May be going digital...

A forum to ask questions, post setups, and generally discuss anything having to do with photomacrography and photomicroscopy.

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twebster
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May be going digital...

Post by twebster »

Hi ya Guys :!: :D

The company I work for shares the yearly profits with its employees through "gain share". Although most of this money is already ear-marked for other needs I may have enough left over to buy a simple digital outfit for shooting through the microscope.

I've done a bit of research and I am thinking of getting a Nikon Coolpix 990. These can be purchased from eBay for $200 to $250. I've read some comments by Gordon Couger on the Yahoo! Microscope Group that the lens on the 990 doesn't suffer from the concentric rings in the images as much as do the 995 and 4500. Does anyone have any experience with the 990?

I'm really most interested in shooting video clips but I want the capability of shooting stills, too. I love my little webcam for the videos but the colors just aren't consistent and they're a lot of work in post-capture processing. Any info would be most appreciated, my friends.

Best regards to all as always, :D
Last edited by twebster on Fri Nov 26, 2004 12:46 am, edited 2 times in total.
Tom Webster
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Post by Steve West »

Tom,

I used a 990 for about almost 2 years until I replaced it with my current 4500. You'll be happy with the 990. Although I didn't use it with a microscope (I didn't have one then), I did connect it to a small telescope on occassion for bird shots.

Some of the best digital photos I have were taken with the 990. In my view, the 4500 in auto mode requires less post processing than the 990, but the difference is probably insignificant. OTOH, the 4500 tends to blow out high contrast scenes whereas the 990 didn't.

You'll find the 990 has all the manual control you want, but I can't remember if it had a histogram review mode. The 4500 does better at long exposures (over 8 sec), but that's not a problem for the microscope. Also, you can get either the Nikon remote or the digisnap remote control. You'll have no flash feedback since the flash sensor is not TTL, but rather a seperate sensor (same problem with the 4500). That means any microscope flash phtotography will have to be done in manual mode with some experimentation. The 990 is very well built.

Of course Gordon on the Yahoo microscope list is always touting the earlier swivel coolpix with the 2MP sensor as giving the best results for microscopy -- I can't remember the model number.

What are you planning to use for a relay lens?

Steve

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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

:D Hi ya Tom! Just read your post. Steve seems to be up on the Nikon equipment. Sounds like some good advice there. I just wanted, however, to put my two cents in here and I do not mean to deter you from the Nikon set up, I have seen some very good photos from the Coolpix line. I don't know what your budget will allow ( I'm a single man) but I just recently got a Canon G5 for $499, new. Most places have dropped the price to move them and make way for the new G6. Anyway, I am quite pleased with the set up I have. The G5 features remote shooting from your computer mouse or space bar or by a remote control card. It goes up to 5MP, has a full range of exposure features and has a hot shoe for a strobe flash. You could put a slide in PC connection and have a substage flash if you want. It also has a couple of different through the lens metering settings also. Makes and excellent macro camera with a 16X macro mode. I got my trinocular port adapter from Zeiss to fit the 30mm port (relay lens). I am very pleased with it as I have mentioned. The relay adapter is especially made by Zeiss for the G5 since Canon uses Zeiss lenses in the camera and they may make it in other sizes too I would imagine. I'm not sure about the advertising policy here on the net but I can email you the name of my outfitter if you are interested in doing a Zeiss set up on your scope. See the Tilia @ 200X I have recently posted for an example. 8)
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Post by twebster »

Hi ya' Steve and Ken :D :D

Thanks for the info, gentlemen. I have to admit that I am on a really tight budget, $300 or less. I still have bills to catch up from the accident. I'd love to have a G5 and was considering a G2, too. That swivel LCD would be just the ticket and the Canons have a great reputation for versatility. Just they're out of my price range. :( I looked at the tilia cs, Ken, and it is marvelous.

I know Gordon is big on the Coolpix 950. It is a good little camera but I can't shoot videos with it, which is my primary desire. Thanks for the info on the flash, Steve. I didn't realize it wasn't TTL. For the stuff I'll be shooting that may not be a problem. I can rig a flash for shooting through the 'scope.

Steve, I plan on using a 10x LOMO corrected widefield objective as a relay lens. This objective has a large exit pupil that should nearly fill the aperture of the 990. Since I mount a camera on an old enlarger stand and lower it to the microscope I'll be able to get the lens on the 990 to nearly touch the top element of the LOMO objective. What do you think about this setup?

Thanks for all of the feedback and info, my friends. If I can find a G2 cheap enough, what do you think about that camera, Ken. I've got about 30 days to make up my mind. Decisions, decisions :!: :D

Best regards to you two as always,
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Post by Ken Ramos »

:D The G5 was suggested by the gentleman from which I bought my microscope. He is a Zeiss tech. and distributor. I do not know about the G2. I would not have known about the G5 had he not suggested it when I asked him about a good digital system. 8)
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Post by Steve West »

Tom,

Your setup with the LOMO eyepiece should work just fine. LOMO does make a threaded coolpix adapter which is I think 8x. I have one. They are quite pricey at about 190. Quite frankly, the least expensive threaded coolpix adapter is the Leitz periplan threaded for the eyepcup (which I what I currently use). I got a pair of them for 130.00 recently.

The enlarger stand should work just fine though. I agree that having video capapbility is really nice, but I'd rather have vga video rather than the smaller format these cameras have.

I think you'll really like the 990.

Ken--how much does one of those fancy Zeiss adapters for the G5 go for? It's nice to have a relay designed as a direct match for the Zeiss objectives and the camera though :)

Steve

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Post by twebster »

Hi ya' Steve :D

Thanks for the info, my friend. I, too, would like the larger video size but I make the videos to post to my website and anythhing larger than 320 x 240 pixels becomes too large for most people to download. As it is I kind of stretch the limits of peoples Internet connections :!: :D I can make 640 x 480 pixels using my webcam but the file sizes become huge. To compress the files so that they would be downloadable just loses way too much resolution. I know, there's always trade-offs. Someday when I hit the lottery... :wink:

The 8x objective does interest me, though. Maybe I can find one used someplace. $190.00 is a little stiff right now. Do you know of any 5x objectives that may be useable. I don't see that LOMO offer a widefield 5x objectives. I'd like to be able to have a little less mag through the 'scope.

It looks like I'll probably get the 990...when the moola comes through from work. :D

Best regards as always,
Tom Webster
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Post by Ken Ramos »

:D O.K. Steve, prices may vary depending on the scope. For my Axiostar with photo tube, 30mm port (I believe) about $350.00. I know it's high but it is Zeiss and they are proud of it. It has the advantage of sliding the camera lens to the appropriate distance in mm from the relay lens and locking it in place. This allows for precise adjustment of the FOV for remote shooting and for direct photography from the camera controls. I had a Meiji to use while I was waiting for the Zeiss relay to arrive from Germany, Meiji makes one for the G5 also, but when the camera lens deploys it bangs against the Meiji adapter. So, I had to use a home made spacer, not a good alternative for photographs and the camera lens. 8)
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Post by Ken Ramos »

:D I should have included this in my previous reply.

Image

This is what the upper portion of the relay looks like attached to the camera. The rest is just a long tube of about 3" attaching to the photo port. The round black knob is the set screw adjustment for setting the proper camera lens to relay lens. Loosen this knob and you can slide the whole camera assy. to adjust the distance as you view the image on the camera LCD screen. 8)
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Post by Charles Krebs »

Hi Tom,

I'll chime in as well!
That swivel LCD would be just the ticket


No doubt, the swivel LCD is nice...

But the 990 has a video out jack. So a simple connection to any old TV will give you a nice "preview" and "review".

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Post by twebster »

OK now, Charlie, you got me thinking (man is THAT dangerous :!: :D ) :!: How big and sharp is the image on a TV screen using the video-out jack? I mean, would it fill a 20" tv screen? And...I take it that this image could be recorded on a VCR? And...the recorded image could be transferred to DVD with an appropriate video capture card? Expiring minds want to know :!: :D
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Post by Charles Krebs »

Now, now Tom,
Let's not get carried away here! :D

First of all, I don't have a 990 (I have an "old" 950), but if the video out works like the ones I am used to, it simply sends what would be displayed on the LCD at the back of the camera to the TV. This is pretty low res stuff (whatever the res of the rear LCD screen is), but more than adequate for checking framing, set-up menus, and reviewing shots. I don't have a laptop, and my computer is in a different room so I use this with my Canon 10D. (Of course with an SLR I only see what happened after I take the shot) I would not want to work without it!

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Post by Steve West »

Charlie is right about the video out being low res--you can't use it to determine critical focus. However, you can record to your VCR if you wish. When I take my stereo microscope to elementary school, I always attach the output of my camera to a big TV for all to see. It works out pretty well. I also load the slide show on my camera, and using the video out, I show the slide show on the TV to the kids.

Steve

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Post by Steve West »

Ken Ramos wrote::D I should have included this in my previous reply.
Looks like a great setup Ken :D

Does the Canon G5 have TTL flash metering or do they have a seperate sensor for the flash like the Nikons?

Thanks

Steve

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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

Looking over the camera manual, which manuals always seem to have something lacking leaving you with questions or have the information tucked away in an obscure area, I can only assume that it has TTL Flash metering since there is no photosensor on the front of the camera or by the built in flash. The section on using the flash has quite a bit of information on its use but does not mention TTL Flash metering. Right now some of this is all "greek" to me because I am still learning how to use the camera in relation to microscopy. :)
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