canon Lee

Hi Nick and welcome to the forum. Have you tried scanning them in a scanner?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Also note that most lenses have their "sweet spot" of sharpness about two or three stops down from maximum wide open aperture.

At the other end of the aperture range, most digital sensors will start limiting sharpness due to diffraction at some point as you stop down... So for the sharpest results, don't stop down much beyond a medium aperture of, say, f/8. (It's easy to get a picture with everything "in focus" but completely "fuzzy" at f/32, using an APS/C or smaller high pixel count (15+ MP) sensor!)

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

Suggest trying your subject matter on youtube. You may find most or everything you need on it.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

I too shoot Sony and have the 75 - 300 sigma and yes it shoots macro, you will need to put it on a good heavy tripod and use a remote trigger to activate the shutter.

light box is a white open sided box that bounces light around in order to give a bright image without highlights or shadows. you can make one out of card etc - google 'homemade lightbox'. It creates the 'floating in the air' product shot when done well.

Alternatively you can make a screen between lamp and subject out of white baking parchment or fine rayon taped to a 'chinese hat' lightshade. it will give you difused light that will not 'shine' on metal. WB to tungsten.....

Most coin pictures I have seen have side light to create contrast with the different planes on the coin - probably done with a LED torch strategically placed. clamps and a piece of 2X2 propped up may do or go to home depot and see what you can manufacture.

some folks like ready made photographic lighting - some make it and use the savings to buy other things...led lighting is changing peoples perception about 'what to use'. because you can get a very bright focussed light from something the size of a roll of flat mints. - Great for products bad for portraits ....what the hey.

As a product - old coins are a known quantity so you may be able to get away with a reletively simple set up and a good honest description will probably make a better impression.

Good luck and enjoy the new opportunities

2011steeny Loc: Flora, MS

What is the best MACRO lens to get for a Sony Alpha A-58 DSLR Camera, in order to take real good close up photo's of coins.

I want to be able to take very detailed clear photo's of my coins in my coin collection and I have not been able to do that with what I have.

Please read all above quotes to catch up with my situation.

CEJ Loc: Cresson,Pa

I agree, you can through a light box together for less than 20.00, a cheap trypod from Walmart you'r in like Flinn

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

Welcome to UHH. I hope you bought Bryan Peterson's, "Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition." It's a wonderful book for people new to dslr photography. We have 2 forums on UHH that may be helpful to you. The Close Up forum and the Macro forum. These people are very good at what they do and they will bend over backwards to help you. Good luck.

2011steeny Loc: Flora, MS

Yes I did purchase that book by Bryan Peterson.

Chuckwal Loc: Boynton Beach Florida

Try utube beginning photograpy or buy understanding exposure
by Sctt Kelby

Chuckwal Loc: Boynton Beach Florida

I ment peterson

James R. Kyle Loc: Saint Louis, Missouri (A Suburb of Ferguson)

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Well... Seems all that you will really have a need for is the making of mistakes and learning from them AND reading the printed materials. I am assuming that you have a notebook and WILL make notes to yourself within? If Not GET ONE.

Come here for what you can not find in the books, and or do not understand - and or IF you find something that everyone can make use of as in the way of new ideas and share the info. There are some really good photographers here to readily give advice and ideas as how to approach photography for the best results.

Welcome aboard the UHH.

2011steeny Loc: Flora, MS

Thank you, I'll do that!

James R. Kyle Loc: Saint Louis, Missouri (A Suburb of Ferguson)

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This was my early learning process - that and going shooting with a few really good photographers.

dickwilber Loc: Indiana (currently)

Kudos to Burkphoto! Best description of a difficult setup I've ever come across. 2011steeny, there's value there.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Thanks! I did a lot of macro work in a major pro photo lab from 1979 to 2012, photographing everything from coins and stamps and oil paintings to business forms and book covers with intricate metal embossed seals on them. The setup I described here is the last one I used.