? Also, what kind of scales do people keep handy? Of course, if I'd only invest $100-$200 in a coin camera, I wouldn't be looking for a $400 scale. I would just look for something to weigh individual coins with some good accuracy. Sorry if this belongs in a different forum, but this is the audience I wanted to reach! Let me know if you haev any suggestions! Thanks!
G'Day mate I use a didji blue 5 microscope with camera combined and a sony 10.1 macro for close up photo's also a gold scale,scale cost about $130.00 U.S. microscope about $125.00 U.S. but don't quote me on this and camera about $290.00 to $320.00 U.S. not only do I use the microscope for errors and VAM's I also use it for my stamps,the scales I use for coins and gold (when I find it) and the camera for coins,stamps and happy snaps of the family/holidays and Airport construction photo's of the different Airports I work airside in around the country so that's what I have and the way I use it regards Harry
I use two cameras, not exclusively for coins though, a rather nice Nikon and Sony. But since I don't collect any more I usually only take pics of rarities & coin shows now days. As for scales, you don't need to spend a lot of money, under $50 will do it. You just need one that will weigh to within 0.01 grams. There are plenty on the market for that or less.
When you ask for my favorite tools, I thought (1) quality 3-5x glass to view the entire coin, (2) good 10x loop, (3) good light source, and (4) binocular microscope. For a scale I ended up using a digital gun powder scale from Dillon Precision. It measures to an accuracy of 0.1 grain/0.01 gram. You can probably shop around & get the same scale private labeled by a different company for less money. Just be careful to look at the accuracy & repeatability specification for the scale. Very best regards, collect89
What i use is a Hp Scanner a Hp digital camera a 18x and 30x loupe a tripod and my brain which there is not too much left of it. and the tool below so i could drill s ome holes in some bad coins i find. jazzcoins Joe
Hi dhegler. Like Collect89, I also have a Dillon Precision Scale. Mine is a "D-Terminator" that was purchased at a local gun shop for $160. So far it seems to be a good scale. As far as cameras go, I use a Kodak EasyShare Z1285. I purchased the camera from Office Depot for $150. To get good pictures of coins, I set the camera on a tripod and put it into "macro" mode. Then I hold a homemade macro lens in front of the camera's lens. The hardest part is to keep still, as the more you magnify a picture, the slighter the movement it will take to blur the picture. I made my homemade macro lens from the main tube/ lens, out of an old broken 75mm - 300mm zoom lens that was from one of my 35mm film cameras. One other way, is fairly simple and good for when you don't have a camera. You can use the camera on your cellphone to get some pretty amazing shots. I'll use the zoom function on my cellphone's camera, and hold a loup (7x, or 16x) in front it's lens. Of course, the better the quality of the camera in the cellphone, the better the quality of the pictures you can get. :smile The third picture is one of the better ones that i've taken with a cellphone (Motorola Razr v3xx - 1.3 megapixel), in this manner. Even though it's not a picture of a coin, you should be able to tell that the method works for getting good, close up details.
Also some Key web site's and a few friend I gather thur also 47yr collecting coin & to may to list.Year 48 starts 12/25/08 Xmas 1960 I got the bug!
