Photographing 50% Silver Coins

[ozjohn]

I like to photograph my coins to keep a record of the, When photographing 50% coins the results always seem lifeless and slightly blurred even though the coin has lustre and good definition in the hand. I am using a Sony alpha 5000 camera with macro lens . The light source is a diffuse multiple LED with switched light levels and color temps. which can be positioned for max overall illumination. I also use the multipoint auto focus.

Any suggestions please.

Thanks

[Nick]

Assuming that the camera is in a fixed position between shots, you can replace the coin with something easy to autofocus on (eg printed text) to establish the focus, then turn off autofocus.  That should fix any blurring due to difficulty of autofocus.

A dull and lifeless appearance is going to be due to lighting.  Try a brighter light further away from the subject, but you may have to experiment.

[Paddy]

I find a single source of light striking the coin at an angle works better.