I haven't been here for ages but now that I am officially an “old fogie” (72), it's time to start taking photos and listing coins to hopefully sell online. I have a new Kodak Pixpro FZ55 camera but because I shake a bit, I am looking for a small, inexpensive tripod for it so I can take pictures on a flat surface (my desk). I have seen some 6" tripods on E-Bay but I don't know if they can rotate to take pictures of coins on the top of my desk. Can anyone help me with this, please?
I fully understand your problem (76.5). It all depends on which camera you're using (camera camera or camera smartphone)?
Don't forget that the coin is normally 90° to the optics. A tripod is always 90° to its foundation. Thus the head of the tripod has to allow the optics to be bent 90° from the vertical to be parallel with the horizontal of the coin!
I just use a normal small tripod for my Nicon cool pix and then a fix lifting device to make sure that my macro is used to its best (as near as possible to the optics and still producing an optimal image).
Have fun selecting and if needed I can send you images of my set up.
Hello, Globetrotter, and thank you VERY much for your kind reply to my note and the excellent information that you provided. I am much better educated now about using a tripod and I have a good idea what to look for now.
I've had great results using an old Sears/Craftsman drill press. They are available on the used market for about $10 to $15.
(Once I add a picture, I am unable to add another picture or more text. Any advice on this problem would be appreciated, but until then I do this in multiple posts.)
A smart man learns from his mistakes. A smarter man learns from someone else's.
Then I strip off the unnecessary parts and get the threaded section from a ¼" bolt, with nut and washer, to attach the camera. The CD is used to protect the camera from the metal mount.
A smart man learns from his mistakes. A smarter man learns from someone else's.
(Once I add a picture, I am unable to add another picture or more text. Any advice on this problem would be appreciated, but until then I do this in multiple posts.)
Write a text make spaces or line breaks, continue your text insert one or more images in the space left free you can put temporary insertion : / or # # marks in it to find your bearings
I don't want to high jack this thread, but I am not able to add more text or pictures after inserting the first picture. Yet I've done so many times in the past. Thank you, but could be me, my computer or a change in the Numista programs.
A smart man learns from his mistakes. A smarter man learns from someone else's.
Cheapest way to do it is with a piece of rigid cardboard and a few books: cut a hole matching the size of lens in the cardboard and fit the desired distance inserting a few books on two sides of cardboard.
Cheapest way to do it is with a piece of rigid cardboard and a few books: cut a hole matching the size of lens in the cardboard and fit the desired distance inserting a few books on two sides of cardboard.
What about the light sources after all the shadows from the books?
☻ a box of cakes or sweets according to taste, empty or full ☻ a rubber band to secure the device ☻ a plastic lid covered with plain white paper ☻ a piece of gum underneath ☻ three pins stuck in the rubber through the lid very important to raise the coin, so as not to have a shadow, especially when it is cut, all edges shall be straight Here is the result under natural lighting, diffused light in overcast weather
with pinswithout pins
improvement envisaged: a phone with three lenses for three-dimensional photos of 6 MB instead of the current 80 KB.
I make videos, and I actually use a tripod from a telescope. It stands on the ground and goes higher than the bench, making it perfect for filming coins on the bench.
I originated this post maybe 2 months ago and I am STILL receiving really great suggestions! Thank you all so much. I am pleased to say that I have adopted several of the suggestions offered in this topic and I am now posting photos, mainly on eBay, which are getting reasonably good, (if I do say so myself). 😄
I even have lighting figured out pretty well (except for proof coins where my fingers keep getting reflected in the images). I adjusted the light source and magically, no more fingers in my photos. The problem that remains is that I shake a bit (for 72, I'm doing pretty good) so I use my Yoga blocks to rest my arms on when taking photos. I saw a great idea near the end of this string that will also be helpful for shaking. I'm going to give it a try.
Anyway, thanks to you all for being such a tremendous help!! VERY much appreciated!
CREPOSUC☻ a box of cakes or sweets according to taste, empty or full ☻ a rubber band to secure the device
I had something like this to prop up the phone. But I got tired of it falling off or wiggling. And it wasn't my phone, it's my wife's. (I still have a flip phone.) Anyway, one of the reasons I got back into collecting was how the magnifier my wife had loaded to her phone made it easy to identify, grade and sort coins. So I made this:
The base is plywood with a thin layer of foam covered with a faux leather/velvet kind of fabric. You do have to pull the phone out to switch between the magnifier and camera. But you can use the screen button to take pictures, no wiggle. As long as light source is mostly overhead and to the right, minimal shadows.
Coins In OR - USA
Collecting US and Canadian
and interesting worldwide coins and currency
I don't know that I'd try to add LEDs on this set up. But, if I ever make one for a full sized iPad, I probably would. In the above photo, I was trying to remove any background noise to show the camera stand, the light source for a photo of a coin was not ideal.
I take photos of coins in a different location. For example, here's a quick shot of a coin. The light's still not ideal, there's some glare, but I gotta get back to work! I've never removed the background before, but another thread showed how. That removed the shadow too.
Coins In OR - USA
Collecting US and Canadian
and interesting worldwide coins and currency
# marks in it to find your bearings
without pins 
