IsaacTheFossilMan Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 Hey! As some of you may know, I am ever so interested in micro-fossils! @Tidgy's Dad can second me on this, they're awesome! As I'm preparing for my online palaeontological collection to go online, I keep finding more and more and more micros, ranging in size from sub 1mm to 10mm. (0.04 - 0.4 inch) My current set-up for documenting these teeny critters doesn't seem to cut the mustard - don't get me wrong; I'm making the most of it, but it's quite a hassle bending over a child toy microscope with a phone camera. A palaeontologist friend who I don't believe graces us with there presence here (shame on them...) recommended a brand to me, so I have looked into them, but can't find any that deal with a lower magnification required for these fossils - they all seem to be a bit overkill! If anyone could recommend me any other brand or model that seemed to work with them, or any tips, really, anything; send them my way! If you're going to recommend a brand or model, PM them to me, as we are not allowed to name drop sellers! Tips and everything welcome! I will be attaching some of my recent microscoped photos so you can get a better feel for what I am talking about! 1 ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 1 ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 The inestimable Ralph @Nimravis gifted me a digital microscope a couple of years back and I can't imagine how I managed without it! I'll PM you. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 I use a Dino-Lite usb microscope camera. The one I have runs from 9x up to 220x & has photo stacking capabilities. Plugs right into the usb port of a computer. Doesn't do bad at all. The attached pic is of a 22mm Hemipristis Serra tooth. 1 Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 3 minutes ago, daves64 said: I use a Dino-Lite usb microscope camera. The one I have runs from 9x up to 220x & has photo stacking capabilities. Plugs right into the usb port of a computer. Doesn't do bad at all. The attached pic is of a 22mm Hemipristis Serra tooth. Wowee, that's one gorgeous tooth! Wait, that's not the point of this post? It appears to have stolen the limelight! Could you send me the name of the model you use? Thanks ever so much! ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 (edited) Dino-Lite AF4915ZT https://www.dino-lite.com/products_detail.php?index_m1_id=9&index_m2_id=46&index_id=153 And stealing the limelight wasn't intended, just an example of what the camera can do. Edited October 24, 2021 by daves64 1 Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieLynn Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 I got a Hayear Microscope Camera on recommendation and I LOVE IT. You do need to use a photostacking program (it doesn't have one with) but it saves images on a card which I then save onto my computer and use the free downloadable program Picolay to photostack. This is 7mm. It does really well up to about 25mm. And very excellent on smaller stuff too. 1 www.fossil-quest.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 6 minutes ago, JamieLynn said: I got a Hayear Microscope Camera on recommendation and I LOVE IT. You do need to use a photostacking program (it doesn't have one with) but it saves images on a card which I then save onto my computer and use the free downloadable program Picolay to photostack. This is 7mm. It does really well up to about 25mm. And very excellent on smaller stuff too. Awesome. I remember you talking about your microscope before, Jamie! Would you be able to send me the model you use? 1 ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieLynn Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 @IsaacTheFossilMan Sending it to you in a PM. 1 www.fossil-quest.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 2 hours ago, JamieLynn said: I got a Hayear Microscope Camera on recommendation and I LOVE IT. You do need to use a photostacking program (it doesn't have one with) but it saves images on a card which I then save onto my computer and use the free downloadable program Picolay to photostack. This is 7mm. It does really well up to about 25mm. And very excellent on smaller stuff too. nice photo of a nice specimen. So, if it dies not do photo stacking, so you have to take multiple photos to later do the stacking. I have a DinoLite at work and I have yet to figure out how to take such amazing photos as the shark tooth above, also taken with a DinoLite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 20 minutes ago, jpc said: So, if it dies not do photo stacking, so you have to take multiple photos to later do the stacking. I'll chime in for Jamie on this one since I have the same system. The Hayear microscope-camera setup can be purchased with either a 14MP or a 34MP camera (I have both as I upgraded from the 14MP). A rack and pinion focus knob is used to adjust the height of the camera above the subject and change the focal plane. There is a small remote control that allows you to snap a photo to the memory card so shooting a stack of images is just a matter of alternately tweaking the focal plane and snapping images with the remote. It would be nice to find an automated system to bump focal plane and snap photos if you are taking lots of photos but it is manageable (and I am shooting many micro images). I then download the memory card to my computer and use stacking software to merge the stack into a hyper-focused output image. I purchased Helicon Focus several years back (which can also be purchased with Helicon Remote to control DLSR cameras). Free stacking software is an option but I like the speed and power of the Helicon software. I've added an additional step to my workflow. I recently purchased Topaz Sharpen AI which does a nice job of locating detail in my image and sharpening that while smoothing out the digital noise in areas with little texture (like my out of focus gray background). The smoothing of the background also helps me further along in my workflow where I cut out the subjects from the background to composite them into final images with a nice scale and label. I believe there are microscope cameras out there which are capable of configuring to shoot a stack of images possibly using internal software to create the hyper-focused output but I like the control of using the best software tools for each step of my workflow. I've recently been imaging a number of Labridae (wrasse) teeth in the FLMNH collection from the Montbrook site. I'm reasonably happy with the resulting images. These are reduced size images and I save the full resolution versions in case some might be needed for publication. Cheers. -Ken 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieLynn Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 What @digit said.... hahahah! I sometimes take up to 14 consecutive photos and stack all of them. I do like the Picolay program. It's easy and intuitive. 1 www.fossil-quest.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 My record is probably around 50 images per specimen. When zoomed in to very high magnification the depth of field is razor thin. I want to make sure I don't miss any areas by adjusting the focus too much between photos so I nudge just a little between images for good overlap (likely more than I need but once I'm set up for the image it takes little extra time to shoot a large stack). 2 hours ago, JamieLynn said: I do like the Picolay program. It's easy and intuitive. Good to know. Cheers. -Ken 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 Thank you so much for the detailed explanation, @digit. That sounds like an awesome setup you have there! Thanks ever so much for all the help guys, I really really appreciate it - it's lovely to have this forum available for help with pretty much everything! ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 1 hour ago, IsaacTheFossilMan said: it's lovely to have this forum available for help with pretty much everything! We have a great diversity in our membership so we cover a great breadth of knowledge with topic experts in many areas. It's nearly impossible not to learn something new while browsing/searching TFF. Cheers. -Ken 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 Just now, digit said: It's nearly impossible not to learn something new while browsing/searching TFF. I agree, Ken. ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty_Crab Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 22 hours ago, daves64 said: Dino-Lite AF4915ZT https://www.dino-lite.com/products_detail.php?index_m1_id=9&index_m2_id=46&index_id=153 And stealing the limelight wasn't intended, just an example of what the camera can do. Does the Dino-Lite come with software that lets you define the shallowest and deepest focal plane, then automatically snaps pictures in 1/200 increments between? I was saving my pennies for a Zeiss stereo microscope since I used them during my previous lab job, but I'm willing to consider a Dino-Lite if it comes with software that does that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 10 minutes ago, Crusty_Crab said: Does the Dino-Lite come with software that lets you define the shallowest and deepest focal plane, then automatically snaps pictures in 1/200 increments between? I was saving my pennies for a Zeiss stereo microscope since I used them during my previous lab job, but I'm willing to consider a Dino-Lite if it comes with software that does that. I cannot answer, as I've never owned one; but I believe the more expensive AmScope ones do! Speaking of, has anyone here purchased an AmScope, and, if so, are they any good? My palaeontologist friend recommended them! @digit @JamieLynn @jpc @daves64 @Tidgy's Dad ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) 19 hours ago, jpc said: I have a DinoLite at work and I have yet to figure out how to take such amazing photos as the shark tooth above, also taken with a DinoLite. The one I have has photo stacking built in that uses what they call EDOF (Extended Depth of Field). When using the EDOF, it allows you to take pics in single point increments of the focus, then raise or lower the focal depth to the next adjustment point, then take another pic. It can be used automatically or manually. Then once done, the photo stacking is just a single click on the same EDOF window. The pics might illustrate this a little better. Pic's 1 & 2 show what a reg Dino-Lite does, just a single focal point for the photo. A model with the EDOF (pic 3) allows you to take multi pics while changing the focus to a higher or lower depth in increments, then uses the built in photo stacking to do pic 4. Had the tiny Septarian handy, so used that. It's 1 cm long @ 35 x. 5 pics total for the stacked pic. Edited October 25, 2021 by daves64 1 Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 47 minutes ago, Crusty_Crab said: Does the Dino-Lite come with software that lets you define the shallowest and deepest focal plane, then automatically snaps pictures in 1/200 increments between? I was saving my pennies for a Zeiss stereo microscope since I used them during my previous lab job, but I'm willing to consider a Dino-Lite if it comes with software that does that. The EDOF can be used automatically or manually. Manual requires you to do it all yourself, except for the photo stacking, that's just a single click. No clue as to what the measurements are for the increments, honestly. But between the DinoCapture software & the Dino-Lite itself, it gets the job done for me. This model can be used with usb or a special WiFi attachment. Just depends on what you want to do. 1 Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 daves64...thanks for this info. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Indeed. Thanks for the explanation of the Dino-Lite. I believe @old bones may be using this microscope-camera setup as well. Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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