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DIC IMAGE:  (Only a few of our most popular cameras are tested so far, but more images will be added.)
     For this test, we used a Diagnostic 0.63x or 0.5x C-mount where applicable to match the camera's sensor size to achieve the maximum Field Of View (FOV) so that the images will represent the largest rectangle we can get out the microscope's circular FOV without vignetting (blackened corners).  Click here for more on FOV...   For the consumer cameras, we used the appropriate MM Adapter with a 1x C-mount and used the cameras' optical zoom to achieve maximum FOV, again without vignetting.  Several images were taken with each camera adjusting for focus, white balance, gamma, etc, and the best result was selected.

     For these images, we used a Jenaval Apo DIC compound microscope with a 25x/0.65 Planapochromat objective, so optical magnification was 250x.  Each image is straight from the camera with no post-processing, though a level adjustment would help these in some cases.  The full-field images on the left are 7.5% of the original image size, while the images on the right show a 300x225 pixel section of the original image at full resolution.
CAMERA FULL FIELD-OF-VIEW IMAGES REDUCED TO 7.5% OF ORIGINAL SIZE 300X225 PIXEL AREA OF SAME IMAGES AT FULL RESOLUTION
Jenoptik ProgRes C14plus
-  2/3" CCD
-  12.5MP (4080x3072)
-  IEEE1394 Firewire
-  $9,990.00

Best color reproduction - this is what it looked like through the eyepieces.
12.5 MP
Jenoptik ProgRes CF-Scan
-  2/3" CCD
-  12.5MP (4080x3072)
-  IEEE1394 Firewire
-  $7,990.00

Same sensor as the C14+, but without the true color 3CCD scanning mode.
12.5 MP
Jenoptik ProgRes C5
-  Sony 2/3" CCD
-  5MP (2580x1944)
-  IEEE1394 Firewire
-  $4,490.00
5 MP

Jenoptik ProgRes C3
-  Sony 1/2" CCD
-  3.3MP (2080x1542)
-  IEEE1394 Firewire
-  $3,490.00
3.3 MP
Lumenera InfinityX-32
- 1/18" CCD
- 32MP (6464x4864)
- USB2
- $5,500.00

Wow - 32MP!
New king of resolution, and the color is good, too!

 

Lumenera Infinity4-11C
- 35mm format CCD
- 10.7MP (4008x2672)
- USB2
- $8,500.00

We used a Qioptiq F-mount adapter for this camera recommended by Lumenera, but found a hot spot in this and some other images.


10.7 MP
Lumenera Infinity2-1C
- 1/2" CCD
- 1.4MP (1392x1040)
- USB2
- $1,695.00

Recommended for applications requiring fast live previews and quick image capture.
1.4 MP

Lumenera Infinity Lite
- 1/2.5" CMOS
- 1.5MP (1440x1080)
- USB2
- $900.00
1.5 MP

Scion CFW-1608C
-  Sony 1/1.8" CCD
-  2.0MP (1600x1200)
-  IEEE1394 Firewire
-  $1,695.00
2 MP

Scion CFW-1308C
-  Sony 1/2" CCD
-  1.3MP (1360x1024)
-  IEEE1394 Firewire
-  $1,295.00
1.3 MP

Moticam 2300
-  1/2" CMOS
-  3MP (2048x1536)
-  USB2
-  $999.00
3 MP
Moticam 2000
-  1/2" CMOS
-  2MP (1600x1200)
-  USB2
-  $699.00

Includes 2/3x C-mount for 23mmID tubes.  1/2x used for this image.
2 MP

Moticam 1000
-  1/2" CMOS
-  1.3MP (1280x1024)
-  USB2
-  $399.00
1.3

Canon EOS XSi w/ MDSLR adapter:
- CMOS
- 12MP (4272x2848)
- Secure Digital
- USB2 PC Control
- $1,499.00

Our new MDSLR adapter provides a wider FOV with most DSLR cameras.  
12 MP

The new MDSLR adapters are for specific microscope models.
Canon EOS XSi w/ MM-SLR 1.6x:
- CMOS
- 12MP (4272x2848)
- Secure Digital
- USB2 PC Control
- $1,499.00*

FOV is limited because of 1.6x factor with the MM-SLR.
12 MP
Canon Powershot S5 IS w/ MM99-58
- CCD
- 8MP (3264x2448)
- Secure Digital
- USB2 PC Control
- $999.00*

Widest Field-of-View of any camera in this test matches 10x eyepiece FOV best.
8 MP

Sony Cybershot H9 w/ MM99-H9
-  Sony CCD
-  8MP (3264 x 2448)
-  Memory Stick Duo
-  NLA

Very good, high resolution images; very easy to use camera for general micrography.
8 MP

Nikon Coolpix P5100 w/ MMC00L-E20
- CCD
- 12.1MP (4000x3000)
- Secure Digital
- $799.00*

Required extra zoom to avoid vignetting yielding the worst field-of-view 


12.1 MP

Sony HandyCam HDR-HC7 w/ MM99-H9
-  Sony CMOS HD
-  6MP (2848 x 2136)
-  Memory Stick Duo
-  $1,399.00*

Excellent at live HD video output, but not recommended primarily for still imaging.
6 MP

CONCLUSIONS:  In this test, the high Megapixel cameras like the Jenoptik ProgRes C14+ and Nikon Coolpix P5100 have less of an advantage over mid-range MP cameras because the amount of information being transmitted by the compound microscope is only around 5-6MP in our experience.  So, a 12MP camera yields larger images but not much more detail than a 5MP camera.  The C14+ with its "color co-site sampling" (we call that 3CCD emulation) really does reproduce color the most faithfully.  The Canon PowerShot S5 consumer camera gave the widest field-of-view and did a very good job controlling over-exposed areas which is a problem for the dedicated microscope cameras (possibly due to  in-camera image processing).  The new Lumenera InfinityX-32 performed better than we expected at 32MP.  That camera uses a scanning 2MP CCD sensor to create 2, 4, 8, or 32MP final images.

  *  Consumer camera prices are for our camera packages including MM adapter and accessories.
 

 

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