Photographing coins 1 1

[Mel_in_PNW]

Hi all,

I'm using a older (2011) Panasonic digital camera and a new LED magnifying light. I'm just looking for input on best ways to take pics of coins? I just realized shooting the obverse is more difficult than the reverse.

Thanks.

[ldhair]

Did you take the images thru the magnifying light?

[Mel_in_PNW]

Yes.

[ldhair]

The mag. may be taking away part of the detail. The camera probably has better optics. You still need the lighting. Play around with it. You might also check if the camera lets you pick the image size. Larger is better.

[GoldFinger1969]

Get a mini-tripod.  Angle the coins against something at 30 degrees.

[Coinbuf]

Taking nice photos is all about lighting, even my almost 10yr old cell phone can take decent pics with good lighting.   All of the photos in your op suffer from incorrect white balance, if your camera cannot set the white balance automatically or allow you to do so manually you will have to make adjustments in an editing software.  It is not really possible to say much else about those photos until that issue is corrected.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Coinbuf

[powermad5000]

I am not sure if it is the white balance or the amount of light (possibly too much) combined with that, but all the coins in the photos look to have a very unnatural color. Especially the 2022, I am sure in hand that coin does not have that color to it. I also agree that the mag seems to be literally washing out some of the details. On here, we usually tell people who post their photos to use clear, cropped photos not using any magnification, but then if they have a specific area in question then to use mag on just that area, but not the whole coin. The only other thing I can think of is the actual background the coin is sitting on. Sometimes when I use whiteboard as the background, it reflects too much light back at the lens. I have experimented with using a black backdrop recently and I seem to be happier with my photos on that. 

Keep trying different things, and if you post under the heading Testing.....1......2......3, you can make as many posts without having members on here having to view and comment on what may be many attempts to get things just right.

[GoldFinger1969]

Mel, I took these with my Galaxy S9 default photo settings and a mini-tripod (or my arm braced against something, I forget).  Either way, a stable camera + default settings + 30-degree angle for coin = pretty decent pics.

They're not Heritage or Stacks HD quality, but they're good enough to post here and elsewehre.

Edited April 26, 2023 by GoldFinger1969

[Mel_in_PNW]

Wow those look great. I have a newish Samsung Galaxy and get good pics with it but I have unsteady hands and my eyesight is not great.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 4/25/2023 at 11:33 PM, Mel_in_PNW said:

Wow those look great. I have a newish Samsung Galaxy and get good pics with it but I have unsteady hands and my eyesight is not great.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-WT0352G-Lightweight-Mini-Tripod/dp/B00M78G2VO/ref=sr_1_15?crid=326F6V8HINCFI&keywords=mini%2Btripod&qid=1682480219&sprefix=mini%2Btripod%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-15&th=1

[EagleRJO]

On 4/25/2023 at 8:14 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Get a mini-tripod

No need to buy something for your phone.  Just rest your arm on something, like a stack of books, while taking pictures of coins.

As far as camera settings, use the default settings which are adequate for taking coin pics most of the time.  Just check that the photo size or resolution is set to the maximum without any compression.

Also keep the phone about 6" directly above and square with the coin, or some parts of the coin will be more in focus than others or the auto focus may not be on the coin if too far away.  Use a light source (e.g. swing arm lamp) at 30 degrees from vertical, and a light grey or white background, like a piece of copy paper.

[After taking the pics, crop them closely around the coin.  This not only results in better pics to post, but reduces the file size for saving disk space.  An example of this is attached, with the pics placed side-by-side for convenience which is optional.]

Edited April 27, 2023 by EagleRJO

[J P M]

On 4/25/2023 at 11:41 PM, EagleRJO said:

No need to buy something for your phone.  Just rest your arm on something, like a stack of books, while taking pictures of coins.

As far as camera settings, use the default settings which are adequate for taking coin pics most of the time.  Just check that the photo size or resolution is set to the maximum without any compression.

Also keep the phone about 6" directly above and square with the phone, or some parts of the coin will be more in focus than others or the auto focus may not be on the coin, with a light source at 30 degrees from vertical.  And use a white background, like a piece of copy paper.

What Eagle said works for me every time with just factory settings 

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by J P M

[Jason Abshier]

I agree too much light as well as photo shooting through magnifier ? Ignore magnifier get light to cast on side of the coin  if it’s too bright cover the the light with clear White paper … you want the coin somewhat “natural” as of you was standing few feet away from a window on decent a day holding coin in your hand looking at it try keep that picture in mind how color of coin looks and luster as well …

iPhones can take somewhat decent enough pictures of a coin if you lay coin below and stack some books or small box about a good 4” above the coin rest iPhone on the books/box or whatever you’re using to hold phone steady set it on 3sec burst mode … then crop the picture bigger

Taking good decent pictures of rainbow toned coins and proof coins are little more tricker but with practice you’ll get better at it after a while you’ll get the hang just how to get lighting decent or NO lighting at all if you let natural light shine through a near by window few feet away if you angle right works good enough or even better than artificial light 

[ldhair]

On 4/26/2023 at 7:51 AM, Jason Abshier said:

with practice you’ll get better at it

This is the most important thing. Practice, practice and practice some more. 

Most any camera will take good images, once you learn the camera.

I learned by taking notes of what I did with each shot. Play with the lighting and camera settings. After a while you learn what worked best for that coin. I would start with a silver coin. Copper is a bit more tough to learn. My notes helped me remember what worked best. 

[RWB]

On 4/25/2023 at 11:41 PM, EagleRJO said:

No need to buy something for your phone.

Right! 'Phones do not care about presents or birthdays, etc. or even new over-priced leather cases ! If your phone does not give adequate results, try using a banana or a cucumber. 

 

[GoldFinger1969]

On 4/26/2023 at 6:34 AM, J P M said:

What Eagle said works for me every time with just factory settings 

 

Me too when I can't find the tripod....but it only costs $12 or less and can also hold my PC camera I use for Zoom sessions. 

[EagleRJO]

On 4/26/2023 at 3:45 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Me too when I can't find the tripod....but it only costs $12 or less and can also hold my PC camera I use for Zoom sessions. 

My elbow costs $0.