Buying and using a microscope?

[variatease]

Hi, I see references to using a microscope for photos of rpm's and doubling. Could anyone make specific recommendations for me so I can puchase one? Does the camera attach to a microscope? I just got a Nikon 4200 and am trying to get images of entire coins now, still working on lighting, resolution, etc, but I really want to show the small stuff. Once I get some decent images, I will tackle uploading to this site. My daughter assures me she knows how. I have read all the posts thus far from CD, Coop, Bob et al and will continue. Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

Bill

[Doug]

Good morning Bill. If you're looking for a new scope I'd recommend Amberdepot.com where I bought mine. The model I got was the 7.5x-45 zoom trinocular stereo. It's a sweetheart but a tad pricey in the $400.00+ range but then again too I'll never need an upgrade. Most folks here just hold their cameras to the eyepiece with obvious excellent results. Mounting a camera to a scope can be pricey as well. Digitalastronomy.com could help on this aspect.

[variatease]

Thanks, Doug. I will check it out. That is the kind of specificity I was hoping for.

Bill

[coppercoins]

Amberdepot also sells a decent binocular scope for a hundred less than the trinocular, and I've never had trouble with holding the camera up to the eyepiece. 6 of one, half dozen of the other. I chose to go through the extra trouble of holding the camera steady to save the $100.

Just make sure that whatever you get it has "infinite zoom," which means that you aren't held to specific magnifications. Infinite zoom allows you to turn a knob to smoothly zoom in or out to any magnification within the range of the scope. None of the cheaper scopes have this capability. They are 10X/30X or 20X/40X, which means those two magnifications are all you get. My scope has infinite zoom (7.5x-35x) so I can take a shot at 15X, 25.5X, 13.8X, etc..

[murphy]

I bought this one for $135 new from the Microscope Store. http://www.microscope-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=49&osCsid=7189b9fc5d59b29d54bad8f3bb966480
I use a Sony cybershot on a tripod and eyeball the camera position in relation to the microscope, making sure everything is perpendicular. If it's not then I find that I'll have a blurred top of the coin.
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/2004PHG4REV.jpg
Lighting is a problem, but I have worked it out that my best shots come at night from the light of a flexible 40-W desk lamp. I glued some pennies onto a white colored card that I use as a mirror to reflect light onto any dark portions of the coin. I wrap the card around the target coin and it stays because of the weight of the cents that is glued onto it. I check the coin through the digital camera to make sure all is lit and clear before I take the photo now.
One note of particular interest is that I can only photograph a whole penny through this microscope. If I shoot a nickel, it is usually slightly cut off top/bottom or is barely able to fit:
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/18831.jpg
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/2001p51.jpg
If I have to make a photo of something larger than a nickel, I use my scanner. It's a 2-year old Lexmark combination scanner/printer. I'm not satisfied with the quality I get with it and am presently looking for another one. Here's an example of an image taken using this scanner:
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/2001Pquarter1.jpg
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/2001Pquarter2.jpg
After I take the photos and have loaded them in my PC, I pull them up with Microsoft Digital Image Pro 9. The first thing I do is "straighten" the picture, then crop it, reduce the size so it's better for viewing on the internet and finally give the file a name and save to disk. If all goes well, this is what I wind up with, most of which are from my Ugly Coin gallery:
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/1998wideam1.jpg
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/wideamfg1.jpg
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/1972DRIPPED1.jpg
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/elphcentrev.jpg
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/1914D1.jpg
http://home.insightbb.com/~murpht/thundereggs2.jpg
I don't mess with changing the tint, hue, contrast or brightness. If it's not right, I just try to position the light a little differently in my next attemp to "capture the essence" of the coin. I figure I can always use the experience. My program has a "Black & White" thing that allows me to make copper look like silver, so I could make a copper colored penny look the color of a quarter. I use it on some of my silver & clad coins, but not cents or toned coins. There are many other "things" that I could use to clean up a dirty coin, but it's my belief that a coin must be represented in it's exact color and condition or else I'm somehow cheating, so I try not to use them unless I am making something that is obviously meant to seem altered or brings them closer to natural than my lighting will allow.
It's been a trial and error process for me and I'm still in the process of learning, but it's a lot of fun going through the various stages of my education. And the people that I am learning from are good, friendly and very knowledgeable. I thank them! And I hope you have fun with your education.

[variatease]

Thanks Murphy, CD and Doug. My shopping has begun. I am glad these posts remain so I can use the tips when I start shooting. Pretty nice pics for an ugly file, Murphy.

[coop]

Murphy: Is the 1914-d an altered 1944-D Cent? It doesn't look right.. Too much space between the 9 & 1. Also the rim is fuller on the older coins.

[murphy]

Hiya Coop. Yes, you're absolutely right about that being an altered 1944-D. My uncle fought in several campaigns in WW-2. He got out and went through Jewelers School on the GI Bill. By then, he was already collecting coins. He brought back a lot of European coins from the war. And after he learned to be a jeweler here , he opened a little jewelry shop in Louisville and bought and sold coins as well as jewelry. I know for a fact that he use to turn out "handfulls" of fake 1914-D's as well as some 1909-S VDB's and 1922 plains. I've got 2 of his 1914-D's and a 1909-S VDB. He was the type person who gambled and usually won, he was a bootlegger, he travelled all over this part of the country stopping at old country banks and buying up as much of their coins as he could afford. He'd bring them back home and we'd help him look through the rolls for the "good old ones". I remember that from the 1950's and '60's when I was a kid. Yep, it's a 1914-D fake cut from a 1944-D. And I have what's left of his collection. All the good stuff was sold off and he had some good ones. But I have the things with his character to remember him by, his fakes and his worn out buffalo nickels. I was looking through some of them recently, there are rolls of really worn out buffs and found a 5-legged one and some keys - 1921-S, 1924-S and a 1926-S. Also found a rpm on one of them, can't recall which one. I found a few full horners that I have in 2x2's and in my two type sets. I'm getting one together for my grand-daughter when she gets old enough to appreciate them. She's only 4 now. When I'm gone, she'll be the one to own these fakes, these worn out buffs, these pieces of my uncle's long forgotten, but oh so interesting life.

[rollmeupabe]

Hi Bill,

I have a Nikon Coolpix 4500. I could never keep the camera steady enough to take great photos. I found there are attachments to set up your camera to a microscope. I attach the camera and then put it on timer with no flash and the pictures come our pretty decent. Here is a web site for an attachment:

http://www.coinoptics.com/order/cat5.html

John

[rollmeupabe]

Here are some example pictures I have taken with the Nikon Coolpix and the attachment. I have not worked a lot yet at getting the correct lighting.

http://home.comcast.net/~johnemorgan/wsb/html/view.cgi-photos.html-MerchantID-123391-Publish-t-makestatic-true-skip-0.html

John

[variatease]

Thanks, John. Nice detail on the doubling and rpm. Now that I have seen a few scopes on the site you all mentioned, a few new questions come to mind. Can you get an entire coin, say up to the size of a morgan, in the field at 7.5x? For nice pics of toners, for example. What magnification did you use for the rpm which filled the field, 35x, 45x? I see there are adapters to double those numbers. Now I know what a trionocular scope is, looks handy, but if you want to shoot through a binocular scope, can you just remove the eye-guard? On the trinocular, does the extended lens just drop down into that attachment and hold the camera? Oh, and does a slab interfere with it all the way out to 7.5x, or just at higher magnifications? I will probably go with the 7.5x-35x if it covers all the bases, CD is right, it is the best deal. Thanks all for your help thus far. I've got some neat stuff to share someday, and I'm learning fast. Just found a new 1943d 1c ddo, class V, nicely south on LIBERTY and east on IN GOD, only marker a crack e-w over VDB with a nice chip, almost a break. I know, show the pictures. Soon, I hope.

Bill

[carlb]

I'm not sure if that model camera has a threaded filter ring but if it does you may want to check out a camera store or the web for close up filters that just screw onto the front of your camera. You would have to know the filter ring size in mm or just take the camera with you to a camera store. Vivitar makes a great Series 1, 3 set filter ring attachment for most cameras. There is a +1,+2 and +3 filter. Together you can just about put the lens on the coin. This would be vertually hundreds of dollars less than a microscope and easier to manipulate.