Jump to content

Make complete image of thin sections?


mohsenamini

Recommended Posts

its been days I am looking for a good way to make a complete image of thin section, so we can have a very big picture but very useful for some tasks.

actually I need to make an image processing software then process thins sections automatically. I know pretty much about software part. but still got problems for making very good image.

1- I tried very high DPI scanner and the results were simply not acceptable as we have very small microstructures inside some microfossils. the image is below:

2cfeflv.jpg

2- I tried making lots of images with camera on microscope then stitch images together. the result is pretty good but changing position of thin section and capture image takes lots of time :( still we have stitching time too.

this is the result:

2hrfi9d.jpg

3- I know we have some special devices for these cases but they are very high price and mostly suitable for universities not for personal uses

4- anyway maybe the only option is making a little machine that can automatically move the thin section on the microscope stage then automatically capture photo.

so any suggestions guys? if something is not clear please answer.

thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Mohsenamini

Obviously I don't know what scanner you've used but I'm guessing a regular flatbed scanner. It might be worth trying a flatbed scanner for negatives and slides. They generally come in two sizes, one for up to 35mm/120 film and the other up to 5"x4" sheet film. They have a much higher resolution. There are also two types of resolution, optical and interpolated. Go for the highest optical and never the interpolated resolution which is software based. You will see scanners advertised as scanning at say 2400 dpi as the maximum. This is likely to be the interpolated figure. The optical scan would probably be 1200 dpi on the same scanner. I'm sure you could find such a scanner somewhere to try before you invest but they're not horrendously expensive.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Mohsenamini

Obviously I don't know what scanner you've used but I'm guessing a regular flatbed scanner. It might be worth trying a flatbed scanner for negatives and slides. They generally come in two sizes, one for up to 35mm/120 film and the other up to 5"x4" sheet film. They have a much higher resolution. There are also two types of resolution, optical and interpolated. Go for the highest optical and never the interpolated resolution which is software based. You will see scanners advertised as scanning at say 2400 dpi as the maximum. This is likely to be the interpolated figure. The optical scan would probably be 1200 dpi on the same scanner. I'm sure you could find such a scanner somewhere to try before you invest but they're not horrendously expensive.

John

thanks for the answer. well this is the best scanner in Iran that I can found. actually I had to resize the image and put here. original is 90mb. its 9k DPI scan. the original is better with more details but still completely not acceptable for my task and also takes lots of time and money :|

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try to find a company that offers 'large format film scanning'. They're generally not expensive and can produce a scan quickly. Files will be big though!

The type of scanner to use is not a normal flatbed scanner but a film scanner. Mine is http://www.epson.co.uk/gb/en/viewcon/corporatesite/products/mainunits/specs/13568 When you put you film or fossil slice in it and set to film there is a light from above and below during the scan. Is this what you've tried? Why is your 90mb file not acceptable? I teach different types of photography from very early processes to advance Photoshop. If you want to Dropbox me the file I'm happy to look at it for you.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Or you can send me a fossil slice that has little value to you and I can see what I can do and advise. If I can find a method with Photoshop that produces something suitable for you I can make a Photoshop Action or Script to automate it for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just want to say that it is this sort of exchange that I love so much about our little community. Everyone is so generous with their expertise. I wish the rest of the world could operate this way.

Don

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

My method of making large images from thin sections is strictly manual and requires no purchase of software.

Of course there are caveats.

You will require a polarizing microscope or a microscope with an illuminated sub-stage stage. I use a Labomed LB-592 and Zeiss SM 300edu Stereo microscopes.

The caveat is in the software.

If you have or can acquire a Canon DSLR that supports LiveView, the Canon Utilities is an excellent capture programme. It is free with all Canon DSLR's. I use a Canon 5D MkII for really large images and a used Canon 1000D on the Zeiss.

If you do not have a Canon camera, then any decent microscope capture programme will do. The critical part is the mechanical stage of the microscope.

For compositing, I use the Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE). Also free. ICE can stitch together a very large number if images. The images need only overlap a bit and do not have to be any sequential order. ICE does a most credible job.

post-18968-0-67701100-1459104300_thumb.jpg post-18968-0-17003500-1459104301_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...