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Another attempt at better coin photographs
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53 posts in this topic

Questions On Taking Best Picture:  Just a couple of "dumb" questions that a photograhic novice (maybe, on my best day! xD) wants to know.

I use the default settings on my Galaxy S9 smartphone....I don't use any of the preset things like NIGHT or SPORT or whatever (should I ?) and use the default Photo function/settings with resolution set to max or near-max.  After all, I am taking pictures of stationary coins, not football players jumping in action so I figure messing around with ISO or light variables or whatever is beyond my skill set OR need.:)

Pictures are set to maximum resolution (4K quality ~ 4000x2300 pixels).  

One.......since these are simple coin photos, am I right to assume that any specialty settings are overkill and aren't going to make a dimes worth of difference ?

Two......is there a DIFFERENCE if I zoom in a bit with the smartphone camera and THEN take the pic with more of a close-up/less background....OR....take it without any zoom (showing the coin and some background) and then use the close-up function on the phone itself or you people using the zoom feature on this site to make the image bigger ?  In other words...is there any resolution or clarity lost by me initially zooming or is it even better if I do it first and then eliminate the need to zoom on the smartphone when I look at the pics or when you people see them ?

Edited by GoldFinger1969
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Doing this stuff well IS NOT EASY OR OBVIOUS.  Don’t beat yourself up over it. Some Apple phones do it well easily, but many others by Apple do not. Mine does not. I don’t invest 4 figures in phones. I will be using my Sony a6000 with a Macro lens. But I need a stand I like to hold it, and lighting I trust for the purpose. I am researching those. 

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Took these in my La-Z-Boy chair....LED light straight above with light angled down at the coin/chair....I had the Galaxy S9 about 6" away pressed against the box that the coins were set on to brace the camera.  Sometimes I would zoom in at about 2-2.2x to eliminate the holder itself and just show coin.

This is the 2013 Reverse Proof ASE; obverse is the 70, the reverse is from a 69. :)

2013 Reverse Proof ASE PF70.jpg

Edited by GoldFinger1969
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Well, of course I must step in here being the phenom I am at taking great shots. Regular device camera app. Even with the worst you CAN take great shots. Set the Coun down and pull back the phone until it is focus. Once in focus pinch/pull your screen until the Coin fills it. Snap a picture. (I'm sure there's a song lyric in that last). Stay in camera mode and click the pic to edit it. Always edit from camera mode and not from gallery or Photos. There are more options there. If you want to close in on a particular area, like for a DD, a 10x Macro clip-on is plenty. Do my above procedure from the start with the macro clipped on. You can always crop your shots in camera mode to bring things even closer without distortion. The key it to start by pulling the lens away from the Coin until it's in focus. NOT to try to focus on the Coin where it lays. See? 

 

As far as lighting goes, consider making a photo box. An old box, some tissues, 2 equal lights and some tape is all you need to make one. Use a good box and it'll last forever too. 

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On 1/24/2023 at 6:17 PM, KarenHolcomb said:

Always edit from camera mode and not from gallery or Photos. There are more options there.

But picture quality will be the same, right ?  ???

Let's say you crop a 1920x1080 Hi-Def picture....what remains will "shrink" to something like 974x585.  It should be the same (give or take a miniscule number of pixels) whether you crop on the phone OR crop in Paint or something on your PC, right ?

I know that digital zoom is not as good as optical zoom (right ?).  So....let's say I have the choice of zooming in on a coin with the optical zoom to get a closeup....OR....moving the smartphone closer to get the closeup.  Shouldn't be much different, right (with digital zoom, I believe it would be) ?

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On 12/29/2021 at 3:00 PM, Mr.Bill347 said:

My favorite coin. 2008 Liberty PF69 UC

E768615E-EB2B-4318-9036-E63761F853A7.jpeg

D5D23674-5655-41B6-82A2-FE3D217C1266.jpeg

Thats also my favorite commerative coin. I got one those as well. Sure is beautiful. It reminds me of an eagle I got a close encounter with on one of the toughest days Ive had to go through. It helped brighten my day up a little.  

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On 1/24/2023 at 10:49 AM, bsshog40 said:

So when I'm taking pics of small things that are stationary with my phone, the first thing I pay attention to is focus. Most phones have auto focus. A good tool if you use it when you get your subject right where you want it. I may use zoom but if I do it's usually no more than 3x so I can move my phone around to try to avoid glare or areas getting too much light and to ensure my phone is not too close to block any light from the item I'm trying to take a pic of. We had sold our house, moved and finally bought a new one. We were living in our 5th wheel for over a year. Lol I have a nice Canon, lights and copy stand but all that was packed away. Sometimes a phone camera is all you have to work with. Learn all the camera options so you will know it's capabilities and it will help improve your pictures. I built a little coin table that moves left/right/up/down and helps when taking pics so I ain't moving my phone all over the place to get a good angle. 

20230124_092832.thumb.jpg.fac0d9ef79d0d2555742433f4444353b.jpg

Thats a slick little stand. Does it work pretty good? That was a great idea. Thats what I need where I use my phone. I need something to hold my phone still and then some way to adjust the coin under it a certain way. And adjust the light. Im gonna start trying the 2 lamp trick. I think it was @VKurtBwho mentioned it a while back on here. Take 2 lamps with incandesent light bulbs adjusted on each side of the coin. Ive also been looking at picture boxes on Amazon you can buy to take photos of coins and jewlery in. Probably wouldnt be hard to build one. 

PS: Dont tell no one I got those light bulbs. lol ive got 2 or 3 from moms old house. Dont want them to come lock me up for burning a hole in the ozone layer trying to get pictures of coins. 

Edited by Hoghead515
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On 1/25/2023 at 11:07 AM, bsshog40 said:

The stand works pretty good. The stand moves from side to side. Then there is the little tilt table at top for placing the coin. It moves back and forth also. I actually made a little gif on it a while back. Lol

20230125_102911.gif.f1cf884456607d39eeb6cb3d5806d246.gif

Thats pretty cool. That was an excellent idea. Get it at any angle you need. Thanks for sharing. You outta put a patent on it.  

Edited by Hoghead515
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On 1/25/2023 at 10:37 AM, Hoghead515 said:

Thats pretty cool. That was an excellent idea. Get it at any angle you need. Thanks for sharing. You outta put a patent on it.  

Lol, I stole that idea from someone else on a coin forum years ago. 

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On 1/23/2023 at 5:10 PM, J P M said:

Coins in holders are a lot harder than raw coins to photograph the plastic has so many reflections. I shoot with my Samsung S8 phone normal focus 4 to 6 inches above to coin on a flat surface with a white background then zoom to fill the frame. I will also try to use natural sun light when I can. LED, Florissant. and Incandescent will work sometimes depending on the tone of the coin. I also put a paperclip under the coin to tilt it and remove any reflection from the slab. It makes it easier to get a more realistic look of the coin in the slab.   It is not always the best look but it works for my registry set

1938 clip.jpg

1938 +.jpg

1938 reverse +.jpg

Thats been a problem Ive had. Soon as I get the coin where I like it the light glares off the slab in the way. 

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On 1/25/2023 at 11:46 AM, Hoghead515 said:

Thats been a problem Ive had. Soon as I get the coin where I like it the light glares off the slab in the way. 

You need a fixed point to shoot from.  Use a mini-tripod....OR...take them manually but have the coins on a box or something where you push the phone flush against the box so it's in the same location each time.  The angle of the phone or whether you raise/lower it can change but that's easier to prevent than shaking the camera which won't happen when pressed.

Here's my setup.  I put the coin up against the back of the La-Z-Boy chair....black velvet prevents it hitting the box if it slides....I put the bottom of the phone up against the front of the box....the yellow BEST SHOT indicator will turn on when I have optimized the shot (I have a Galaxy S9)....depending on the coin's glare, I will angle the phone a bit different or slide it up/down but for the most part pushing it forward against the box means shaking/jitter/motion is practically eliminated....I use the (optical) zoom up to about 2.2x for most coins, small ones I can zoom up to 4x if I want a full close-up and maximize the size of the coin.

Right above the chair...coming down right on the box....I have an overhead lamp with an LED light which is probably a bit high on brightness but works.  I can angle it around if I'm having a glare problem with very reflective coins (i.e, Morgan Silver Dollars).  I think it's 1100 lumens, probably can better utilize 500-750. 

20230125_120308.jpg

Edited by GoldFinger1969
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On 1/25/2023 at 12:07 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

You need a fixed point to shoot from.  Use a mini-tripod....OR...take them manually but have the coins on a box or something where you push the phone flush against the box so it's in the same location each time.  The angle of the phone or whether you raise/lower it can change but that's easier to prevent than shaking the camera which won't happen when pressed.

Here's my setup.  I put the coin up against the back of the La-Z-Boy chair....black velvet prevents it hitting the box if it slides....I put the bottom of the phone up against the front of the box....the yellow BEST SHOT indicator will turn on when I have optimized the shot (I have a Galaxy S9)....depending on the coin's glare, I will angle the phone a bit different or slide it up/down but for the most part pushing it forward against the box means shaking/jitter/motion is practically eliminated....I use the (optical) zoom up to about 2.2x for most coins, small ones I can zoom up to 4x if I want a full close-up and maximize the size of the coin.

Right above the chair...coming down right on the box....I have an overhead lamp with an LED light which is probably a bit high on brightness but works.  I can angle it around if I'm having a glare problem with very reflective coins (i.e, Morgan Silver Dollars).  I think it's 1100 lumens, probably can better utilize 500-750. 

20230125_120308.jpg

Ill give that a try. 

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On 1/25/2023 at 1:21 PM, Hoghead515 said:

Ill give that a try. 

I also have a mini-glass table (maybe 15" diamter) that I can do the same thing...the key is just have something that you place the phone against so it can't move and is already close to the coin so you need minimal zooming for the whole slab and just a bit more to zoom in on the coin and enlarge it to the max size. 

Mini-tripod I've had for 20+ years was also a worthwhile investment.(thumbsu

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On 1/25/2023 at 1:35 PM, KarenHolcomb said:

@GoldFinger1969Dude you are way above my head when you talk about how pixels work and this x that. Some stuff just doesn't click for me. I think probably I make things more complicated than they really are. That said, I think that your actual shot is the most important thing when it comes to how much you can do with it after the mess is taken. You have to have a great shot before you can alter it and make it better. Idk how to say what is in my head. Smh. Ok, maybe this... If yiu take your best possible shot, it could only get 10x better with all your tools you're using. However, I have never had any of that fancy high tech stuff and I've rarely seen a photo of a Coin that is better than any one of mine doing it how I described above. It doesn't have to be difficult and involved. See? And a lot if the time I see people's photos taken via a microscope and they are 360° with all the distortion and getting in so close that idek what part of the Coin I'm looking at. Last tidbit, never get closer to a Coin until you've pulled back from it first. Probably none of that makes sense. Ooops. 

You're probably right, Karen...xD....but we have some super-knowledgeable folks here so I thought I would pick their brains on PQ and stuff like that.

I have some smart guys in my astronomy club but I'm just into viewing, not imaging and photographs. (thumbsu

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I think it's great that we all have our own weird little ways that we like to set things up for photographing our Coins. It's like the most important thing. Makes me smile. 

I have heard of people using a pop can as a stand for their phones. They say it is the perfect distance from the Coin to get great shots. I never had any luck with it myself. Or with the mini tri-pods. I've broken 3 of those and finally stop trying to use one. Ole shaky hands, that's me. 

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@GoldFinger1969 I have a Telescope that collected a bunch of dust before I finally put it into a box and into the attic. It wasn't what I thought when I bought it. I wanted one that was just manual. That I could turn a lens or 2 and see what there was to see. This thing has discs and I'm supposed to put my coordinates into a pc and when I would, supposedly I think, set it up outside whatever it would see I would see on the pc? Idek. Never figured it out. Wasted 200 bucks. Lol! 

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On 1/25/2023 at 12:37 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

You're probably right, Karen...xD....but we have some super-knowledgeable folks here so I thought I would pick their brains on PQ and stuff like that.

I have some smart guys in my astronomy club but I'm just into viewing, not imaging and photographs. (thumbsu

I've tried taking pics on my cpc8. I have the attachments for my canon. My problem is having to look at my lcd screen to see if everything is in focus. My eyes aren't so good anymore. Lol I've taken a few pics but nothing to brag about. Lol

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On 1/25/2023 at 12:37 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

You're probably right, Karen...xD....but we have some super-knowledgeable folks here so I thought I would pick their brains on PQ and stuff like that.

I have some smart guys in my astronomy club but I'm just into viewing, not imaging and photographs. (thumbsu

Post duped. Lol

Edited by bsshog40
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On 1/25/2023 at 1:46 PM, KarenHolcomb said:

@GoldFinger1969 I have a Telescope that collected a bunch of dust before I finally put it into a box and into the attic. It wasn't what I thought when I bought it. I wanted one that was just manual. That I could turn a lens or 2 and see what there was to see. This thing has discs and I'm supposed to put my coordinates into a pc and when I would, supposedly I think, set it up outside whatever it would see I would see on the pc? Idek. Never figured it out. Wasted 200 bucks. Lol! 

For a few hundred $$$ today, you can get a fully-computerized scope (4-6") with decent optics that you lock on to 2 or 3 stars...and then can slew to any of thousands of objects pre-programmed.

So many people lost interest in astronomy over the decades because they couldn't find anything with their scopes.  No longer a problem ! (thumbsu

Edited by GoldFinger1969
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On 1/25/2023 at 7:01 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

For a few hundred $$$ today, you can get a fully-computerized scope (4-6") with decent optics that you lock on to 2 or 3 stars...and then can slew to any of thousands of objects pre-programmed.

So many people lost interest in astronomy over the decades because they couldn't find anything with their scopes.  No longer a problem ! (thumbsu

Yep, I have a C90 4" scope also that I only paid $100 for. I also bought a skywatcher mount for about $400 but all computerized for about $500. 

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Ok.... Here Ye! Now Hear Me..... I STAND CORRECTED. Yes. I was totally wrong so many times over the past 5 yrs or so and I am here admitting it today. You CANNOT take great photos with even the worst of devices. Sometimes that device is so bad that it just won't. A few weeks ago I dropped my Pixel and shattered the screen. 1st phone I've ever broken. I am super poor and can't afford $250 for a new one and can't get credit. So, my Son had found a screen locked Moto g play in his couch a while back and I figured out how to bypass the Google acct and unlocked it. I just took my 1st Coin shots and they are awful. I knew I hated the phone the 1st time I used it, but this is ridonkulous for real. My Macro clip on is useless. This is as close as I can get with minimal distortion. So don't anybody ever listen to me again. Thanks for listening. I'm out! 

IMG_20230128_191216523.jpg

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