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Trying out my new OTT lite. What ya think?

Started by bsshog40,

42 posts in this topic

Wihlborg

Wihlborg

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Good job Bobby,

 

I think it looks pretty good. I can see some glare from the light, so the only thing I'd recommend is to try moving the light and or coin so as to keep as much of the glare from showing on the coin as possible.

 

John

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robec1347

robec1347

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Very nice photo, Bobby. The only suggestion I would make would be to check your white balance setting. It seems to have a bit of a greeinsh tint. Other than that nit picky problem, it looks outstanding. thumbsup2.gif

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jesbroken

jesbroken

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great pic bobby. what did your aunt die and leave you a million-I can't afford an ott lite, much less two of them. your green tint may be caused by the background color of the material you lay the coin on. Mine came out with a bluish tint until I got rid of the blue cloth and went to either black or white backgrounds.

great job.

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bsshog40

bsshog40

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great pic bobby. what did your aunt die and leave you a million-I can't afford an ott lite, much less two of them. your green tint may be caused by the background color of the material you lay the coin on. Mine came out with a bluish tint until I got rid of the blue cloth and went to either black or white backgrounds.

great job.

 

Hey Jim, this was taken on a white piece of paper. I'm just using one OTT lite right now and my off-set lite is a florescent. I think they may be clashing with each other just a bit. I wanna get another OTT. It seems alot brighter than the florescent lite. I actually got this one for $37.99 plus s&h, a total of $50. I really couldn't afford it either, but I've heard so much about them, had to try it. I like the lighting alot. It's a lot different than the florescent light.

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MikeInFL

MikeInFL

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Your photo is overexposed by about a half a stop. The white balance may be off just a touch too. Lastly, it looks like your camera and coin are not perpendicular -- the bottom of the photo is a touch out of focus. Otherwise the pic looks quite nice...Mike

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bsshog40

bsshog40

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Your photo is overexposed by about a half a stop. Otherwise the pic looks quite nice...Mike

 

Yea I took a few pics starting my exposure at a lower setting and went up. This one I thought was the best. Maybe the one below would have been better. Thanks mike!

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jesbroken

jesbroken

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Ok, Ok! You win, I bought a stupid OTT light. For a mere $28.99 plus $700 shipping and handling. Is this a good buy.I thought the price on the light a little high but not bad on the shipping. foreheadslap.gif I now will still have plenty of excuses for poor pics as I stink as a photographer.

Now a serious question, does it hurt to use a regular distant light additionally or a flourescent bulb or just the OTT and natural light?

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bsshog40

bsshog40

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TRY A REGULAR LAMP ACROSS FROM OTTO LIGHT, AND GET MORE THAN 12 WATTS AT WALMAT

 

I'm using a a 12watt florescent for the opp. lite which works well. It was one of those circular lights that had a mag. lense in it. I took the mag lens out and am also using this to circle around my proof coins with my camera directly in the middle. That's how I took this S.E. proof picture. This was also in the mint airtite.

06SEObvRev650pix.jpg

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bsshog40

bsshog40

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Like the photo, was wondering what kind of camera was used also???

 

hey Lem, I'm using a Canon S3 IS Digital. Also, for these larger coins, I have some 1x, 2x, & 4x, macro lenses that enable me to just use regular macro on my camera and still have zoom in/out options. I normally use my supermacro, but it gives no zooming option. I took the proof picture above this post in my supermacro mode.

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zrlevin

zrlevin

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TRY A REGULAR LAMP ACROSS FROM OTTO LIGHT, AND GET MORE THAN 12 WATTS AT WALMAT

 

I'm using a a 12watt florescent for the opp. lite which works well. It was one of those circular lights that had a mag. lense in it. I took the mag lens out and am also using this to circle around my proof coins with my camera directly in the middle. That's how I took this S.E. proof picture.

06SEObvRev650pix.jpg

 

Bobby, I've got a trick for ya for the proofs. Get a cloudy white plastic 1/2 gal milk jug. Cut off the bottom, and cut a hole in the top. Put it on top of the coin, and point your camera through the top. Shine your lights at the side of the milk jug. You will get a nice picture with perfect black fields. cloud9.gif

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bsshog40

bsshog40

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Ok, Ok! You win, I bought a stupid OTT light. For a mere $28.99 plus $700 shipping and handling. Is this a good buy.I thought the price on the light a little high but not bad on the shipping. foreheadslap.gif I now will still have plenty of excuses for poor pics as I stink as a photographer.

Now a serious question, does it hurt to use a regular distant light additionally or a flourescent bulb or just the OTT and natural light?

 

Hey Jim, $700 is a little high on the s&h there. 27_laughing.gif I guess you meant $7. This thing weighs about 4lbs so the s&h is probably right. Good price on the lite tho'. Mine cost me $10 more. I pm'd ya, but I use a florescent lite for my other lite. Regular house bulbs give off a yellow tint reflection on the coins, and I don't recommend using those. I'm still learning myself, so depending on your camera set-up, you may have to do things different than what I do. Practice Makes Perfect! thumbsup2.gif

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bsshog40

bsshog40

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Bobby, I've got a trick for ya for the proofs. Get a cloudy white plastic 1/2 gal milk jug. Cut off the bottom, and cut a hole in the top. Put it on top of the coin, and point your camera through the top. Shine your lights at the side of the milk jug. You will get a nice picture with perfect black fields. cloud9.gif

 

I'm fix'n to empty one today zrlevin. Ithink I will try that. thanks!! thumbsup2.gif

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pendragon1998

pendragon1998

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The only suggestion I would make would be to check your white balance setting. It seems to have a bit of a greeinsh tint.

 

Isn't the whole supposed benefit to using OTT lights that they put out a "perfect white" spectrum of light? I think it's absolutely ridiculous for people to drop $40 on a light bulb - particularly when they still have to set their white balance anyway. Unless you're using a camera with no white control AND a image editor that doesn't allow you to set white balance from an image, there's no reason to spend so much on bulbs. Just get something cheap that roughly approximates a white spectrum - I use Phillips natural 60W incandescent bulbs - and then set your white balance properly. That'll give you results as good or (usually) better than using an OTT light.

 

It frustrates me to no end to see so many people on this board and across the street promoting OTT lights like they're the best thing since sliced bread. What they are is just another gimmick. Photographers have been taking excellent photos since long before OTT lights came out. They did so with a proper understanding of exposure, white balance, and basic photography technique.

 

sumo.gif

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bsshog40

bsshog40

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Actually micheal, this pic I took, I used different exposure and white balance settings. Using my older set-up with one florescent and one house light, made me adjust these constantly. Using the OTT light, I experimented and this picture actually wound up being set with, Average White balance (auto), and my exposure was set at 0. I did get better results using this lite considering making adjustments to my camera. I like the results of it, others may not get these results. My thoughts on the OTT are MHO.

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MikeInFL

MikeInFL

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a bit better light distrubution would be good as well. Top is a to light and the bottom is too dark.

 

Here are a few tips to correct this type of problem:

 

1) Add a second light positioned over the dark area on the bottom to lighten it up. I have found that the second light will look better if placed farther away from the coin than the first light such that the second light doesn't "overpower" the light of the first. MYYV.

 

2) Move the single light farther away. Remember that the amount of light reaching an object is equal to the inverse square of the distance -- thus if you move your light farther away, you will decrease the amount of unevenness in lighting displayed in your photo.

 

3) Move the light "higher". This essentially increases the angle of incidence between the light and the coin. The reason it will even out your lighting is the same reason as #2 above (brightness=1/distance^2).

 

You would do well to experiment with each of these three techniques (and combinations thereof), as the path to the best pictures is through light placement and experimentation.

 

Hope this helps...Mike

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