How to buy a decent economical copystand?

[NathanB]

Well, the title pretty much says it all.

The fact is, I haven't really done anything with my ancients hobby for far too long. But I think about my coins all the time. In some cases, I'd probably like to sell some. In other cases, I'd like to blog about them (or both).

I hate fiddling with my cheap tripod, and would like to get a copystand for coin photography. Unfortunately, as a rule they are not economical.

How much do people think I have to spend to get a decent one that will hold my camera without tipping over?  This is the primary function for me.

I live in Canada, so anything on Amazon.ca would be preferred, though not necessarily required.

I have looked for used ones on occasion, but have never found anything in my area.

My bottom line is about $150 USD maximum, if that is possible.

Edited January 11 by NathanB

[kirispupis]

Do you own a strobe or off-camera flash? While a copy stand is convenient, you can get by without one. I use a cheap chemistry stand I bought on Amazon for $20 to hold a glass plate similar to this one and the coin. I then hand-hold the camera.

I eventually plan to improve the setup, but it does an ok job for now.

Here's a photo I just processed with this technique.

[NathanB]

12 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

Do you own a strobe or off-camera flash? While a copy stand is convenient, you can get by without one. I use a cheap chemistry stand I bought on Amazon for $20 to hold a glass plate similar to this one and the coin. I then hand-hold the camera.

I eventually plan to improve the setup, but it does an ok job for now.

Here's a photo I just processed with this technique.

 

That's a gorgeous photo, kirispupis! I'm afraid I can't visualize your setup in my mind, but it is clearly working for you! For me, I do need a copystand because my hands are not particularly steady.

As for off-camera flash, unfortunately, no, I don't have it. A few people have recommended economical lighting. Honestly, what I've been using to date is a combination of boxes and books to bring one or two Coleman battery lanterns to bear, and a USB LED light. But I'm tired of fiddling with all of this, too. I remember @Severus Alexander once recommended something like this to me. 

[sand]

Hello @NathanB. How have you been?   

I use a copy stand for my coin photos. Another trick, is that I use the 10 second timer on my camera. I put the camera on the copy stand, then I start the camera's 10 second timer, then I walk a few feet away, and I stand still, and when the camera takes the photo, my hands are far away from the camera, and my hands are not touching the camera.

Here's the copy stand that I bought in 2022. It seems to have worked well for me, as far as I know. My camera has a bolt hole, and I screw the copy stand's bolt into the bolt hole, to attach my camera to the copy stand. I don't know much about copy stands, therefore I don't know if there are any copy stands that have a quicker way to attach a camera to a copy stand, or if this is a good copy stand for the money. All I know is that, it's worked well enough for me.

Amazon.com: Cosmo COPY STAND, Mini 500, A Compact Tool for Digitizing Documents, Old Photos and Macro Photography with Your High-Pixel Camera Instead of scanning, with Floating Magnet, Made in USA : Office Products 

The above copy stand costs $170 plus tax and shipping (I get free shipping with my Amazon Prime membership). There is also a less expensive version, which seems similar, except that the vertical bar may be thinner. There may be other differences. I don't know. It costs $140. Here it is.

Amazon.com : COPY STAND # MINI300, A USA Made Compact & Mini Tool for Digitizing Documents, Old Photos and Macro Photography with Today's DSLR Super Megapixel Cameras : Electronics 

Here's an example, of 1 set of coin photos, which I took, using my copy stand. Unfortunately, most of my coin photos, are for Byzantine coins, which are not usually very photogenic. But, maybe this can give you an idea, of the photo quality.

Byzantine Empire. Constantine IV AE 40 Nummi Follis. Minted 668 AD To 674 AD. Syracuse Mint. Sear 1207. DO 60. Maximum Diameter 23.1 mm. Weight 3.67 grams. Obverse : Constantine IV Bust Facing Front Beardless Holding Globe Cross. Reverse : Large M, Monogram Above, Standing Figure Of Heraclius On Left, Standing Figure Of Tiberius On Right, "SCL" Mint Below. Overstruck On Constans II Syracuse Follis 654 AD To 659 AD Sear 1109 DO 180.

Edited January 12 by sand

[kirispupis]

Btw, here are photos of my setup

[rasiel]

Nathan, not trying to rain on your parade - if anything maybe convince you to save yourself a few bucks - but (for what it's worth) as a professional photographer I can tell you unequivocally that you don't need a copy stand. It is in several obvious ways a step back from a tripod. Unless your present one is truly just a toy you're likely going to end up frustrated that you're not seeing better results.

What exactly is wrong with your tripod? Please show your setup w/ lighting and a photo of a penny, I'll try to help.

Rasiel

[Qcumbor]

For me, more than the copy stand the trick is the light !
I like to takes pictures in natural light, and the best I've found is the window ledge on a cloudy/rainy, or even better, snowy day.

Here my home made stand :

 

The result before post processing :

 

And after post processing (mainly correcting axis when needed, croping, copy/paste to get both sides on one pic, sometimes enhancing contrast a bit)

Q

[Anaximander]

Some great advice in these posts. I endorse @sand suggestions. Personally, I like a 2-second timer, and bracketed exposures for HDR.

You could use a Cosmo Mini copy stand. I picked mine up on Amazon several years ago, but you will probably have to look on ebay today. They are inexpensive. The smallest model is the Cosmo Mini 100 (about $100) which holds a smartphone. I have the Cosmo Mini 500, which is nicely sized for a Micro 4/3rds camera. It's not 'sophisticated.'
 

 Watch the video on Amazon. 😉

Cosmo Mini 300.

  

I have added a binocular tripod adapter and a rail slider to raise and lower the camera on the copy stand with a turn of a knob.  Those add-ons are entirely optional. 

My rig, with the binocular adapter, which lets me use the touch-screen display to its full advantage.  

 

[Kaleun96]

12 hours ago, rasiel said:

Nathan, not trying to rain on your parade - if anything maybe convince you to save yourself a few bucks - but (for what it's worth) as a professional photographer I can tell you unequivocally that you don't need a copy stand. It is in several obvious ways a step back from a tripod. Unless your present one is truly just a toy you're likely going to end up frustrated that you're not seeing better results.

What exactly is wrong with your tripod? Please show your setup w/ lighting and a photo of a penny, I'll try to help.

Rasiel

The two main disadvantages I can think of (from back when I used one for shooting coins) that may come up for some is their footprint and their lack of balance. By footprint I mean that extending the three legs out can take up a lot of space in a non-useful way, even if you have a small tripod for your desk you can find the legs may need to be positioned in some annoying place where you have something else (keyboard, books, coins, etc). As for the balance, if you have a full size camera and macro lens it's pretty easy for a tripod to tip over unless you're using a big tripod.

Those won't be issues for everyone though. If you have the space then fitting a big tripod in your setup isn't an issue and that solves the balance issue too. But it can be tricky for those with limited space, especially since to have the tripod balanced you often need significant leg extension, which places the camera further from the ground, requiring you to elevate the coins towards the camera etc (e.g. a tripod next to a desk with the coin placed on the edge of a desk).

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My take on copystands is that good ones are often very expensive. You can get basic ones that will do the job fairly cheaply ($100-$200) but if you grow into the photography aspect of the hobby you'll replace it before long. Two other options I can think of:

1. the WeMacro vertical stand. You'll want to double check it gives you enough vertical room for your camera + lens (i.e. enough working distance). The XY adjustment platform may be too tall so you can remove it to give you more vertical space if needed. I think it's also superfluous in this use case as it's easy enough to move a coin into position at these magnifications.
2. Buy some cheap aluminium extrusion and make your own using t-nuts and various adapter plates to attach everything together. Should be quite cheap, the extrusion pieces themselves are often quite cheap but the t-nuts, screws, and adapters can start to add up if you have a complex setup.

For both of those I'd add a long double-sided arca rail to attach to the post with a double-sided arca clamp and a small arca plate. The idea is that you attach the double-sided arca rail to your vertical post with t-nuts or similar. We want it double-sided so it's thicker, i.e. gives clearance for one of the dovetails away from the vertical post. That's because we then attach the double-sided arca clamp to the rail and we want the clamp to be able to move up and down the rail to adjust the camera's vertical position. You then attach the plate to the bottom of your camera and fasten it to the other side of the double-sided clamp. Those parts add a fair bit of cost but I'm sure you can find cheaper alternatives.

It may very well be easier and cheaper to just buy a macro rail then do the rail-clamp-plate setup above, provided you can think of a way to attach it to the vertical post (it has 1/4" mounting screws on the bottom). Here are two affordable options: option 1, option 2.

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Just some ideas! Think about what the most annoying parts of your current process are (e.g. adjusting the camera's vertical height, size of the setup, flexibility of the setup, ease of use, etc) and based on that you can work out what features you can and can't live without. If you just need something to stop the camera tipping over I'm sure the cheap copystands like this one are more than good enough. I just wouldn't recommend them if you think you might want to upgrade some aspects of it in the future, since there's probably not much you can change without having to replace the whole thing.

[akeady]

I got a secondhand copystand for €90 including two daylight lights a few years back - it works well for me, I found it very awkward to position coins under a tripod.

This is what I ended up with - CS-920S

I usually use just an LED panel mounted on the camera rather than these lights, but they are potentially useful, I will experiment with them again someday.   The copystand is quite large - this is where I had it initially, but now it's found a more permanent home upstairs:

ATB,
Aidan.

[rasiel]

39 minutes ago, Kaleun96 said:

The two main disadvantages I can think of (from back when I used one for shooting coins) that may come up for some is their footprint and their lack of balance. ...

I take back what I said. Didn't consider footprint. Still, it's really only a slight inconvenience as however much space a tripod takes up you can always put it away after use (and the copy stand will permanently eat up that square foot of real estate while you can put away the tripod!). But, yes, if setting up a permanent work area a copy stand is indeed a better option on that count. The balance point though is a non-issue for any except the truly lousiest of tripods as you can simply work the legs for stability.

If I can balance a kilogram worth of glass and metal on this El Crappo tripod from Aliexpress I'd say it's doable for most other setups too.

Rasiel

[traveler]

Agree with Rasiel and Anaximander. OP mentioned problems with camera toppling, so I assume that is the main issue.

A tripod will do the job unless the camera is truly very heavy. In which case, one might want to consider upgrading the camera instead. 

Of course a copy stand will solve the toppling issue permanently, but personally I think it is overkill.