maridvnvm Posted May 24 · Member Share Posted May 24 I have been a keen amateur photographer for more than 40 years but in recent times my focus has been on improving my coin photography. I have been using the same setup for coin photography for many years now using a Canon Eos 400D (Digital Rebel XTi in North America) combined with a Canon 60mm Macro lens. I had reached a point where I was getting reasonably consistent results that I was happy with. My camera dates back to 2006 and has recently started getting a little temperamental. My lens is still perfect and thus I have simply invested in a new body, this time a Canon Eos 250D (Rebel SL3). Technology has certainly moved on and I have only had a very small time to play. I can see straight away that I will enjoy the new systems for general photography but was keen to see what results I could get with my coin photography. I have only take one photograph so far and even then only the obverse of one coin that is in my "inBox" waiting for processing after purchase. This is not a pretty coin, has partial silvering, surface adhesions, some corrosion etc. but is still a decent challenge to photograph. I have simply taken the old camera off the tripod, swapped lenses, set the custom white balance on the new camera to adjust to the lighting setup, set the camera in to Manual and set the shutter speed and Aperture to the settings I had on the previous camera (based on historic meter readings). I capture all my images in RAW (CR3). I have then converted this one to jpg. I now keep the full size jpg but typically reduce my images to 40% of original for use online. This is the 40% reduced result. There is a speck of something white (paper) behind the ear, which I will remove later when I take the image again. Here is a cropped image of the head without any size reduction. I need to do some more playing and experimentation but I think I am going to be quite happy with this new setup for a few years. Martin 17 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Collector Posted May 24 · Patron Share Posted May 24 Wow! Incredible detail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrefn Posted May 24 · Supporter Share Posted May 24 That is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted May 24 · Supporter Share Posted May 24 Wow, that is fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted May 24 · Member Author Share Posted May 24 By the way. The images can be clicked to get access to the full size version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expat Posted May 24 · Supporter Share Posted May 24 You will be very satisfied in future photography sessions if your first effort is anything to go by. Incredible detail, look forward to seeing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulla80 Posted May 24 · Supporter Share Posted May 24 Beautiful details - looks like a great setup. Amazing what good equipment can do! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted May 24 · Member Author Share Posted May 24 Here is my second attempt. Another tricky coin. Almost fully silvered where some silvering has toned to a golden hue. Reduced to 40% full size Cropped section of reverse at full size 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted May 24 · Member Author Share Posted May 24 And a denarius. And the hippocamp 6 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limes Posted May 24 · Supporter Share Posted May 24 The photos are looking really good Martin. Well done, great details on the photos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted May 25 · Member Share Posted May 25 What settings are you using for manual? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted May 25 · Member Author Share Posted May 25 Here is more detail on my setup. Everything is arranged around a light tent. I have a single light source, a single daylight 100W bulb. The camera is set on a tripod, pointing down through the flap in the light tent. Inside I have created a simple mechanism to allow me to simply adjust my setup based on the size of coin that I am photographing. This is based around a lazy Susan bearing on which I have a disc of MDF. I have covered this MDF in black velvet. Into this MDF I have mounted four different length dowels, painted black, each with a small pad on the top. These dowels can now be rotated (by turning the MDF disc) to provide me something at the correct height to fill as much of the frame as I would like. I have the lazy Susan on top of a range of books of various thinckness to allow me to fine tune the entire setup for some coins (much larger or much smaller) without having to touch the camera. This tent is in a room that I can keep quite dark to avoid other light sources from influencing the photo. I use a grey photography card to set custom light balance to this setup. I am aiming for a reasonable depth of field and this have my aperture set to F13, which does mean that at ISO 100, I have a 4s exposure time. Attach a remote release and I am good to go. 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted May 25 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted May 25 Really nice photos @maridvnvm with some amazing detail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted May 25 · Member Share Posted May 25 Where did you get the light tent? What did you use to make the black stand/risers? I experimented with the Note 20 Ultra perched on a soup can while using raw mode, and got slightly better results than before. Wonderful pics, by the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted May 25 · Member Author Share Posted May 25 The light tent was bought from a local camera shop about 20 years ago. The risers are simple dowel cut to length and plainted matt black. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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