"Final" Numismatic Photography Setup

[ray_parkhurst]

My last few posts have gone unanswered so I think this thread has worn out its welcome. However, I will answer my question for anyone who is curious...the last photo was taken with a Nikon CF Plan 4x 0.13 objective mounted on the bellows in place of the 75ARD1. It's not the best one in Nikon's line but it's equivalent to a 16mm f2.8 lens that is optimized for 4x magnification so is pretty much perfect for variety shots. The large aperture means freedom from diffraction effects. The drawback is the need for more images in the stack. This was done with 5 images...Ray

[Amadauss]

[QUOTE=ray_parkhurst;139692]It looks to me like you need to do some stacking of the image. The sharpness of the in-focus areas is good, but the depth of field of the microscope is not sufficient to give a critically-sharp image. This is actually a good thing, indicating the microscope is capable of reasonably high resolution. Probably if you take another shot focused on the field, the stack would come out very nice...Ray


Thanks Ray, I have stacking software and will give it a try. Will post the pic.

[Amadauss]

My last few posts have gone unanswered so I think this thread has worn out its welcome. However, I will answer my question for anyone who is curious...the last photo was taken with a Nikon CF Plan 4x 0.13 objective mounted on the bellows in place of the 75ARD1. It's not the best one in Nikon's line but it's equivalent to a 16mm f2.8 lens that is optimized for 4x magnification so is pretty much perfect for variety shots. The large aperture means freedom from diffraction effects. The drawback is the need for more images in the stack. This was done with 5 images...Ray

Ray, that last close Mint mark of D looks real good. a 5 stack and got to say you could have probably done a few more because the top of the D looks a little out of focus towards the coin body. And the light was reflecting off that area also. Your lighting is coming from the top of the coin.

You aren't putting anything into photoshop are you? You could probably fix that with it.

And I think when you start talking about stacking, most here might not be sure or have the software to accomplish.

[ray_parkhurst]

Ray, that last close Mint mark of D looks real good. a 5 stack and got to say you could have probably done a few more because the top of the D looks a little out of focus towards the coin body. And the light was reflecting off that area also.

You aren't putting anything into photoshop are you?

And I think when you start talking about stacking, most here might not be sure or have the software to accomplish.

Yeah, I figured that might be a little much. But this was prompted by Chuck's question about what he needs to get highest quality images with the bellows. The 75ARD1 can give excellent results for full-coin pics of Lincoln Cents without stacking. But to get highest quality shots of varieties, stacking is required. It's actually not that difficult, and the software I use is free and has a Yahoo (or maybe Google) group associated with it so plenty of support from the guy who wrote the program. There is a lot of neat stuff you can do with focus stacking...Ray

[ray_parkhurst]

...You aren't putting anything into photoshop are you? You could probably fix that with it...

No, I'm not a photoshop guy. Always wanted to learn but ultimately I don't try to fix anything except overall levels and such. I recently saw a coin photo that I thought was almost hopeless turned into a thing of beauty with photoshop. Dark areas lightened without messing up the rest of the image, sharpening applied to just the right level, etc. Made me want to learn how to use the tool but ultimately I try to balance my shots best I can and minimize the post-processing...Ray

[Amadauss]

It is a great tool to change lighting and shadows. Use it every day on faces and hair mostly and have been playing around with it for coins. Have a pic from Karah I am going to play with tomorrow. Will post both pics.

[ray_parkhurst]

I've made a transition from my Nikon D7000 to a Canon T2i. I shot the next coin in the roll (#9) using the Canon.

[RWBILLER]

Wow!!!!
Rog

[lara4228]

Forgive me Ray, this thread has been so interesting and useful.

What was your original question that hasn't been answered?

Lara

[Maineman750]

What was your original question that hasn't been answered?

Lara

There was no question Lara, this is the General Discussion forum

[ray_parkhurst]

Here is coin #10 from the roll, imaged with the Canon T2i. I'm getting used to the workflow with the Canon.

[ray_parkhurst]

Here are 3 more. Just 6 to go...Ray

#11



#12



#13

[BadThad]

Simply excellent pictures....the deal is done IMO! These are all-out professional level results.

[lara4228]

There was no question Lara, this is the General Discussion forum

Roger on Post #76 he mentions something about questions going unanswered and welcome being worn out.

Lara

[Maineman750]

Gotcha Lara...one post up and you would have seen the question :Anyone care to guess what this was taken with?