Slabs and Digital Cameras just don't mix!

[James_OldeTowne]

I spent hours last night trying to image this Columbian half. The flaming colors only show up when light is reflected directly off the surfaces ..... but then ....... GLARE from the lamp is all the camera sees! And if I tilt the slab just so that the glare is reflected away, the coin looks dull grey! Since I don't really like slabs anyway, I'm half-tempted to crack the darned thing out of there - whaddya think, anyone ever conquered this !@#$ problem yet?

 

JUMBO !@#$ image!!!

 

James

[Wihlborg]

James,

 

I have also found it extremely hard to get a glare free photo of a coin in a holder.

This is exactly why almost all of the images of my slabbed coins are scans and not digital photos. Although a scan cannot show luster as well as a digital photo, and white coins look gray, I feel the ability of a scan to get a detailed, glare free image is worth the tradeoff.

 

John

[TomB]

Have you tried to take the shot at an angle that was not head-on? In that way, you might be able to move both the lamp and the camera, while leaving the coin stationary, so that you can capture the look you are trying to get.

[airplanenut]

James,

 

Just move the light source... slabs aren't so bad, albeit in some cases, especially with NGC, they are a pain (for the record, I haven't scanned a coin in about a year... and these pictures are new ):

 

 

 

 

 

[jom]

HAW HAW!

 

I glad to see someone else is having the SAME problem I've had for months. It has GOT to be the most frustrating thing when taking pics of coins.

 

The direct shot will give the best color BUT you will have the light source reflecting directly in front of the camera. In fact, I remember posting in a thread at PCGS at pic with this EXACT problem. That was last summer and I still haven't figured out how to get rid of the problem entirely.

 

Not only is that bad you have to deal with scratched slaba. Then you have to deal with the lighting problem of NGC coins since they are white and screw up your iris if you don't know what you are doing.

 

My suggestion is step away from it for awhile, take an aspirin and relax. Then get some puddy or some chewed gum (uh...put in inside of it's wrapper with aluminum inside) and use it to give the slab an angle to shoot it. I shoot mine with the camera face DOWN so I just lay the coin on the table with maybe the gum under one side so I can tilt it around for the best shots.

 

Good luck....you're gonna need it.

 

jom

[airplanenut]

The direct shot will give the best color BUT you will have the light source reflecting directly in front of the camera.

Rarely--slight angles tend to work better... especially if the light, too, is angled.

 

Not only is that bad you have to deal with scratched slaba. Then you have to deal with the lighting problem of NGC coins since they are white and screw up your iris if you don't know what you are doing.

See my signature to fix both problems

[jom]

Rarely--slight angles tend to work better... especially if the light, too, is angled.

 

OK, let me rephrase. The best color comes out when the coin is at the same angle you get the reflection of the source directly into the camera. I've taken shots of this and it is very frustrating. You can see the nice color around the rim, say, but the light bulb reflection is right in the middle of the coin. Argh!

 

See my signature to fix both problems

 

Oh, yeah. We talked about that the other day. I forgot to order some of that. Must have been a "senior moment".

 

jom

[Leothelion]

I spent hours last night trying to image this Columbian half. The flaming colors only show up when light is reflected directly off the surfaces ..... but then ....... GLARE from the lamp is all the camera sees! And if I tilt the slab just so that the glare is reflected away, the coin looks dull grey! Since I don't really like slabs anyway, I'm half-tempted to crack the darned thing out of there - whaddya think, anyone ever conquered this !@#$ problem yet?

 

JUMBO !@#$ image!!!

 

James

 

It has taken me years to find the right combination between light and camera to capture the true color of the toning for a coin. I have found some success with both a white and clear bulb and also with a circular 22w flouresent. And lately a halogen light. All I can say is, experiment, practice and have alot of patience. See attachment.

 

Leo

[jom]

Leo

 

True. I can imagine how long it would take if you are taking shots of different types of coins. I do some silver with tone, Buffs with tone and gold (some with tone) and it can be a big pain. I can't imagine trying to do, say, proof coins. What a headache that would be....fortunately I don't collect proof coins...thank God.

 

jom

[airplanenut]

Jom, in that instance, flood lights are a good choice--put them right on top of the coin, and the entire piece will be in the same glare.

 

Jeremy

[Beijim]

I just wanted to comment that this problem isn't exclusive to digital cameras. You'll have the same issues with film cameras, although it's true that film has far greater exposure latitude and is therefore somewhat more forgiving.

 

Beijim

[airplanenut]

I just wanted to comment that this problem isn't exclusive to digital cameras. You'll have the same issues with film cameras, although it's true that film has far greater exposure latitude and is therefore somewhat more forgiving.

 

Beijim

But you can take more free tries with digital... why just today, I took over 300 pictures

[MikeKing]

Find out the secret of how the ANR (American numismatic rarities) photographer does it and then let us know! They have the most glare-free photos of proofs and toned coins in holders that I have ever seen, and just wish I could duplicate.

[JadeRareCoin]

Find out the secret of how the ANR (American numismatic rarities) photographer does it and then let us know! They have the most glare-free photos of proofs and toned coins in holders that I have ever seen, and just wish I could duplicate.

 

I think that they use Jeremy's photography service! The kid is good, ya know.

[Wihlborg]

ANR’s photos are great, the best out of all the big dealers web sites IMO.

 

I think that the real problem with collectors trying to get really good photos of their coins is that most are just coin collectors, not photographers. They just don’t have the knowledge and the equipment (lighting) needed to take a really good photo.

 

Anyone can buy the best camera, but that does not mean they will be able to take professional photos.

 

John

[EVillageProwler]

Doug does an excellent job, of that there is no doubt. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that oftentimes he is able to take shots of coins *before* they get slabbed.

 

So, if you're marvelling at a photo of a fresh coin, you may ask yourself... was the coin consigned raw or already slabbed?

 

The Koshkarian material, btw, was consigned raw. ANR got 'em slabbed and probably after Doug had taken pictures.

 

EVP

[jom]

Anyone can buy the best camera, but that does not mean they will be able to take professional photos.

 

How true. I've got a great camera (Nikon) and in the more technical issues I really don't have a clue how to use it.

 

is that oftentimes he is able to take shots of coins *before* they get slabbed.

 

Oh, and so that is easier? I got news for you bub...it isn't. You actually have to HANDLE the coin to get it angled right. It is much easier with a slab. I can't imagine trying to angle a dime and trying to take a picture at the same time.

 

OK, I admit, my set up is completely amateurish but, hey, I'm only a collector, right?

 

jom

[airplanenut]

Oh, and so that is easier? I got news for you bub...it isn't. You actually have to HANDLE the coin to get it angled right. It is much easier with a slab. I can't imagine trying to angle a dime and trying to take a picture at the same time.

Sorry, but you're missing a BIG thing... you DON'T angle the coins--you angle the light. Raw coins are incredibly easy compared to slabbed coins, because the light can be angled in any way with the coin lying flat on a table and no glare problems. With a slab, you have to angle the light and kill the glare.

 

Jeremy

[jom]

You don't think I've tried this? Ha! It doesn't work me but after my next round of purchases I'll probably try it again.

 

Another problem I had was keeping the camera steady for the close up shots (Macro mode). I needed to get a special little custom thingy to push the shutter button for me. The one problem with the Nikon camera is that you can't take "delayed" shots in Macro mode. This means without a special set-up you have to push the shutter button yourself which always blurs the picture for me. Hence, the set-up I have limits (I think) the arrangement of the lighting.

 

Any ideas of getting something that can hold the camera AND push the shutter button? Mine is a custom "jury-rigged" set-up exclusively made for Nikon 950's....although I think I could use something entirely different to actually HOLD the camera...

 

jom

[TomB]

I've written an article on my web site that speaks to some of the issues brought up here and also shows pairs of images, one image as a scan and the other as a photo. The article is here. Also, here is another pair of images, the one on the left is a scan while the one on the right is taken with film. All of the coins on my web site, and the one below, are already in PCGS or NGC holders and all I did was reposition the angle of incidence between the camera, which was on a tripod, and the light source. The coin was stationary. There have been no post-image manipulations, though I am not against such actions if it makes the image more realistic, and you can easily tell that glare was not an issue with this technique.

[airplanenut]

Any ideas of getting something that can hold the camera AND push the shutter button? Mine is a custom "jury-rigged" set-up exclusively made for Nikon 950's....although I think I could use something entirely different to actually HOLD the camera...

I use the 4500... same basic thing. I jus thave a $4 mini tripod... holds the camera steady, and I have no blur pushing the button down.

 

Jeremy

[jom]

Jer: Where can I get a $4 tripod? Me like cheap.

 

Tom: The only problem I see with the film photo is that it seems a bit out of focus. Was this just bad shot or it that typical?

 

Thanks for the article.

 

jom

[TomB]

The results were typical for that roll. Remember, I was using a completely manual camera for those shots, so there was no auto focus. Also, since I had a pair of diopters on my camera lens, the focal plane was fairly short. So, everything on that roll was a little out of range. You should keep in mind, though, that these images are fairly blown up, so any blur on them might not be visible for a life size image.

[James_OldeTowne]

((( Have you tried to take the shot at an angle that was not head-on? )))

((( Just move the light source... )))

((( The direct shot will give the best color BUT you will have the light source reflecting directly in front of the camera. )))

 

Gentlemen, the problem is that the coin in question is semi-prooflike, and the only, and I do mean THE ONLY angle at which the colors show up is at 90 degrees. So you see the problem, the angle of the light source and camera would have to simultenously be the same.

 

I've not had problems with coins of normal cartwheel luster. In that case, there is a wide range of angles for which the image works. It is only on Proof or ProofLike coins that the problem crops up.

 

Check out the new image . I'ts a bit better, in fact the color is quite close. But it's by no means as sharp as I'd like it, and zero luster is shown.

 

((( Anyone can buy the best camera, but that does not mean they will be able to take professional photos.)))

Admittedly, I've about a cheap a digital camera there is with macro capability.

 

((( One thing to keep in mind, though, is that oftentimes he is able to take shots of coins *before* they get slabbed.)))

That's exactly right. I NEVER have problems with unencapsulated coins, even with deep mirrors.

 

Thanks for the advice - I'm gonna keep trying. But I'm darned tempted to just crack that sucker out!

 

James