PA Fossil Finder Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I recently traded with another forum member, jcbshark. He gave me material from a river in his area that is rich in shark teeth. I found some awesome micro teeth, including four complete cookie cutters and two crowns. But my only problem is, how do I take pictures of these things!?!? I would like to post on these fossils, but I need some easy method of taking pictures of these little things. Thanks! Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 All you need is a digital-imaging microscope or a microscope & cell phone camera. Here are some of my efforts: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/33865-adventures-in-microscopy/ Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA Fossil Finder Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Yeah, I've tried putting the camera up to the microscope eyepiece. But it doesn't work to well. It must be too big. Here are my attempts at that method: Micros of the North Evans Limestone. Maybe I'll use the Iphone camera. Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I take my pictures using a Kodak easy share camera or an old Cannon Power Shot A520. I use the auto focus setting and put a lighted (LED) 30x loupe over the lens. Here are some of mine. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/42440-ray-teeth-and-material-from-egem/ .... and .... http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/42198-whiskey-bridge-snails-and-a-scaphopod-from-the-comfort-of-my-desk/ Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Quick and easy seems to be covered by the other suggestions of using a camera and Loupe for extra magnification. I use a flatbed scanner, and it usually does a decent job on small (and thin) fossils like small shark teeth. If you have a scanner you could experiment with it to compare results with other methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 I've also been using a Canon Powershot A520, focused through the eyepiece of my microscope. That works reasonably well, although I need a good light source illuminating the fossil, and it does go through AA batteries! If I take 10 or 12 photos of the fossil, I may get 1 or 2 decent pictures. Here's a few of my results: My First Conodont I'm thinking of looking at webcams to see if there's one available that would work equally well without eating batteries. If I can find (or make) a mount to attach one to the microscope eyepiece so that I don't have to hold it, and can trigger it from the computer, I may get a better ratio of good pictures. Has anyone experimented with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA Fossil Finder Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Alright, I tried two different methods: through the microscope and then through a lens. I think that through the lens worked much better. Tell me which one you think is best. These are pictures of two different teeth, but they are basically the same size. Microscope: Lens: Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Alright, I tried two different methods: through the microscope and then through a lens. I think that through the lens worked much better. Tell me which one you think is best. These are pictures of two different teeth, but they are basically the same size. Microscope:DSCF0123.JPG Lens:DSCF0159 - Copy.JPG I prefer the Microscope picture. But if you added additional lighting and cropped the Lens picture it might be as good or better. I use a Dino-Lite digital microscope (AM-411T) which has a built in camera and uses my computer monitor instead of eye pieces. It wasn't cheap but I take hundreds of pictures of micros in a week. Below are several pictures of cookie cutters using this: Just curious where the cookie cutters are from? Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA Fossil Finder Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 I prefer the Microscope picture. But if you added additional lighting and cropped the Lens picture it might be as good or better. I use a Dino-Lite digital microscope (AM-411T) which has a built in camera and uses my computer monitor instead of eye pieces. It wasn't cheap but I take hundreds of pictures of micros in a week. Below are several pictures of cookie cutters using this: Dad2012Isistius triangulus.JPGDad2012Isistius triangulus1.JPGIsistius sp.1 6mm.jpgIsistius sp.7 4mm.jpg Just curious where the cookie cutters are from? Marco Sr. Wow, those dino-lites are expensive! I searched ebay, and I don't know if I can get one right now. The cookie cutters are from a creek in Englewood, FL. I think the lens is better because I can take pictures of things that are normally too big for the microscope eyepiece. I will probably use that from now on. I can add more lighting if I need to. Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Wow, those dino-lites are expensive! I searched ebay, and I don't know if I can get one right now. The cookie cutters are from a creek in Englewood, FL. I think the lens is better because I can take pictures of things that are normally too big for the microscope eyepiece. I will probably use that from now on. I can add more lighting if I need to. Dino-Lite makes a lot of different models some of which are two or three times more expensive than what I paid for my model. These other models have features that I just didn't need. I have used cameras, scanners and other microscopes over the years to take pictures of micros and small fossils but nothing else worked quite as well. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Celestron also makes a decent handheld digital microscope, although it doesn't have the magnification of my microscope. It's not to expensive--Amazon has one listed for around $40. My chief complaint with mine is the built-in ring of LEDs: I have no control of lighting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Celestron also makes a decent handheld digital microscope, although it doesn't have the magnification of my microscope. It's not to expensive--Amazon has one listed for around $40. My chief complaint with mine is the built-in ring of LEDs: I have no control of lighting! I have a digital Celestron also. My problem with it is that it doesn't allow me to change any of the picture settings or the lighting. So if I don't like the pictures because of hue, contrast, exposure etc. I can't change anything. I adjust exposure for every picture that I take with my Dino-Lite. I tend to leave all the other settings alone on the Dino-Lite except for maybe the different lighting settings that I do change sometimes. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 (edited) Best method is to use a digital camera mounted on a copy stand that had interchangeable lens mount. Get yourself a set of extension tubes or bellows and now you a a set up that is superior to imaged from a microscope... mount your lens at the bottom of the extension tubes/bellows and you have a first class macro imager .... I have done it! Edited January 4, 2014 by pleecan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 if your micros are fairly two dimensional you can scan them on a flat bed scanner with the top up. Just make sure you ask for adequate resolution in the scan so that the picture looks like something. We have the dino-lite AM 3011 here at work. I have problems with it on shiny fossils. Any suggestions Marco? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 if your micros are fairly two dimensional you can scan them on a flat bed scanner with the top up. Just make sure you ask for adequate resolution in the scan so that the picture looks like something. We have the dino-lite AM 3011 here at work. I have problems with it on shiny fossils. Any suggestions Marco? I'm not familiar with that model of Dino-Lite but my model has software options that lets me adjust lighting, brightness, contrast etc.that I can use to deal with a shiny fossil. However, I normally don't change those settings. I do adjust exposure which can help a lot. I also angle my microscope at a sharp angle sometimes to cut any glare and reflected light. I also change background colors and get less glare from colors other than a shiny white background. The color I use depends on the fossil color. Sometimes you still get bright spots which you need external lighting to even out. I hope this helps. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 if your micros are fairly two dimensional you can scan them on a flat bed scanner with the top up. Just make sure you ask for adequate resolution in the scan so that the picture looks like something. We have the dino-lite AM 3011 here at work. I have problems with it on shiny fossils. Any suggestions Marco? I have had decent results with placing my specimens on pieces of cloth/fabric, specifically a piece of tightly woven fabric so there aren't tiny little strands sticking up everywhere. Fabric "absorbs" the light and helps prevent glares that normally come from hard shinier surfaces. You have to experiment to find what works best, and sometimes that can be different depending on the scenario, fossil, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 thanks for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolbox82 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I recently traded with another forum member, jcbshark. He gave me material from a river in his area that is rich in shark teeth. I found some awesome micro teeth, including four complete cookie cutters and two crowns. But my only problem is, how do I take pictures of these things!?!? I would like to post on these fossils, but I need some easy method of taking pictures of these little things. Thanks! I posted this advice on another topic. A couple of methods that can be used to take photos using just a camera with a super-macro setting, a decent adjustable poisition and intensity light source and some play dough. The play dough is only used when the camera is set to take pics in the super-macro mode of large fossils. A ball of play dough is applied the bottom surface of the camera lens. The dough performs two functions, first it acts as rest when the camera is applied directly to a large fossil surface to keep it steady. Secondly, the dough acts as a buffer to protect the lens and fossil from any abrasions when the camera is resting on the fossil when taking close up shots. No need for a fancy tripod or any other special equipment to position the camera when shooting the fossils. When I am taking photos of a single small fossil. Roll the play dough out flat and position the fossil in the dough. The dough will keep the fossil from moving and depending on the color of a fossil use a color of play dough that will bring out the best contrast. The play dough does not have too much glare, in addition the dough provides a surface for your camera to rest on that will not cause damages from abrasions. The dough is great for holding a reference object next to the fossil, such as a reference scale, needle, grain of rice or any other object that you may want to use. Hope this can help. Carl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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