🔬 How many megapixels does a microscope camera need?
1MP or 5MP or DSLR? What's the best solution to take pictures with a microscope?
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Your economical advices are really helpful to people like us who have no way to interact with those who can guide us without looting us. Great video and thanks.
One of the most helpful videos I've seen. I dont see well from left eye. So I was looking at getting an eyepiece camera and was wondering about what resolution to get. This video saved me about $300. Thanks
Great piece of advice about the 5mpx cut off. Thanx!
Glad I came across this video, in the process of getting a camera for my microscope. I think you narrowed it down for me Thanks, and Happy New Year!!!
I've been looking at many of your videos over the last few days and learned alot. One thing about using a DSLR camera I want to point out is that I also bought myself a camera shutter button in order not to shake the possition of the subject up.this comes in verry handy when you want to take a series of pictures to be used for immage stacking.
Yes, those are very useful. If you don’t have a camera remote, you can set your camera timer for a couple seconds. That way the camera movement can settle down before the photo.
Thank you for a clear explanation.
You can have high mega pixels on a sensor because the sensor is larger, it doesn’t mean the image resolution is higher or lower. Image resolution has a lot to do with the optics, especially focal length. Pixel pitch (size of pixel per unit of length) is also an important factor; the more tiny they are the more of them per unit of length, and the higher pixel resolution will be. There is a balance between optic’s resolving power and sensor’s recording ability.
Love your content thank you for helping this amazing hobby!!!!!!!
Microscopy is amazing. Thanks for making these videos.
Excellent timing for me - two days ago, I took delivery of that same camera! It did throw up an issue which was the same with the microscope I bought recently - no instructions! Not even basic ones to tell you how to assemble things- suppliers and manufacturers seem to assume that users have a certain level of knowledge or are prepared to trawl the internet to gain it.
I am in possession of the Olympus BH2 three-eyepiece microscope, what kind of camera would you recommend, thank you
Valuable, thank you
I have an AMScope MU1803 camera which is USB3.0 and 18MP. I also have a 5MP camera that came with my original compound microscope but it is USB2.0. The MU1803 is nice and I am happy with it, but was a bit pricier than others. One thing that all microscope cameras benefit from is brighter illumination, especially if you want to capture live video.
I have a an i4 lw scientific semen analysis microscope for sale with a camera
I’m using a Nikon mirrorless camera. It works with the dslr adapter that I already had, with the mirrorless adapter. I wish that I could get more magnification though.
thanks for this. im looking for a microscope with camera as a gift. unfortunately most packages come with 640x480px, which did seem awefully low. thanks for clarifying.
great info. thank you.
Thanks for the advice. I would still be thinking that more megapixels would equal more image clarity if i didn't watch your video. Now i know what camera i should get.
M-Hunter - can you recommend me a camera for stereo soldering microscope - one of those 7x-45x standard Chinese soldering scopes (like AmScope). They are always sold with some no-name cameras ranging of about 20 or 38Mpixels, and who knows what should you expect from a cam of 38mp costing less than 100$. The reason I'm asking is because I have no idea what resolution do these trinocular scopes deliver, I am new to all this. I would like to have some decent quality, be able to film at 1080p 30fps, and that's it, nothing special, I do care about quality, not about number of dots I can't see, especially if they basically just multiply those without improving video quality, which is something I think they're doing, just increasing resolution on software level...? I am not naming exact model I would like to buy because they're all very similar - optics are ok, I am not out of my mind to spend thousands on some Mantis inspection scope, so it's gonna be some China no-name AmScope like - same factory, same quality, but without AmScope written, they are around 500-700$ with double boom stand, up to 45x magnification without 2x aux lens, just to give you an idea what kind of image quality they deliver. Again, they are awesome, feeling and working is great with these scopes, but I have no idea what they can deliver in terms of resolution. I believe the thing to look for is sensor size, not resolution? If you can help me out, I'd be really grateful. Sorry if you fell asleap reading my question. Cheers!
Great advice with better buying a DSLR adapter. Do you gave any recommendations on those?
need the specific one for your camera and the specific mount to fit your scope. 4k is better, bigger sensor is better, and also sensors more recent with the electronics behind everything improves signal. The best sensors are around 3k for a camera.
Amazing.. thankd for help
Very good answer..thanks
Hi, I have two camera Nikon D810 and D850 for a microscope Stella-T Pro what kind of adapter I need. And what kind of camera is better use. Thanks
The interface with the computer is key if you wish to have live feed tracking of microbes. I have a 15+ year old system with firewire, CMOS camcorder with remote zoom on an Orthoplan which is very good. I tried USB 3 interface and there was a delay. There are newer HDMI cards and cameras which may provide accurate live feed.
For years I thought 5 MP would be WAY too low. I'm used to images being able to fill a 30 or 50 inch screen pretty easily....BUT if the field of view of the microscope lens is measured in millimeters, it makes sense that you hit the limit of the microscope lens BEFORE you hit the limit of the MP. So above a certain point- if the sample is 1 millimeter across (and at 40X), that may not translate to enlarging it to 762X to fit a 30 inch screen.
I am interested in taking smooth video like what you've shown on the green screen in this video. Can this be achieved with a DSLR and the Aliexpress adapter you discuss elsewhere? Or must I purchase a dedicated microscope camera? If its the latter, am I correct that achieving fluid motion will require USB 3.0?
DSLR is better, becasue it provides smooth video. USB 2 is too slow. USB 3 might work, if the computer is fast enough. You can also connect a pocket camera (using tripod).
Many thanks
I was confused a lot so my cousin sent this video to me... It really saved me... Thanks a lot from India 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
I have Nikon DSLR and Swift sw350t, what adapter do I need?
Thanks for the video. About DSLR adapter, some have no lens, others have lens it seems. I bought a no lens adapter for my Canon 350D (no lens) and all pictures are blurred (no matter how I setup my camera). So are lens needed ? And why ? (I've got a Swift 350-T and use the trino for my camera)
I am a novice myself but my understanding is that without a relay lens, the image plane formed by the objective may be too far down the tube.
Great info ! For some microscopes, no resolution info , any suggestion of how many megapixels for swift 380T ? Thanks in advance
I have the same microscope and looking for best cost effective solution for recording live videos. Hopefully he will help us
I have the 380 T and use Swift Optical 10MP USB 3.0 Digital Camera for Compound Microscope and Stereo Microscope Model: SWIFT SC1003-CK Reason is it has USB 3 for smooth video capture, though you will need a good PC with USB 3.
Thanks!
How about the industrial microscope cameras which are used for component repair (paired with reduction optics) . How do they compare against these options?
depends on what you need. I saw one by igauging that looked good up to 400x. Its $600. Theyre are some others like hayyear which people seem okay with, thats for digital only onto a screen. If you want to look at it also, you need a stereoscope like an amscope and you can get barlow lenses to change magnification and working distance as you need it. He has a more recent video that mentioned this.
Hello, I have difficulties to find an adapter for Sony alpha series e mount. Do you have maybe a hint?
Thank you for the wonderful videos. But when I try to focus on one part of the image, the other part gets dull, how to get uniform image. kindly suggest me.
Possibly the specimen is not flat. Close the condenser diaphragm to increase depth of field.
The low-framerate for video argument, is not that a case only spesific to microscope cameras that use USB 2 or lower. If such cameras were equipped with usb 3.0 or higher, then higher framerates on video should not be a problem I think. Also, microscope cameras I think generally fit trinocular microscopes / sterescopes without any adapters, unlike dslr cameraes that require adapters, and a T-ring if I remember correctly, to fit onto a trinocular microscope / stereoscope.
Yes USB 3 should not be a problem, provided that the computer is fast enough to also process the data (one of my older computers had USB 3, but was still too slow, and dropped down to a lower frame rate anyway.....)
Please make a tutorial on microscopic video and photo..
Dear Microbehunter. Thank you so much for providing us with all of your knowledge. It has helped me so much with learning to understand how microscopes work. I recently bought the Bresser Biolux NV 12x-1280x. I additionally added the BRESSER MIKROKULAR FULL HD microscope usb camera, because I want to create high quality and sharp video's and images. Unfortunately I noticed that the FULL HD usb camera creates more grainy and noisy images than the HD camera that comes with the microscope. I would love to create images that are sharp and have a slight 3D effect just like the image youre using in your video. Could I create the same type of images if I'd attach a photocamera through an adapter onto my microscope? Or would I have to buy a higher quality digital microscope camera like the Bresser MikroCam SP 5.0? Thank you so much once again!
Does not surprise me, because a higher resolution camera on a small sensor means smaller pixel size and more noise. You can compensate this by increasing the light intensity of the microscope and lowering the gain of the camera (via software).
Hi Oliver, I have a microscope adapter for my canon dslr camera. I can use an external reflex monitor hdmi, or the computer? Thankyou. Livio from Italy.
Yes, possible. I will make a video of this. You can directly connect a monitor via HDMI or to a computer via USB, but you need the EOS Webcam utility, which you can download for free. It changes your Canon DSLR into a live webcam to watch and record on the computer. Direct connection to a monitor over HDMI is more convenient (you don't need to turn on a computer), but depending on the camera, the resolution is not high. The low resolution image of the camera screen is sent to the monitor. Some EOS cameras send a higher resolution signal, however. You have to check.
@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy thankyou for your answer. I will try
3:51 I think this is generally a good video, but it skips over the fact that mp, is one tiny part of a camera. a 1mp camera at 2.9um pixel pitch, and a 8mp camera at 2.9um pixel pitch, will have identical sampling. Of course, non plan objectives have poor edge clarity, but that's why you get plan objectives for photography, but that issue would be even more pronounced on a dslr, so it wouldn't make sense to try and argue that.
5 Mp limit is sufficient for still shots fine, but for videos, higher frames per second (fps) rating is required. Most of the pre-owned digital camera's sold are due to upgrading not defects. A complete used 14Mp OMAX incl. software, USB 3, cable can be had for $250 like new. Fun stuff and the software can be a real economic time saver. Great pictures can be just a mouse click away.
Wouldn't more meg-pixels allow for greater magnification and clarification? Especially for image cropping and larger size prints.
That is correct, I don't think more megapixels are being wasted since they have a bigger sensor and allow more light into the sensor which means clearer images and be able to zoom in or crop the image without having the image to become blurry and pixelated. The more megapixels you have the higher the image quality you get. I use a my slr camera attached to my microscope which has 24 megapixels and it clearly looks 100 times better than my usb amscope 10 megapixel camera. More megapixels=better image.
@@awildyoutuberappeared9325 dont forget that your eyes have 4 Megapixels
@@lotharmayring6063 where did you get that number from? human eyes have roughly 6million cones, and 120 million rods, amounting to 126 megapixels
@@Top-Code there are only few rods which can see sharp
hello, i inherited a Heerbrugg wild M3C. I would like to use it to take photographs or videos of what I observe with the stereo "microscope", connected to my computer. the microscope came with a Toucam pro 2, which I'm unable to make work under W10 (was used under XP previously). can you please help me? i'm not really very limited costwise, but would like an staritforward use many thanks, albert
Download the software ToupView or ToupLite (they are both free) and then try to select the camera from within the program. You should be able to use the camera from within the program without the need to install drivers etc. Download link: www.touptek.com/download/download.php?lang=en&class2=66
Thank you for your very helpful channel! Maybe you can shed some light on two thoughts I have: Question 1: I bought an entry level Swift SW150 on your recommendation and am now considering connecting my Cameras (Sony A7iii, A6000) via an 23.2mm->T2->Sony Adapter, which should fit. Can I go with that setup or do I absolutely need a trinocular microscope? Question 2: I would like to capture frozen water crystals. I've read a magnification in the range of 200-400x is recommended for that. Would my above setup suffice or do I need more specialized equipment for that project?
1. You can theoretically connect the camera, but the camera is heavy. You need to support the camera with an additional tripod. 2. Yes the magnification is enough, but the lack of a condenser of the SW150 might make the contrast low.
@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy OK, thank you! If I find the contrast too low, which affordable condenser microscope would you recommend? Maybe the SW350T?
Yes, this is fine. But if you want to connect a DSLR, then you need a separate adapter and also a T2 ring for your camera. Check if T2 is available for your camera. Canon and Nikon are common, I don't know about sony.
@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy Yes, T2 is available for Sony too. I've checked the microscopes again and am now torn between the SW350T and the SW380T but i can't find a significant difference in the data sheet. Is the 380T worth the 20% higher price? Both models seem to be darkfield capable (with self made filter). Does the trinocular tube on 350/380T has the same diameter (23,2mm) as the SW150 eyepiece? Because then i can use the T2 adapter I already have.
The 380 has better optics and a better focusing. Diameter is the same (23.2mm).
My Nikon is (24.1)Mp. According to you "That" amount of resolution will cause more problems. "Right"? And I should send back the (51)Mp camera which I have ordered for $120 to avoid these problems?
What about mirrorless camera? I have a Fujifilm XT100. Please let me know 🙏🏻
Thanks for the advice, I've recently betting more and more into microscopy and also did anyone else start suddenly losing focus at the screen showing bacteria and single celled organisms?
What is the best recommendation for a binocular Microscope that wants to integrate a camera ?
Would anyone know a good place to find a lens camera I can't find any
oh man ! i love you i feel happy cuz i will buy a 18 mp but if you say is not necessary I believe you, thank you so much. ( but if is not necessary why invent more pixels?
if you blow up your image with oclar optics or adapter optics you only need an camera less then 1 megapixels
What kind of tv screen do we get for the camera.A 4k HDMI tv screen
3:23 i don't know how did you come to this point to be believe more than 5mp is not works .. of courage if someone use 4K camera on the cheap microscope will not have a expected result but in my experience there is a huge difference between low and high resolution camera
I use Sony a7riii with canon adapter to amscope mount
exact models pls. trying to understand what i need for my a7iii. T2 adapter with 2x magnification ? or regular T2-Nex adapter would work too (resulting in vignetting?)
would be interested in a image quality shootout of a T2 adapted DSLR VS smartphone VS dedicated microscope camera VS Raspberry Pi ... etc
I think 4k video, 8.3 megapixels is optimum.
LOVE MY 18MP SWIFT.
I wanted to get this microscope camera also, but after wathing the video it is a waste of money if the 5.0 MP can still handle the litmited delivery of the microscope objectives. In other words, the resolution of what the microscope sends out, can not be inreaseed by 18mp, you cannot get a sharper image from an image standard below what the camera can capture. Larger MP work when blowing up pictures because you don't want to lose resolution as it is increased. I just have no concept of why they make the 18MP swift camera for microscope that we have that cannot benefit them?
Chap review of Omax w/5 mp says it’s way to slow at 7.2 FPS.? You both can’t be right.
I am still really struggling to make the right choice here.
High Definition: 2.0 Megapixels, is all you need higher than that is a waste😃
People who cant afford: i can record it with my 63mp phone
Phone is good enough
Photo-bombed by paramecia
3:24 Wtf are you talking about? You saying that an analogue microscope is 2000x2000 pixels or what?
Tudo muito mal explicado.
Fact: an human eye has 576 Megapixel.
God is awesome!!
That picture is awful. Very distracting