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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Jewelry photography

I had the task of photographing this coin pendant (it's a Sovereign, smaller than it looks, only 22mm/0.86"), and this shows two things: 1) direct flash light is often terrible, and in this case it's beyond terrible, it doesn't even look like the same object! Somehow the daylight color of the flash (actually LEDs) removed almost all golden coloring from the pendant, and it emphasised all the minute scratches it has so it looks awful.
But: 2) you used to need a fancy camera to do stuff like this, but in this case my pocket-camera Canon S100 did a fantastic job, and I bet any other good pocket camera would also. (The thing is that with the small sensors, the change of the lens to get to macro setting is very small, where in a big camera it's a big deal.) I didn't even need a tripod, I just put it on the table by an ordinary table lamp, and hand-held the camera! It's amazing.



(Click for big pic)
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8 comments:

  1. ttl28 Apr 2012, 18:05:00

    Seems to be a Knights Templar themed pendant. You planning to sell it now that Anders Breivik has made the Templars cool and the value is high?

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  2. Bruce W.28 Apr 2012, 18:06:00

    There is a huge color difference not only in the coin, but in the background. Something is going on here more than just a good macro focus lens. Something weird or changed with the color balance (light or in camera?) or post processing?

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  3. Eolake Stobblehouse28 Apr 2012, 20:54:00

    One is daylight LEDs, one is a normal indoors lamp, much redder.

    It's St. George and the dragon. He's been on Sovereign coins forever, I think.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_(British_coin)

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  4. Tommy29 Apr 2012, 12:26:00

    EO, just curious. Was the "normal indoor lamp" an incandescent or one of the newer florescent types?

    In my experience, incandescents have more red in them.

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  5. Eolake Stobblehouse29 Apr 2012, 15:45:00

    Mmm, I'm unsure of the English terms, but it's one of those new energy-saving bulbs which looks like little bent florescent tubes. But it seems it has the classic red light than normal light bulbs have always had.

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  6. Anna30 Apr 2012, 08:20:00

    Just great !

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  7. Tommy30 Apr 2012, 13:06:00

    Good description, those little squigley tubes.. :-)

    Anyway, I am sort of suprised there being that red element. That seems to have been one of the probles with these bulbs.

    Oh well, will wonders never cease..

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  8. Eolake Stobblehouse30 Apr 2012, 17:10:00

    (Thanks, Anna.)

    Tommy, you mean the light was not warm enough? Well, those I have seem to give exactly the classic warm indoor light we grew up with.

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