Rapidly advancing technology has made digital imaging within reach of every microscopist.  There are now so many digital cameras available for microscopy, it's often difficult to choose the right one: still cameras, video cameras, consumer cameras...  At Martin Microscope Company, we spend lots of time testing new digital cameras in order to be able to recommend the right camera for each customer and application.  That said, over the last five years, we've realized that a few camera systems are consistent favorites and out-sell all others by a wide margin.  
Below are these best sellers - the systems our customers routinely choose and that we stock most heavily.  Click the cameras below for more information on these and other similar cameras.  View comparison images here...

What's the difference?

Dedicated Microscope Digital Still Cameras:  Dedicated microscope digital cameras typically cost more for less resolution, but they do have advantages for certain applications.  They typically allow for more precise software control over exposure, gain, gamma, color, etc.  Some are also specialized for low-light applications, particularly fluorescence imaging.  Those normally have a cooled CCD sensor for long exposure times with less noise than a non-cooled or CMOS sensor.  They also may include some software features specifically for microscopy, like background shading correction and / or simple calibration and measuring features.  They usually integrate better with image analysis software like i-Solution.  

Consumer Hand Held Digital Still Cameras:  We at Martin Microscope Company got into the consumer camera arena quite early with the development of our MM99 adapter in 1999, originally for the popular Sony Mavica cameras.  As far as we know, we were the first to make and market a professional microscope adapter for a consumer digital camera.  Since then, we've recommended consumer hand-held cameras for routine micrography, especially as a replacement for instant film.  They are also recommended for their versatility, being useable both on and off of the microscope, and for the ease with which they can be moved from one microscope to another.  The images are normally stored on internal memory cards from which they must be downloaded to the computer.  This can present a problem if the image files need to be named as they are saved, and also may be  inconvenient if the images need to be manipulated or measured immediately upon being captured.  The exception to this is the Canon line of digital cameras that include PC/ Mac control software.  Now, since 2010, most consumer point-and-shoot digital cameras have been cheapened to the point that they no longer have lens filter threads to which to attach a microscope adapter, and many no longer offer a tilting LCD which is useful when the camera is mounted vertically.  The DSLR cameras now dominate the consumer camera market, and of all the DSLR's we've tested, the Canon EOS series is tops for microscopy (for these reasons...).  

Digital Video Cameras:  After five years of using, selling and recommending Sony HD camcorders, we've now changed our product recommendation to the new Canon Vixia HF S52 camcorder for HD video.  In our experience, the primary use of HD video microscopy has been to enhance classroom and conference room displays.  The move in recent years from classroom TV monitors to video projectors has greatly increased screen sizes, and meant that standard video microscopy often looks very grainy on a large projection screen.  Now, HD compatible projectors and HDTV flat-screen monitors in conjunction with our MCV52 HD video camera package make High Definition displays a great option.  There are now (finally) some HD dedicated microscopy cameras on the market such as the Moticam 580, but we still find that the HD camcorders provide better HD output.  View sample HD Videos...

Sensors:  The heart of every digital camera is the Sensor, usually either a CCD or a CMOS type.  All Sensors are analog devices, converting photons into electrical signals.  The process by which the analog information is changed to digital is called Analog to Digital (A/D) Conversion.  This can occur within the Sensor itself, or within the camera, or within the PC, as was the case with older video camera / frame grabber technology.  The Sensor size is another consideration.  The larger the Sensor size (actually the larger the individual pixel size), the more light sensitive the Sensor should be, so larger is better, at least in theory.  Some of the most advanced digital cameras, like the ProgRes C14+,  use a large 1.4MP moving Sensor that scans the image area in up to 36 increments to produce extremely high resolution 12.5MP final images.

Resolution:  The Sensor Resolution is the total number of picture elements (Pixels) forming the image.  Resolution ranges from 0.3 Megapixels (MP) for 640x480 analog video resolution up to an incredible 32MP with the new Lumenera InfinityX-32.  There is a 4x jump in total pixels from 0.3MP to 1.3MP, roughly double the resolution both horizontally and vertically (0.3 x 4 = 1.2), so we can see a vast improvement in 1.3MP cameras over older video resolution cameras.  Images in this category are still relatively small in file size, so are fine for email in jpg format.  Next comes 2MP and 3.3MP cameras which are less apparent improvements over 1.3MP.  When we reach 5MP, that represents 4x the total pixels of a 1.3MP camera (1.3 x 4 = 5.2), so 5MP is the next big leap. This is why there are no 2MP or 3.3MP cameras in our top choice cameras above.  Eight, ten, twelve MP cameras, again, are improvements over 5MP cameras, but the next big 4x step requires a 20MP camera which in most cases exceed the resolution of the microscope optics.  Indeed, we have experienced "empty magnification" even in 8MP cameras.  Generally, higher megapixel images can provide greater detail over a wider field-of-view (which makes them better for lower magnification imaging), allow for cropping more detailed areas of interest, and can yield more accurate measurements.  They can also be used to make larger photo quality (300dpi) prints.  The following chart illustrates this:  

0.3 Megapixel	640 x 480 pixels	1.6" x 2.13" print size at 300dpi	analog video cameras
1.3 Megapixel	1392 x 1040 pixels	3.2" x 4.3" print size at 300dpi	M14
2.0 Megapixel	1616 x 1216 pixels	4" x 5.3" print size at 300dpi	Lumenera Infinity2-2C
3.3 Megapixel	2080 x 1542 pixels	5.1" x 6.8" print size at 300dpi	Jenoptik ProgRes C3
5.0 Megapixel	2448 x 2048 pixels	6.4" x 8.5" print size at 300dpi	M50
12.5 Megapixel	4080 x 3072 pixels	10.24 " x 13.6" at 300dpi	Jenoptik ProgRes C14+
18 Megapixel	5184 x 3456 pixels	11.5" x 17.28" at 300dpi	MT3i
32 Megapixel	6464 x 4864 pixels	16" x 21.5" at 300dpi	Lumenera InfinityX-32

Included interface software and compatibility:  This is an area that can play a very important role in selecting the proper camera for a specific application.  This aspect will mainly impact dedicated microscope cameras since consumer cameras usually do not directly interface with a computer (other than to download captured images; Canon cameras are the exception).  All dedicated microscope cameras will include some software for driving the camera.  This will allow a preview image to be viewed on the computer monitor which may be of the full camera resolution or may be a reduced resolution for a faster refresh rate.  The higher the camera's pixel resolution, the more likely that it will have a reduced resolution preview.  We might consider this the camera's video output capability, although the rate at which the preview is output will depend primarily on the exposure time set for a given image, but also on the speed of the computer processor, and the type of connection to the computer (ie:  Firewire, USB2, etc).  Most higher megapixel cameras, because of their lower resolution previews, will offer focusing aids such as a small portion of the image (user defined) at full resolution, or a focus indicator bar.  Common menu controls include exposure time, gain, color balance, and possibly time lapse features.  In many cases the camera can automatically adjust exposure time, color balance, etc, but a manual override is critical for many microscopy challenges.  Other software features might include basic screen calibration and measuring, more commonly on the captured image, but sometimes on the "live" preview image as well.  Some cameras are compatible only with Windows, but some also support Mac OS-X.  Finally, basic TWAIN compatibility is desired (for Windows) so that other software like Adobe Photoshop can access the camera interface software and acquire images directly.  Many cameras also include plug-ins for popular image analysis software.  

Our recommended Image Analysis software is IMT i-Solution which is compatible with our M14, M50, Jenoptik ProgRes, and MT3i camera systems for Windows XP, Vista, and 7.  IMT software is available in three versions:  i-Solution Capture; i-Solution Lite; i-Solution Full   

COMPARISON  IMAGES:

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