Carson Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 I am wanting to get a digital microscope to image chondrichthyan teeth in the 1mm to 20mm size range. I have been using an iPhone 5s with a15x Olloclip for the larger teeth with decent results, but can't pickup fine details on the smaller teeth. Does anyone have recommendations that won't "break the bank "? Thanks, Carson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Hi, Carson. I have two digital microscopes, both of which are reasonably functional. If you want a standalone unit, check here: LINK. If you have a stereo microscope and want a camera to attach, have a look at this: LINK. Neither are perfect, but both work reasonably well. The standalone one might work best for the size range you mentioned, although it is a bit more expensive than the other. For examples of imagery, check out my "Pathological Brachiopods" and "My Latest Prize" threads (for the standalone unit), or see my Scolecodonts gallery for the stereo scope attachment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 (edited) Digital microscopes won't work at all for pictures for most of the larger size specimens in your size range if you want to capture the entire specimen because of field of view issues unless you have a stand that allows you to move your microscope tip a good distance above the specimen. Your specimens will be too large. Also if you don't use layering/stacking software you won't get good results for complete specimens because of depth of field issues unless the specimens are very flat and in the small size of your size range without using layering/stacking software. Cameras are much better than digital microscopes to solve these issues. If you want to get complete pictures of the smaller size specimens in your size range or only small areas of your specimens digital microscopes will do that well. However layering/stacking software will help bring into focus an entire small specimen that isn't relatively flat. I only know of one digital microscope that comes with layering/stacking software built in and it is very expensive. Otherwise you have to take multiple pictures and layer/stack them with an application that will do that. There are a number of cheap digital microscopes that will give you good pictures for the smaller size specimens in your size range that are relatively flat. Marco Sr. Edited November 2, 2015 by MarcoSr 2 "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...
The QCC Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Hello Carson: For objects in the 1mm size I use a stereo microscope with a .8-4x zoom lens and a Canon DSLR with a 2.5x projection lens. At maximum zoom 10x (4x X 2,5x) a 1mm object just fills half of the frame. At the lowest magnification, 2x (.8x X 2.5x) an 11mm object will fill the frame of an APS-C format digital camera. To photograph a 20mm object you will need lower magnification. Approx 1x. I am basing my comments on my stereo microscope that is classified as "entry level". If you just photograph the objects at the 1mm and 20mm sizes, you will not be seeing a lot of fine detail. If it is imperative you photograph the whole object, you may want to investigate a good macro camera setup for the larger objects. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 The handheld camera I recommended can do larger specimens (I'm not sure how large; I've mostly wanted small), but the focus issues for depth of field do apply. One other issue I have with that one is the built-in light: I have no control of shading at all, and if I'm taking a photo of a reflective surface, I either have to shoot at an angle or cope with massive glare. This isn't too much of a problem with my fossils. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 The handheld camera I recommended can do larger specimens (I'm not sure how large; I've mostly wanted small), but the focus issues for depth of field do apply. One other issue I have with that one is the built-in light: I have no control of shading at all, and if I'm taking a photo of a reflective surface, I either have to shoot at an angle or cope with massive glare. This isn't too much of a problem with my fossils. Good luck! Reflective surfaces can make glare and shadows a real problem for digital microscopes with built in lights unless you have a built-in adjustable polarizer (which helps with glare) and the ability to adjust exposure (which helps with shadows) with your digital microscope software. These features allow you to shoot straight down. However, sometimes you wash out the picture removing the glare and shadows if you over adjust the picture with the polarizer and exposure. 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...
Ridgehiker Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 This may have been mentioned in other threads. Be diligent in making sure that any software is compatable with a built in camera. Don't just 'assume' because it is advertised as such or software patches are suppose to be available. I would always go with a separate camera and scope. A decent scope will last forever (my main scope is over 40 years old). Anything digital built into a scope is likely to be be short lived technology....even a new scope can be an operating system or two old. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 I use a standalone digital microscope for all my small dinosaur and shark teeth similar to the one Mediospirifer shows in his link. It's an inexpensive way to good and results are good. This scope works best for flat objects like teeth and on a fixed stand. Examples: The scale is 1mm (ignore the numbers in the images) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carson Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Thanks for the all of the input! I've attached some photos I have taken with my iPhone with the Olloclip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the all of the input! I've attached some photos I have taken with my iPhone with the Olloclip. Your pictures are pretty good with what you are using. A cheap digital microscope won't do much better. Below are pictures taken with a good digital microscope with the features that I've been talking about in my replies above. I still am learning how to use this microscope. Here are a couple of small 2mm specimen pictures: Here is a 10mm specimen: Here is one of my favorite pictures of a 4mm specimen: Marco Sr. Edited November 3, 2015 by MarcoSr "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 November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Gorgeous pics, Marco! Carson, your phone takes pretty good pictures. I'm not sure that the standalone camera I recommended would do much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carson Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Nice pics, Marco! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) Marco... what are you using? Does anyone have any working experience with the Dino-Lite microscope. http://www.dinolite.us/ I have demo'ed these at SVP and they seem really good. I played with the 300 dollar model and was impressed. Have not bought one... yet. But Marco's amazing picture (last one) is inspirational. Edited November 3, 2015 by jpc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Marco... what are you using? Does anyone have any working experience with the Dino-Lite microscope. http://www.dinolite.us/ I have demo'ed these at SVP and they seem really good. I played with the 300 dollar model and was impressed. Have not bought one... yet. But Marco's amazing picture (last one) is inspirational. Jean-Pierre I'm very familiar with Dino-Lite digital microscopes. Until recently I had used a Dino-Lite AM-411T to take pictures of my micros. The vast majority of the pictures taken in my micro posts (See the link in my signature block below) were taken with the Dino-Lite AM-411T. That microscope cost more than $300 5 years ago. I really had a hard time convincing myself to spend that much money but I was taking a lot of pictures of micro teeth. This microscope allowed me to change the parameters of the picture (like exposure, hue, contrast etc. and had different settings for different lighting conditions) using its software which the less expensive models didn't. However even with that model I had recurring problems. I had a lot of problems taking pictures of light colored teeth on dark background because of glare. I also couldn't get 100% of the deep micros in full focus because of depth of field issues inherent in microscopes. I started taking a lot of pictures of micros for the vertebrate fauna studies that I was involved with in VA. I wanted to improve/fix the problems I was still having with the AM-411T so I upgraded to the Dino-Lite AM4815ZT which I used to take the pictures in this post. This model has an adjustable built-in polarizer which really helps with the glare. It also has an automatic and manual stacking feature with allows picture layering to bring a specimen 100% into focus in its software so you don't need to use another stacking program. I really didn't want to spend what the AM4815ZT costs but I probably will take over 5 thousand pictures this year with it and for me the added features were worthwhile. Marco Sr. 2 "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...
jpc Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Thanks for the info, Marco. Your pix are fabulous. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opisthotriton Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 The Dino-Lite microscopes come in a range of prices. The higher-end models appear to take excellent photographs, and come with software for photo-stacking to get good depth of field focus, as Marco mentioned. You can get their low-end model for $99 on Amazon. I can't comment on the photograph quality, but we use the low-end model on our Touch Table at the museum, hooked up to an old computer monitor, and kids absolutely love it. The scope is surprisingly durable considering how much it gets knocked around by kids. It is very easy to use, and kids seem to have a natural knack for focusing it better than I ever can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedy Man Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Your pictures are pretty good with what you are using. A cheap digital microscope won't do much better. Below are pictures taken with a good digital microscope with the features that I've been talking about in my replies above. I still am learning how to use this microscope. Here are a couple of small 2mm specimen pictures: Gymnura sp.1 2mm.jpgHeterodontus sp.10 2mm.jpg Here is a 10mm specimen: Squalus sp.9 10mm.jpg Here is one of my favorite pictures of a 4mm specimen: Galeorhinus aff ypresiensis2 4mm.jpg Marco Sr. Nice photos! What scope are you using? ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Before you lay out big bucks try a Plugable from Amazon for $35. I added a section of all-thread to the base for wider shots. It has a 60x and a 250x range. I can take a full image of a 3" specimen with the longest extension. Doesn't work on a wobbly table Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Nice photos! What scope are you using? Dino-Lite AM4815ZT 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...
Herb Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 beautiful pictures, Marco "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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