Photography Equipment Review Review of my gear

[Charliemouse]

I thought it would be useful to review my photography gear, discuss why I chose it and how I use it to photograph coins.

For each component, I also give some disadvantages and suggest cheaper alternatives.

Camera body: Nikon D850

This is the centre and workhorse of the entire set-up.  I use this camera for all my photographic needs.  It’s a little out of date these days, being a few years old.  Nikon released it as the peak digital SLR before the incoming tide of mirrorless cameras completely dominated the market.

It has about 45 million pixels (plenty), designed specifically for landscape, portrait and fashion photography, or anything requiring precision.  It sacrifices response times and frame rates for this resolution, although for normal purposes you would never tell.  Nikon do lower-res / higher frame rate cameras specifically for things like professional sports and wildlife photography.

Another feature useful for macro photography is an electronic shutter.  When you are photographing small objects, it is important to have everything locked down and still.  The slightest movement will ruin the photograph. Even the shutter moving inside the camera can cause a shift of a few pixels, blurring the image.  An electronic shutter, although slower than a conventional one, avoids such movement.

Automatic focus stacking is a way to program the camera to take multiple shots, varying the focus position slightly each time.  It is useful for photographing objects with depth, e.g. coins angled away, bars, or even some very high relief coins.

Cons:  It’s certainly big and chunky, as professional DSLRs tend to be.  It isn’t cheap.  Frame rate could be faster.  It doesn’t have eye-detect auto-focus.  None of which affect macro photography.

Cheaper alternative: Any modern full frame or APC mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. Choose the one that matches the lens you want, not the other way around.

Lens: Sigma 150mm Macro

An amazingly sharp lens, with a true 1:1 reproduction ratio.  It has an excellent diaphragm for producing smooth out-of-focus backgrounds (bokeh).

It is unnecessarily long for coin photography.  A focal length of 60 to 80mm would be fine for coins, since you don’t need to worry about scaring your subject away.  I originally bought the 150mm so that I could take pictures of insects out in the wild, without needing to get too close.  However, it does mean my working distance is over 1 foot away, which makes using the camera on a desk, with lighting, tripods, etc. quite cumbersome.

Cons: Doesn’t interface perfectly with the camera, so certain auto-focus features, especially when tethering don’t work.  No vibration reduction.  Big and heavy.

Cheaper alternative: See my guide to choosing a macro lens.

Tripod: SLIK 700DX

This is big, strong and heavy.  Made of aluminium, I would not recommend this for general photography, just because it is so big and heavy.  However, for macro work and astrophotography (another hobby), it is great because it keeps things very still and, generally, portability isn’t a huge issue.  It can be adjusted to a very wide leg angle, to get really low for macro work, and provide a solid platform.

Cons: Big and heavy.  Probably not practical for tabletop use.

Cheaper alternative: Any all-metal tripod.  Look for an established brand.  Tripods are the classic “buy cheap, buy twice” gear.  Cheap tripods have the features, but when you use them for real, you soon realise they have weaknesses such as loose joints and locks, stripped threads, etc.

The gold standard in tripods these days is carbon fibre, because it is so stiff, strong and yet light.  But actually a metal tripod is probably more useful for macro, because the mass is useful for damping vibration, and you generally aren’t carrying it around.  Plus, carbon is a whole lot more expensive.

Tripod head: Manfrotto Geared Tripod Head

Again, a large, heavy component built for stability.  This allows very small, precise adjustment of all three axes.  No need to unlock, move and relock, this saves an enormous amount of time and fiddling.

Cons: Some of the adjustment could be finer.

Cheaper alternative: A metal ball head.  The tripod may come with one, and if you followed my advice and bought good quality, the ball head should be good enough.
Be aware that tripods and heads will have a recommended weight capacity, and a camera with lens may be heavier than you think.  A tripod for a phone is not going to work for a camera.

Macro rail: Neewer Pro 4-Way Macro Focusing Rail

Something you may not even know exists, let alone consider buying.  This is for when you have everything in place, but you need to move the camera a little left and right, or forwards and backwards towards and away from the subject.  Moving the whole tripod is impractical, and would be very fiddly with such small distances involved.  This allows me to make tiny adjustments to the framing of the shot.

Also, sometimes it makes sense to move the camera slightly forwards or backwards, rather than refocus the lens.

Cons: Adds to the overall size and weight of the setup.

Cheaper alternative: Don’t use one.  It’s certainly more awkward and less flexible without one, but it’s definitely something to add later if you do a lot of macro shots.

Remote: Aodelan radio remote trigger

As I say above, the slightest movement when taking macro shots is disastrous.  A remote trigger, enabling you to trigger the shutter, is an essential for the sharpest images.  I use a radio trigger, as I can use it at a much larger range for other purposes.

Cons: Takes up space on the camera hotshoe, and needs to be removed before using the viewfinder (which you don’t need for macro).

Cheaper alternative: Any trigger, radio, bluetooth or IR, that works with your camera, is good enough for macro work.

Lighting: Various

Forget flashes.  You don’t need anything so bright when you are using a tripod, because the subject isn’t moving.  But you don’t want it too dark though, otherwise you start to get image noise.  Your best option is LED panel lights, often called video monitor lights, that let you set the colour temperature.

I use a IVISII G2 Pocket RGB Video Light as my main light above the camera.  It has a very good brightness range, and can set the colour temperature to pretty much anything.  I cover it in diffusion paper, to soften the light even more, and spread it even wider, so it becomes very ambient.

I have a couple of smaller and cheaper ULANZI VL81 lights without diffusion, to improve the highlights and deal with any shadowing from the main light.

Lume Cube 2.0.  Beautifully built and rugged.  Very accurate 5600K light, with lots of options for different effects.  I use it to give a more direct light to emphasise highlights, but it is a quality bit of kit for all sorts of uses.

Monitor lights usually have a hotshoe mount to attach to the top of the camera, and a tripod mount.  I’d recommend using a cheap desk tripod for a few quid, to allow you to position and angle them anywhere.  I use Zeadio Metal Mini Tripod + Ball Head because they can get very low, aren’t too big, and have ball heads to angle the light.

I shoot everything inside a Neewer Photo Studio RGB Light Box.  This means I can precisely control any reflections and ambient light from the room, to prevent mixing colour temperatures and avoid random reflections from objects or lights in the room.

I set the colour temperature on all 3 lights to the same kelvins, and then use this for a reference value in post processing.  See my guide on Photographing gold so that it looks like gold, for a description of colour temperature / white balance.

Cheaper alternative: A window, although you would need to ensure the white balance was correct with every shot.  And definitely try not to mix artificial and natural light, or you will waste a lot of time in post processing trying to fix the colour.  Frankly, if you can buy something like the ULANZI lights for £20ish, you can’t go wrong.
 

[CazLikesCoins]

Ooh the D850 is a brilliant camera. I used to have lots of Nikon kit when I did stock photography some years ago but now I use old Canon gear, the cheaper the better lol. Currently using a Canon 7D and bog standard primes. I don't have to worry about someone running off with it when I'm outside as it costs about as much to replace as a bag of chips lol.

It's nice to own nice things and your D850 will hold quite a lot of its value for years to come.

[Silverlocks]

21 minutes ago, CazLikesCoins said:

Ooh the D850 is a brilliant camera. I used to have lots of Nikon kit when I did stock photography some years ago but now I use old Canon gear, the cheaper the better lol. Currently using a Canon 7D and bog standard primes. I don't have to worry about someone running off with it when I'm outside as it costs about as much to replace as a bag of chips lol.

I have a soft spot for secondhand electronics as well - I've been doing secondhand computers for the better part of 20 years now.  A little treatise on secondhand camera kit would be a fabulous addition to this board - after all, the less you spend on cameras the more you've got left over to buy shiny stuff with.  At some point I'll be looking to buy a secondhand camera and lens for taking pics of coins with, so a discussion of the matter by someone who's in the habit of doing this with camera kit would be most welcome.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Silverlocks

[Charliemouse]

4 minutes ago, Silverlocks said:

I have a soft spot for secondhand electronics as well - I've been doing secondhand computers for the better part of 20 years now.  A little treatise on secondhand camera kit would be a fabulous addition to this board - after all, the less you spend on cameras the more you've got left over to buy shiny stuff with.  At some point I'll be looking to buy a secondhand camera and lens for taking pics of coins with, so a discussion of the matter by someone who's in the habit of doing this with camera kit would be most welcome.

Agreed!  I am definitely encouraging other people to contribute their experiences.

Of course, as you may have noticed, I was hoping my article was really a "what you should think about when buying photography kit" disguised as a review.

[CazLikesCoins]

1 minute ago, Silverlocks said:

I have a soft spot for secondhand electronics as well - I've been doing secondhand computers for the better part of 20 years now.  A little treatise on secondhand camera kit would be a fabulous addition to this board - after all, the less you spend on cameras the more you've got left over to buy shiny stuff with.  At some point I'll be looking to buy a secondhand camera and lens for taking pics of coins with, so a discussion of the matter by someone who's in the habit of doing this with camera kit would be most welcome.

There's a great website called MPB that specialises in second hand well priced camera gear at all levels from consumer to professional inc bodies, lenses and lighting. Some of their cameras go back over 20 years to near the dawning of digital SLRs. I think my 7D is about 12 years old and it still works as new. It just shows that things don't need to be new or the latest to simply function. And as you mention, second hand electronics have a certain charm and perhaps even nostalgia. Then again, perhaps I'm just a cheapskate. I think that factors into my thinking too haha.

[Silverlocks]

4 minutes ago, CazLikesCoins said:

[ . . . ]And as you mention, second hand electronics have a certain charm and perhaps even nostalgia. Then again, perhaps I'm just a cheapskate. I think that factors into my thinking too haha.

I think the big win with buying secondhand is that you can get decent kit quite cheaply simply because it's not the latest and greatest or (even better) it's come off lease at a small fraction of its new price.  I've got a nice Z440 workstation that, had I bought it new from HP, would have the most ardent of Apple fanboys clenching and drawing a sharp intake of breath.  Secondhand, it was quite manageable.

[CazLikesCoins]

1 minute ago, Silverlocks said:

I think the big win with buying secondhand is that you can get decent kit quite cheaply simply because it's not the latest and greatest or (even better) it's come off lease at a small fraction of its new price.  I've got a nice Z440 workstation that, had I bought it new from HP, would have the most ardent of Apple fanboys clenching and drawing a sharp intake of breath.  Secondhand, it was quite manageable.

I agree. Buying second gives you access to some very high quality tech albeit some years old. I know it sounds like a paradox but as I'd rather have high quality old tech than brand new bottom range. My car's really old too and keeps on ticking. I just don't see the point of buying anything new, unless its food or toilet paper lol

[Zeuk]

Ive had a Pentax K-5 sitting alone in a cupboard un-used for a few years now, nothing special but should take good snaps, was thinking of giving it a run out for taking photos of coins... need to remember how to use it now 

[Charliemouse]

11 hours ago, Zeuk said:

Ive had a Pentax K-5 sitting alone in a cupboard un-used for a few years now, nothing special but should take good snaps, was thinking of giving it a run out for taking photos of coins... need to remember how to use it now 

What lens do you have?  You may struggle with the kit lens to close enough.  You can get K-mount macro lenses, although they are few and far between.

Another issue you may have is, if it has been sitting in a cupboard for a while, the lithium battery is probably very dead.  Hopefully it hasn't leaked.

[Zeuk]

5 minutes ago, Charliemouse said:

What lens do you have?  You may struggle with the kit lens to close enough.  You can get K-mount macro lenses, although they are few and far between.

Another issue you may have is, if it has been sitting in a cupboard for a while, the lithium battery is probably very dead.  Hopefully it hasn't leaked.

Luckily the battery was fine, stuck it on charge last night and the house hasn't burnt down.  The lense is the 18-135 that came with it, not sure I fancy splashing out for a different one tbh, had a look last night and given how much use it'll get I don't think its worth it.  Do you think an 18-135 will give me good results?

 

[Charliemouse]

9 minutes ago, Zeuk said:

Luckily the battery was fine, stuck it on charge last night and the house hasn't burnt down.  The lense is the 18-135 that came with it, not sure I fancy splashing out for a different one tbh, had a look last night and given how much use it'll get I don't think its worth it.  Do you think an 18-135 will give me good results?

Obviously your best bet is to try it.  It has a native ~1:4 ratio and a MFD of 40cm, so it is certainly not ideal for macro photography.  With the smaller sensor, you are looking at sovereigns being less than 1/3rd of the frame height, so you would need crop.  You have 16 million pixels to play with, so cropping won't be disastrous.

However, if you have a relatively recent mobile phone, that might be the shorter route to better images.

[CazLikesCoins]

One tip mostly overlooked is to check your time/date back up battery hasn't corroded. Its usually a 2032 button battery screwed into the grip alongside the main lithium cell. Although some cameras have a recharge circuit instead of the 2032 cell. Worth checking as they can leak and ruin a camera that's along on years.

Edited April 4, 2023 by CazLikesCoins

[Charliemouse]

21 minutes ago, CazLikesCoins said:

One tip mostly overlooked is to check your time/date back up battery hasn't corroded. Its usually a 2032 button battery screwed into the grip alongside the main lithium cell. Although some cameras have a recharge circuit instead of the 2032 cell. Worth checking as they can leak and ruin a camera that's along on years.

Wow, that is old school.  I'd forgotten all about backup batteries.

Most cameras these days don't have backup batteries, but just use very low power circuits and capacitors.  After some time (could be days, could be months) the camera just gives up and you will need to set up the clock again.

Edited April 4, 2023 by Charliemouse

[Charliemouse]

36 minutes ago, Zeuk said:

Luckily the battery was fine, stuck it on charge last night and the house hasn't burnt down.  

As for the battery, it will definitely be damaged by leaving it flat for so long - just a fact of life for lithium.  It probably won't hold as much charge now.

[Zeuk]

40 minutes ago, Charliemouse said:

Obviously your best bet is to try it.  It has a native ~1:4 ratio and a MFD of 40cm, so it is certainly not ideal for macro photography.  With the smaller sensor, you are looking at sovereigns being less than 1/3rd of the frame height, so you would need crop.  You have 16 million pixels to play with, so cropping won't be disastrous.

However, if you have a relatively recent mobile phone, that might be the shorter route to better images.

Yeah on trying the two i did think the iPhone came out better tbh 😆

[CazLikesCoins]

10 minutes ago, Charliemouse said:

Wow, that is old school.  I'd forgotten all about backup batteries.

Most cameras these days don't have backup batteries, but just use very low power circuits and capacitors.  After some time (could be days, could be months) the camera just gives up and you will need to set up the clock again.

It's one of the reasons I like old camera bodies, being able to change the cells. Also having a button cell keeps the settings ticking over for years without a main battery in the camera, as opposed to a recharge circuit depleting within weeks/months once the main battery is out for storage.

I like a simple life with simple things. I'm still not keen on anything that isn't powered by a double A. And I don't even want to think about the built in/ glued in Macbook and iPhone batteries 😄

[Charliemouse]

9 minutes ago, Zeuk said:

Yeah on trying the two i did think the iPhone came out better tbh 😆

If you got a macro lens, it would blow away the iPhone.

Phones these days are amazingly good, especially at general photography.  But you can't beat physics - the difference between a 6mm lens and 60mm lens.

[Charliemouse]

Photographs of the gear described.

   

Other items visible include:

• Grey cube at the bottom of the last picture, for calibrating white balance
• Lab lifter, under the cloth, for vertical movement of the subject.

Edited May 14, 2023 by Charliemouse