[labnetwork] Optical microscope cameras

[Stefan Schoenleitner]

Hi,

On 08/13/2014 07:43 PM, bryan cord wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> We're in the process of evaluating digital cameras to add to a few of
> our optical microscopes (nothing fancy, just Nikons with max 100X
> objectives).  After some shopping around, we like the 5-8MP Zeiss and
> Leica CCD offerings, but they're a bit pricey.  What I'm wondering is
> whether anyone has a more affordable brand of aftermarket scope camera
> that they really like.  My main concern is software quality (since most
> low to midrange scope cameras seem to ship with awful software), but
> obviously things like signal/noise, image quality, and general usability
> are important too.
> 
> Any recommendations would be appreciated.

we are currently using industrial FireWire cameras. They have the
features of high priced microscope cameras, but they are are available
at lower cost. The advantage of those cameras is that they use a
standardized interface (IIDC) which is supported by a wider range of
software.

Here's a list of IIDC cameras with their features. You'll see that there
are also some typical microscope camera models included.

http://damien.douxchamps.net/ieee1394/cameras/#LIST

The camera we like most so far is a Guppy F type manufactured by AVT.

Regards,
Stefan