How to take a clear picture of a coin ?

Tell me the best way to have clear coin pic

Hello the best is to have a descent Kamera with a Makro function (usually with a sign of a flower). Then to have the best possible quality of your photo try not to be to far or too close of the coin and try to get good lighting the best is usually natural lighting.
To finish up you can use software to improve the picture and cut of unecessary border (photoscape for example its free and it can make round borders for coins)

The is a lot more but I hope this was a little help to you.

If you have a scanner, it might be easier to scan the coin than finding proper settings and light for a good photo of a coin.

I've always used a scanner and they come out beautifully.  I usually set it at around 600dpi to keep the file sizes down, but obviously you can ramp up the resolution if you want more detail.

Scanner is the easiest option. But if you know about photography then that will capture the beauty of the coin like no scanner

In my case I use my phone and it make really good pics.
It have the auto focus and a 5 Mpx resolution.

I started out using a scanner which can yield some good results especially when you consider the low cost. I found using a scanner had very mixed results for the quality of image and the fact that it does not take the image from a fixed point is a real draw back.

I invested in a digital camera and a macro lens this made a huge difference. I used a LED bulb to light the coin from one side which works a lot better than flooding the coin with light from both sides. For macro photography you will need a camera stand. I could not find one at a sensible price so I had to make one. I spent £700 on a camera and a macro lens but it would have been a lot more if I did not haggle. The high quality of images I get justifies the cost but if you are not intending on photographing many coins a scanner is probably the best bet.

Check out the difference in quality below both sets of images are the same coin.

Scanned images



Photographed with a Camera



Both are acceptable images that I have chosen to compare but the camera images are much better and more accurately represent the coin and to me accurate representation of the coin is of very high importance.

If your planning on using a camera you don't need to spend £700 pound that's for sure, most of the pictures I have posted on Numista are taken with a Fuji Finepix Z20 using macro settings, and a tripod. I paid less than £100 including the tripod. This is one of my pictures.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces10493.html

A camera would produce the best pictures. The most important thing is lighting and the second is the macro function. Play around with the lighting and take multiple pictures to get the best one. If you are taking toned coins, filtered lighting and maybe even axial lighting (though I don't like it) will produce beautiful pictures.

Cameras are okay for some coins

Coins that work well with cameras:

• Silver and Silver-colored Coins
  
• Coins with luster
  
• Other bright coins
  

An example of a picture I took:



However, I recommend scanners.

Avoid dark coins. You get horrible photos, like these:



For these sorts of coins, always use scanners.

An example of a photo taken with my phone :



Scanner do not reflect the real aspect of the coin.

引用する: monéphilAn example of a photo taken with my phone :



Scanner do not reflect the real aspect of the coin.

Nice work!!

Thanks

Scan:



Photo:

Scan:



Photo:

Scan:



Photo:

Scan:



Photo:

hmm if the scans are better than you dont have the right cam or you doing it wrong but you can get much better quality with a cam than with a scanner. I use a Nikon D 700 and it makes descent pictures if you know how to make them, but as I pointed out at the beginning there are different factors that have to be taken into account ex. youll get much better pictures with natural light from outside (the sun) than with a table lamp for ex. then the angle of light reflexion, to not have the coin to far or to close to the cam...

I have one of those combined scanner/printer/copier/fax things but I've never used it for coins. Scanned images always look very harsh and unappealing to me.

I bought a halfway decent camera second hand on eBay for the sole intent of photographing my entire collection or at least the parts of it I intend to keep. It's been a very steep learning curve but I'm finally starting to get results I can live with.

I have a leather covered table in front of the office window and a tripod so I can use the timer function to avoid camera shake. I've tried a lot of different lighting combinations but nothing I've tried so far compares to natural light.

Post camera editing is by Photoscape (thanks Kenny G) which is perfect for coins and not too complicated.

It's not too high tech of a setup, it doesn't produce works of art, but it produces good clear images of the coins and they are an accurate reflection of the quality. Like Walder Coin I'm more interested in a true likeness than trying to fool myself with editing/lighting trickery that my coins are better than they are.

引用する: pnightingaleI have one of those combined scanner/printer/copier/fax things but I've never used it for coins. Scanned images always look very harsh and unappealing to me.

I bought a halfway decent camera second hand on eBay for the sole intent of photographing my entire collection or at least the parts of it I intend to keep. It's been a very steep learning curve but I'm finally starting to get results I can live with.

I have a leather covered table in front of the office window and a tripod so I can use the timer function to avoid camera shake. I've tried a lot of different lighting combinations but nothing I've tried so far compares to natural light.

Post camera editing is by Photoscape (thanks Kenny G) which is perfect for coins and not too complicated.

It's not too high tech of a setup, it doesn't produce works of art, but it produces good clear images of the coins and they are an accurate reflection of the quality. Like Walder Coin I'm more interested in a true likeness than trying to fool myself with editing/lighting trickery that my coins are better than they are.

You can get one Light-Box for about 100 bucks or build one yourself (Google it). Really helps to photograph Macro photos to supply even lighting.

I scan my coins with Epson 2480, now mostly at 800 dpi, but 600 dpi is also OK.
You may see 11 of my scans (600 dpi) in one of the posts of this thread https://en.numista.com/forum/topic14694.html
I also tried with photos, but was not satisfied, because the process is more complicated than scanning and the scan is harsher, as pnightingale correctly pointed out, and therefore more truthful than a photo, which is indeed more appealing and thus 'compliments' the coin like we do speaking to a woman and exaggerating her beauty or cooking skills, even if run out for a hamburger after her dinner. The scan shows better all the details, including minuscule deficiencies of a coin, while a photo usually hides them. When you buy a coin by a photo made by a professional photographer with a good camera, dispersed lighting, anti-glare slightly colorized filters and other tricks, you see a piece of art in a glossy auction catalog, but might get an unpleasant surprise when the coin arrives and you see the actual thing (this happened to me a number of times). With high definition scans the surprise is usually the opposite one: the coin looks better to a naked eye than it looked on a harsh scan. That's why (apart from simplicity of flatbed scanning) I opted for scans for my website store: I'd rather have customers happy with coins they receive, than with pictures they saw when making an order.     

Of course it all depends on the quality of the scanner and quality of the camera you're using.  a top of the range scanner will give a better picture than a lower resolution camera, and top of the range camera will give better results than a cheapo scanner.  Of course scanners don't require any camera skills, tripods, macro functions, or transferring the pic from the camera to the computer etc.  Just stick the coin in and click on "start" and the picture is in your computer straight away.  That's why I prefer to use a scanner.

I use a camera, not a scanner.
I'm not sure the result depends so much on the quality of the camera. Light is much more an issue IMO

A bit of teasing....
Do you like the result on that one ?

引用する: pnightingaleI have a leather covered table in front of the office window and a tripod so I can use the timer function to avoid camera shake. I've tried a lot of different lighting combinations but nothing I've tried so far compares to natural light.

I live in Scotland which means natural light only exists about two weeks of the year so its not an option for me.

I like my camera and hope to get more out of it as I experiment some more. I think if you want to capture a lot of detail when zooming in it is much better. The scanner can have its resolution turned right up but then it just takes longer to take the picture. Since having my camera I have stopped using my digital microscope as its inferior to the camera and I use normal optics less to.

You can get daylight bulbs from the likes of B&Q but I haven't tried one yet as I have been getting away with LED lights. Here's a picture of my usual setup. If the details need to be really high quality then I do use a much better camera than the one in the picture, but it's hardly ever needed.

引用する: tony_k_1965You can get daylight bulbs from the likes of B&Q but I haven't tried one yet as I have been getting away with LED lights. Here's a picture of my usual setup. If the details need to be really high quality then I do use a much better camera than the one in the picture, but it's hardly ever needed.

You are utterly butterly!

 that also the first thing that sprung up to my sight. It seems you really do like your butter

引用する: apuking  that also the first thing that sprung up to my sight. It seems you really do like your butter

 

I wouldn't care I don't even use it, it's just what some coins have arrived in before, in fact there's still coins in them.

Hmm...

I have been improving my photography skills, but scans still seem better:

Scan:



Photo:



Scan:



Photo:

I always use an photocamera.
Don't flash, use enough light from the surroundings!
Just try different distances and angles to find the best picture.. Using a tripod is quite neccessary..
for example;

Hi
This is my setup



Photo taken by a Nikon Coolpix point and shoot $140 new (which I used to use); now I use a Canon Rebel T3 SLR with a Tamron 90mm macro lens $900NZ

results


I also use a program called Picture Perfect which I think is free to download. Also if you purchase a new camera, an editing program comes with it.
Please Note :- A TRIPOD is a very important part of your equipment

I hope this helps

cheers Don

Hello guys.......after seeing your replies I had gone for scanner, but the coin pic I got is very small...    Is there any special setting to have clear zoom pic...please. I am totally disappointed.

引用する: rajbeer singhHello guys.......after seeing your replies I had gone for scanner, but the coin pic I got is very small...    Is there any special setting to have clear zoom pic...please. I am totally disappointed.

Try adjusting resolution to at least 300dpi.

or just crop the photo?

Yeah, once you've got the resolution switched right up (I use at least 600 dpi) you just crop out the white background.  The picture is a decent size and the image size is more manageable.

Well my 2 cents is more or less moot but I like to use my scanner, though I also use my 4s phone if I am out and about. Lastly if I am feeling artsy I will use my wife's camera. I guess to answer the original question of this topic though, try to keep too much light refraction from hitting off the coin - it'll screw up the luster of the coin's surface in the photo, giving for false coloration. Photos are all about light and shadow, so play around with that aspect first till you get the hang of it, and your photos will come out well.
Best of luck.

AND I   WHILE I WORK