Re: affordable camera suggestions

Posted by bradscopegems-2 on Feb 12, 2011; 9:33am
URL: http://imagej.273.s1.nabble.com/affordable-camera-suggestions-tp3685628p3685629.html

If your requirement is for still images, even a medium-price digital SLR camera such as the Nikon D90 will give superb results at higher resolution (14 Megapixels). You will also have to buy a an adaptor to attach such a camera to a c-mount. These cost around 400 euros from a company in Austria, see http://www.lmscope.com/produkt22/LM Mikroskop Adapter Mikroskope en.shtml  but also check Meiji Techno as a possible source, or Martin Microscopes if you are in USA.  There is advice on the Austrian website on which DSLR is best. High-end Canon Eos models seem to have the best computer control software, but may exceed your budget.
  If you are after video,  the Nikon D90 gives high-definition streaming video  (so-called 'Live View') which is compressed but looks superb on a HDMI monitor. This is very useful if you need to focus a microscope or other device. High-end DSLRs tend to provide the best high-resolution video  outputs.
   Very cheap USB cameras (around 400 euros)  which have a c-mount ( e.g. GXCam) are available which can give up to 5 Mpixel resolution in colour, but the refresh rate is only 5 per second, which is a pain for focussing and following movement. These come with everything necessary for attaching to a microscope.