How is it a pain in the ass? I wouldn't call myself a professional photographer but an amature/hobbyist. I've learned that it's all about lighting. Only so much light can enter the lens for that perfect shot and the smaller the lens the less light that can actually get in. This pretty much means that how much megapixels your camera has is more of an illusion when it comes to the quality of the pictures it can take. A phone camera always has a very small lens. Understanding your lens will make it easier to take a picture in the right conditions. When it comes to DSLR's I am still learning there but I have the kitchen fan light on above me when I take these pictures along with an LED light using the expensive energizer lithium batteries about 5 inches away above the rock. If you can see a white shine in the rock, that's my LED. The proper angle minimizes the glare so I typically have to rotate the rock to get the right lighting, or even slide the light a little closer or further away.
For DSLR's I read that the higher the ISO the more grainy the picture will be so if you have to use 6400 ISO or above you need to add more light. I try to keep it below 3200.
Also phone camera's typically have all auto features when it comes to adjusting the focus and ISO/shutter speed etc. The only automatic setting I have set for my nikon is focus.
I think our camera is an EOS, don't have it in front of me and it's more my wife's than mine.
The pain is the focus. I am sure it is my lack of expertise but, somehow I can never get clear crystals to shoot right. We have an LED light box studio we use and it works great for all gems except clear crystals. I know I need to just take the time to research how to best shoot those crystals.