Nikon vs Canon

[papascoins]

I don't know much about photography. The Canon pic, it seems, is only sharp, or 'focused' as you go closer to the center. Looks like the Nikon keeps its focus throughout the shot. (It's like you said, 'blown-out' details near the edges.) Just my opinion!!!!!!

Looks great though! Maybe someday for me.

[ray_parkhurst]

No worries Chuck. Just let me know when you are ready.

The Jansjo's are great, though I highly recommend building some form of the "Directors" (Diffuser-Reflector) I've been developing to minimize hotspotting and chroma noise problems they can cause because they are such pinpoint sources. They create EXTREME local contrast. That said, I've seen some excellent results with two un-diffused Jansjos at 10 and 2 with a diffused one at 12. The 12:00 one gives an overall diffused illumination that reduces the local shadow contrast of the other two lights.

I've built a range of "Directors" for various purposes, including a very effective one for high magnification. I've published results for most of these on another forum's Coin Photography subforum. I wish we had a photography sub-forum on LCR. The posts I've made here recently have garnered a lot of interest and it would be nice to have them segregated from the rest of the traffic as they are pretty specific...Ray

[ray_parkhurst]

Bought mine on Amazon for $499, free Super Saver shipping...Ray

[Roller]

I see the T2i for $470.00, free shipping (body only). Was going to get the D5100 but for the price I am looking at the 2i as well. I mainly need the live view that I don't have with my D70. The 18 meg of the 2i does not hurt either. As for the jansjo, Ikea is out of them (in Florida anyway) and they're going for $17 on the net. Got 2 of them which also got me free shipping.

[ray_parkhurst]

Originally Posted by papascoins

I don't know much about photography. The Canon pic, it seems, is only sharp, or 'focused' as you go closer to the center. Looks like the Nikon keeps its focus throughout the shot. (It's like you said, 'blown-out' details near the edges.) Just my opinion!!!!!!

Looks great though! Maybe someday for me.

I don't see how there could be any focus or sharpness issue across either image since these are just small crops fairly near the center of the overall image. If this was a full image, not a crop, the story would be different...Ray

[ray_parkhurst]

Originally Posted by Roller

I see the T2i for $470.00, free shipping (body only). Was going to get the D5100 but for the price I am looking at the 2i as well. I mainly need the live view that I don't have with my D70. The 18 meg of the 2i does not hurt either. As for the jansjo, Ikea is out of them (in Florida anyway) and they're going for $17 on the net. Got 2 of them which also got me free shipping.

So I spent $30 too much! And it wasn't that long ago. The price must be dropping rapidly on the T2i...Ray

[crocky28]

I took a photography class last semester and it seemed like the general consensus was that Nikon was the preferred brand among professional photographers. That said, you can get great shots with lesser cameras depending on what settings and lenses you use, and most importantly, depending on the photographer! Of course, if you have a really crummy point and shoot (which I have right now) you're never going to get that perfect close-up. Both are good brands, but I think Canons are the more user-friendly of the bunch. Also, it helps to use a tripod and a remote shutter, as no matter what you do, there will be a degree of camera shake when you press the button on the camera itself. If you shoot in the RAW you can usually make up for lighting or contrast problems in a program like Adobe Bridge's Camera Raw or Photoshop without sacrificing image quality. I think that when you compare high-end models of different camera makers it really comes down to a matter of personal preference - which one feels better, ease of use, etc.

[RWBILLER]

Ray
What's the difference between a 2i and 3i in layman's terms - is it worth the extra cost for coin pictures?
Rog

[ray_parkhurst]

Originally Posted by RWBILLER

Ray
What's the difference between a 2i and 3i in layman's terms - is it worth the extra cost for coin pictures?
Rog

The 3i has a few more features not relevant to coin photography. It does have an articulating LED display, so on bellows might be useful, but if you use the tethering software the display doesn't get used that much anyway. Sensors, processor, etc are identical so the important stuff is same on 2i as 3i. I didn't see any need to buy the 3i...Ray

[ray_parkhurst]

Originally Posted by crocky28

I took a photography class last semester and it seemed like the general consensus was that Nikon was the preferred brand among professional photographers. That said, you can get great shots with lesser cameras depending on what settings and lenses you use, and most importantly, depending on the photographer! Of course, if you have a really crummy point and shoot (which I have right now) you're never going to get that perfect close-up. Both are good brands, but I think Canons are the more user-friendly of the bunch. Also, it helps to use a tripod and a remote shutter, as no matter what you do, there will be a degree of camera shake when you press the button on the camera itself. If you shoot in the RAW you can usually make up for lighting or contrast problems in a program like Adobe Bridge's Camera Raw or Photoshop without sacrificing image quality. I think that when you compare high-end models of different camera makers it really comes down to a matter of personal preference - which one feels better, ease of use, etc.

Yeah, I've been shooting Nikon for years and it took me a long time to try the Canon. Finally decided to buy a dedicated coin camera and the T2i was on sale so I went for it. After all, common wisdom nowadays is the camera is fairly irrelevant to taking a good photo. But the issue for me came down to one thing: Electronic First Curtain Shutter (EFSC). This is the technology that eliminates the minute vibration caused by the shutter, and Nikon does not have it. Canon has had it for a long time, and the newest Sony models have it as well. It makes a little difference at 1:1, but a much bigger difference at 3:1 or higher. This is probably not an area your class covered I would guess...Ray