Anybody here made a microscope adapter for a digital camera?

I'm thinking of that sort of project for my Canon G3 and am in research
mode. Richard Kinch has a nice site here with some good info and links:

http://truetex.com/micad.htm

Anybody know of others?

For reference, I've had pretty good luck just holding a digital camera
with the lens against the eyepiece of my microscope...

On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 22:35:29 -0600, "Mike Henry"
wrote:

Anybody here made a microscope adapter for a digital camera?

I'm thinking of that sort of project for my Canon G3 and am in research
mode. Richard Kinch has a nice site here with some good info and links:

http://truetex.com/micad.htm

Anybody know of others?

Don't know of any other sites, but I've adapted the "Q-Cam" to a B&L
with trinoc head, also AO series six with the same. Not much of a job
unless you want the camera and both EP's in focus at the same time,
then some kind of focusing helix is called for. Eyepiece projection
might introduce several other factors too, but I didn't have to go
that far. Light is the biggest problem, microscope objectives are
small, hard to cram a lot of photons through.

Using a camera with a lens on it yet, I have no idea.

Rich

Mike Henry wrote:
Anybody here made a microscope adapter for a digital camera?

I'm thinking of that sort of project for my Canon G3 and am in research
mode. Richard Kinch has a nice site here with some good info and links:

http://truetex.com/micad.htm

Anybody know of others?



What? That page and links wasn't complete enough for you?

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

"Larry Fishel" wrote in message
ups.com...
For reference, I've had pretty good luck just holding a digital camera
with the lens against the eyepiece of my microscope...

I tried that and got decent results at the expense of some vignetting.
Maybe that's the best that can be expected without spending considerable
money.

"Richard" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 22:35:29 -0600, "Mike Henry"
wrote:

Anybody here made a microscope adapter for a digital camera?

I'm thinking of that sort of project for my Canon G3 and am in research
mode. Richard Kinch has a nice site here with some good info and links:

http://truetex.com/micad.htm

Anybody know of others?

Don't know of any other sites, but I've adapted the "Q-Cam" to a B&L
with trinoc head, also AO series six with the same. Not much of a job
unless you want the camera and both EP's in focus at the same time,
then some kind of focusing helix is called for. Eyepiece projection
might introduce several other factors too, but I didn't have to go
that far. Light is the biggest problem, microscope objectives are
small, hard to cram a lot of photons through.

Using a camera with a lens on it yet, I have no idea.

EP? Does that have to do with the focal plane of the microscope and camera?

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 09:12:38 -0600, "Mike Henry"
wrote:



EP? Does that have to do with the focal plane of the microscope and camera?

Sorry. EyePieces. Trinocular head, with the camera directly above
the objective. Using a cable release, "see object in eyepiece, click,
have picture." Eyepiece projection, with no lens on the camera, just
projecting directly to the film plane, or in this case, the CCD.
Requires a little more setup, usually just a helical focus on the
camera plus one for the eyepiece. IF planned properly, not much
travel needed on either one. B&L used to sell the Kodak Pony 135
without lens or focuser for this purpose, as well as an assortment of
different lens/shutter combinations for different uses. Most included
a focusing helix. Some were for large format, usually now unavailable
film packs.

Rich

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 09:06:03 -0600, "Mike Henry"
wrote:


"Larry Fishel" wrote in message
oups.com...
For reference, I've had pretty good luck just holding a digital camera
with the lens against the eyepiece of my microscope...

I tried that and got decent results at the expense of some vignetting.
Maybe that's the best that can be expected without spending considerable
money.




Unless you're prepared to make major
modifications to the microscope mechanics you can't get at the
design focal plane of the microscope objective so you're forced
to use the eyepiece or a relay lens to bring the final focal
plane outside the tube length.

The normal working range of eyepiece focusing
produces an apparent image distance of between infinity and about
10". If the infinity end of this range chosen, the light leaving
the eyepiece can be brought to a focus by a digital camera which
has preferably had any autofocus option disabled and fixed at
infinity.

While this can produce an excellent focussed image
there may be severe vignetting. This is because the light leaving
the eypiece emerges as a cone of rays. This is produced by the
eyepiece lenses forming a real image of the objective aperture.
This is the exit pupil. In visual use, to make use of the full
field, the observer automatically positions his eye so that this
exit pupil is located within his eye.

In the camera case the axial position of the
camera must be adjusted so that this exit pupil is located in the
optical centre of the camera lens. It's a bit fiddly to do this
so it helps to first experimentally locate the exit pupil.

Focus the microscope on to a very bright object. Then in a
darkened room move a piece of ground glass or tracing paper near
the eyepiece eye lens. At the right distance a small bright disc
will appear. This is the exit pupil. Now organise the mechanics
so that this pupil location is coincident with the optical centre
of the camera lens.


The best choice for this is one of the small security
cameras which use physically small lenses. The pupil location is
pretty close to the eye lens and if the camera lens is a
relatively long multiple element assembly such as a zoom lens it
may be impossible to reach the optimum position and vignetting
will remain.


Jim












If the digital camera auto focus is disabled and left set at
infinity microscope; focusing the microscope for best final image
will permit both the microscope and the camera to work within
their normal

"Abrasha" wrote in message
...
Mike Henry wrote:
Anybody here made a microscope adapter for a digital camera?

I'm thinking of that sort of project for my Canon G3 and am in research
mode. Richard Kinch has a nice site here with some good info and links:

http://truetex.com/micad.htm

Anybody know of others?

What? That page and links wasn't complete enough for you?

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

Just trying to cover all the bases. My optics knowledge is a bit rusty. Or
maybe fogged over is a better description g.

"Richard" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 09:12:38 -0600, "Mike Henry"
wrote:



EP? Does that have to do with the focal plane of the microscope and
camera?

Sorry. EyePieces. Trinocular head, with the camera directly above
the objective. Using a cable release, "see object in eyepiece, click,
have picture." Eyepiece projection, with no lens on the camera, just
projecting directly to the film plane, or in this case, the CCD.
Requires a little more setup, usually just a helical focus on the
camera plus one for the eyepiece. IF planned properly, not much
travel needed on either one. B&L used to sell the Kodak Pony 135
without lens or focuser for this purpose, as well as an assortment of
different lens/shutter combinations for different uses. Most included
a focusing helix. Some were for large format, usually now unavailable
film packs.

Oh - sometimes it's the obvious g. I'll try the frosted glass approach
and see what that tells me.

Mike

On 11 Dec 2005 21:35:00 -0800, "Larry Fishel" wrote:

For reference, I've had pretty good luck just holding a digital camera
with the lens against the eyepiece of my microscope...

I did that too but I first taped up the hard anodized rim of the eyepiece to
protect the camera lens from being scratched. I don't have the eyecups on
mine.

--

Boris Mohar

Ritz camera is currently selling, on sale, a complete digital microscope
that hooks to a computer. Don't recall the price, but I think it is
about forty bucks. I intend to pick one up.

Mattel offered something like that several years ago- they sold like
hotcakes, but they didn't make any more batches and so were then
unavailable.

These are sold for kids, they do not have the quality for biology
research, but hey, for a lot of home and shop tasks they should be adequate.