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Taking Pictures of Coins

Tank Hounds

By Tank Hounds
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Tank Hounds

+Tank Hounds

Posted
Posted

OK, I know there have been lots of pics posted and probably lots of advice buried within the forums...but can someone tell a camera IDIOT how to take a close up pic of a coin and not have it be blurry? I can't seem to extreme focus on anything (tried my wedding ring and just got a blurry blob).

I think there is a setting on the camera that I need to use but I'm not sure what it is...

 

I have a Canon Powershot S3 and a FujifilS5000

 

They do lots of nifty things, but basically I know how to put it in the "auto" mode and shoot away...

 

Can someone else? I don't want to have to scan my coins on the scanner every time I want to get a good pic of them!

 

Thanks

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Mauison

+Mauison

Posted
Posted (edited)

Use the macro mode. On the Canon, there should be a button with a flower. In an image of the camera I just saw, it should be on the left side of the S3, under the MF button.

 

Search the Web for "macro mode how to" and you should find some online help. Good luck!

Edited by Mauison
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GPX Navigators

+GPX Navigators

Posted
Posted

Hey Susan - you need a macro setting on your camera to get effective up close shots. I am not familiar with either camera model you have, but if you don't have the guuide to your camera you should be able to find it online. Canon is good about having their guides availalbe online. If you use macro and shoot indoors you might need to play with the flash - either deflect it or offset it so it does not blow out the coin in the picture. Best to use natural daylight, no direct sun.

 

If you don't have the macro setting, a lot of folks have good luck with using their scanners. Mine no longer works so I can't test that theory but I have seen postings and they come out great.

 

Good luck. It takes practice even on a mcaro setting. :D

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Mauison

+Mauison

Posted
Posted

Here's a pic of 2 of our pathtags...still a bit blurry. I guess I need to zoom out a bit more and then crop it like Trucker Lee suggested..But this is as close as I could get and still get a simi-non blurry picture....not too bad! :huh:

 

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/sue117/DSCF0640.jpg

 

Try taking a pic of each pathtag separately. The camera might be focused on one of them which causes the other to be a little out of focus.

 

When I take pics of my coins, I use the macro and don't use the zoom. I have the camera about 4-6 inches away from the coin.

 

Also, if you're using unnatural light (incandescent or fluorescent lighting), make sure your white balance setting is correct. If it's not (under incandescent lighting for instance), a silver coin might look gold or bronze. My Canon A95 has automatic settings for both types of lighting.

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WVRadar

+WVRadar

Posted
Posted

I recently purchased a few geocoins and wanted to upload an image on the coin's page. Instead of trying to get a closeup photo I went to the manufacturer's website, right clicked the image of the coin, and saved it in the My Pictures folder of my computer. I then uploaded the photo to the coin's page. This has the added benefit of not having to edit out the tracking number of the coin in the photo.

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Droo

+Droo

Posted
Posted

It worked, it worked it worked!

I've found that if I get too close I can't get a good shot because my hands can't keep still....I think that we bought one of those portable tripods, I'll have to see if it's big enough for the camera! Thanks for all your help! :huh:

 

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/sue117/DSCF0637.jpg

 

Yup the problem is not to get too close and have enough light so the exposure speed is not too slow. Then the problem is lighting but it looks it all came together for you in the photo you linked above. Well done.

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Droo

+Droo

Posted
Posted

Here's a pic of 2 of our pathtags...still a bit blurry. I guess I need to zoom out a bit more and then crop it like Trucker Lee suggested..But this is as close as I could get and still get a simi-non blurry picture....not too bad! :huh:

 

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/sue117/DSCF0640.jpg

 

Looks like you're a fraction too close.... the woodgrain is nearly in focus. Try using the Sharpness feature in your digital image software, that works in a pinch.

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Jake - Team A.I.

Jake - Team A.I.

Posted
Posted (edited)

I recently purchased a few geocoins and wanted to upload an image on the coin's page. Instead of trying to get a closeup photo I went to the manufacturer's website, right clicked the image of the coin, and saved it in the My Pictures folder of my computer. I then uploaded the photo to the coin's page. This has the added benefit of not having to edit out the tracking number of the coin in the photo.

 

There are some copyright issues with doing that, but it's way better than linking to their site and eating up their bandwidth.

 

Geocoincollection.com had a problem with ebay auctions using links to their images. This would suck up bandwidth and gave no benefit to the host.

 

If you do take your own pictures, you'd be surprised how easy it is to remove tracking numbers using something simple like MS Paint.

 

Step 1:

Step1.jpg

 

Select an area adjacent to the area you want to cover.

 

Step 2:

Step2.jpg

 

Drag the selected area to cover the unwanted text and then save as a new file.

Edited by Jake - Team A.I.
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Steinwälzer

+Steinwälzer

Posted
Posted

One problem with close-up shots is, if you don't use a tripod, you constantly change the distance between the camera and the object you want to photograph. It is only a fraction, and your movements might be slow enough not to blur the image, but you change the focus distance. So your picture might be in focus, or might be off a little bit.

 

For my pictures of coins, I am in most cases too lazy to set up my tripod, so I use a little trick... I set my camera (a Canon Powershot A540) to Macro mode, try to use as much light as I can without getting ugly reflections on the coin, use the wide-angle setting on the lens, and (that's the trick) then I change the settings on the camera so that it fires as long as I leave my finger on the shutter (continuous shooting mode). I make about 15-20 pictures, and after that I go through them and I usually have 1 or 2 really sharp pictures. I delete the rest immediately. Taking the 20 pictures doesn't take much longer as taking just 2 or 3 individual pictures, and looking for sharpness doesn't take that long, too. I usually need 5 minutes for my pictures, arranging the coin, taking the pictures, finding the right one, scale it down, remove tracking number, upload it. First I made just individual frames, but I had to do it again and again because sharpness was not satisfying enough. That took much more time than I need now.

 

Best thing would be of course to use a tripod....

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CinemaBoxers

CinemaBoxers

Posted
Posted

I always use Sunlight on a dark background if possible. I started using those very same foam sheets many use to place coins in their binders!

 

Natural sunlight, no flash. (But not IN the sun, just on a bright day!)

Macro, or Zoom - tripod ideally, but the brighter the day, the less time that lens needs to be open.

 

I have an Olympus Evolt SLR - does the trick usually - but I can also get nice shots with my simple handy EasyShare Kodak!

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MustangJoni

+MustangJoni

Posted
Posted

I recently purchased a few geocoins and wanted to upload an image on the coin's page. Instead of trying to get a closeup photo I went to the manufacturer's website, right clicked the image of the coin, and saved it in the My Pictures folder of my computer. I then uploaded the photo to the coin's page. This has the added benefit of not having to edit out the tracking number of the coin in the photo.

 

There are some copyright issues with doing that, but it's way better than linking to their site and eating up their bandwidth.

 

Geocoincollection.com had a problem with ebay auctions using links to their images. This would suck up bandwidth and gave no benefit to the host.

 

If you do take your own pictures, you'd be surprised how easy it is to remove tracking numbers using something simple like MS Paint.

 

Step 1:

Step1.jpg

 

Select an area adjacent to the area you want to cover.

 

Step 2:

Step2.jpg

 

Drag the selected area to cover the unwanted text and then save as a new file.

I wondered how to do that. I've always "painted" over the tracking #! Thanks!

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dflye

+dflye

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hmm, think I may switch to using a scanner for the relatively low quality pics that can be used for cointracking and coin pages, just took a sample scan and it turned out decent enough. I'm feeling pretty stupid now, here I've had a scanner sitting about 3 feet away from me all the times I've been taking camera and coins outside while hoping to not bobble around to much while shooting the pics! :huh:

Edited by dflye
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scavok

+scavok

Posted
Posted

A decent $15 set of macro filters, $10 tripod and a homemade flash tent is all you need for perfect coin photos if you already have a camera.

 

I use a digital rebel with macro mode at 90mm setting for these photos:

TT01.jpgBS01.jpg

 

Using the same settings with a 4+ macro filter on the lens brings it to the following:

CS03.jpgTT03.jpg

 

My flash tent is a cleaned out 1 gallon milk jug with copy paper as the background. Set it in the sun and the pics are nice and bright with little to no shadows.

 

Hope that sheds some light on it :)

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scavok

+scavok

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well hey, if anyone wants to mail me a coin to see/discover then mail back, I would love to take high quality photos in return :ph34r:

 

Accordiongal, the truth is that a macro lens is nothing other than a magnifying glass. I've never tried it but the following should work just as well if you can get the setup correctlylens.jpg

 

That photo is from thehowzone.com's tutorial on macro shooting with point & shoot cameras. It may be of some help (with other options and ideas to pull it off): http://thehowzone.com/how/PS-Macros/

 

I don't mean to place an ad here, but I have more photos on a current auction of mine if you want to see them: eBay

 

edit: to fix broken links

Edited by scavok
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Haughton's Hunters

+Haughton's Hunters

Posted
Posted

Yeah, I still can't get TOO close, but I suppose that I can always crop it...

Sounds like you're getting there. My best suggestion:

Use Macro mode

Use a tripod

Back up (you don't need the camera right on top of the coin, even in macro mode)

Use low light (get rid of "hot spots")

Turn that flash OFF

Use manual exposure to get enough light into the camera

Shoot in max size that is not interpolating the image, and preferable a lossless format (TIFF instead of JPG)

White balance (auto WB is usually crap)

Edit for color correction in Photoshop

Crop to the coin and resize if necessary

 

I use an old Epson PhotoPC3000z and take great photos of coins with it. I've even devised a way to take photos of those REALLY SHINY coins with minimal editing, but it's still a PITA.

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