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Author Topic: Coin Photography with iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5  (Read 4549 times)

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mlkrt

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Coin Photography with iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5
« on: October 08, 2015, 09:38:55 pm »
Hi there, I use to be able to take quite sharp coin photos with my Nexus 5, which has recently died. I've tried now both iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S5 but I've been unable to produce clear images. Is there some setting I should adjust for macro-photography? I'd appreciate it if you share your knowledge regarding either phone. Thanks!

Offline Meepzorp

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Re: Coin Photography with iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5
« Reply #1 on: October 09, 2015, 06:07:31 am »
Hi there, I use to be able to take quite sharp coin photos with my Nexus 5, which has recently died. I've tried now both iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S5 but I've been unable to produce clear images. Is there some setting I should adjust for macro-photography? I'd appreciate it if you share your knowledge regarding either phone. Thanks!

Hi mlk,

First of all, I am far from an expert at this. I am a novice at taking coin photos. But most other Forum members use a digital camera to take their photos. I use an iPhone.

In the past, I used an iPhone 4. My most recent photos (see my "Compulteria" thread in the Greek section of Forum) were taken with an iPhone 5s. I am currently preparing to document my entire collection by taking photos with an old iPhone 4. If you read my threads in this section of Forum, you will be aware of this.

That being said, I will try to offer you some advice.

To my knowledge, the iPhone does not have any settings like that (macro-photography, etc.). I think it is 100% automatic, with no manual adjustments available. If this assumption is wrong, then someone please correct me.

I don't understand why your iPhone 6 is taking photos that are not clear. As I mentioned above, I am new to all of this (taking photos of coins, etc.). And my recent photos have come out very well.

Is the iPhone too close to the coin? This is the only thing I can think of. When I first started taking photos with an iPhone, I made that mistake. The iPhone was too close to the coin. And my images were blurry. Other Forum members pointed this out to me. When I took my subsequent photos, I held the iPhone further away from the coin. And there was a dramatic improvement in the quality and clarity of my photos.

offhand, I'd say that the iPhone should be about 6-8 inches form the coin to get optimal photos.

When you take a photo using an iPhone, a yellow "box" appears on the screen. This should help you to focus the image.

Meepzorp

Offline Akropolis

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Re: Coin Photography with iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2015, 05:40:06 pm »
My Samsung Galaxy S3 camera has a Macro mode. See:
http://pdfowners.blogspot.com/2012/06/guide-samsung-galaxy-s3-camera-usage_2530.html
Scroll down to camera settings and "Focus mode."
Perhaps your phone camera has similar settings.
You can always Google, say, "Macro mode on iPhone6 camera".....put in your phone model number and see what you get.
PeteB

Offline dougsmit

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Re: Coin Photography with iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5
« Reply #3 on: October 09, 2015, 10:21:47 pm »
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6.  The first week I had it, I tried shooting some coins but was not happy with tonality and detail compared to my camera so I never tried it again.  I see no reason to use a phone when you can get a real camera that does a better job. I suppose you might want to use it if sending the image as soon as it was sent were important.

Sample (best one I got in that trial):

Offline Andrew McCabe

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Re: Coin Photography with iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2015, 05:07:23 am »
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6.  The first week I had it, I tried shooting some coins but was not happy with tonality and detail compared to my camera so I never tried it again.  I see no reason to use a phone when you can get a real camera that does a better job. I suppose you might want to use it if sending the image as soon as it was sent were important.

Sample (best one I got in that trial):


That's a pretty good sample.

I regularly take coin snaps with my Nokia 1020. The main reason isn't to upload on the move but because I travel incessantly often for short trips and with light bags and often with no especial plans to see any coins. And then I see something and want to take a decent photo, now. "The best camera is the one that's with you" (a well known and ancient photography maxim of unknown origin, probably in use since Cartier-Bresson's time, but purloined for a book about mobile phone photography recently as if the author dreamed up this old saying in the 21st century)

mlkrt

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Re: Coin Photography with iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2015, 06:28:42 pm »
Thank you guys for your replies - I'll give it another try!

 

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