I wish my digital camera had a small lens! Mine's lens diameter is about twice the microscope eyepiece and doesn't work. I use my normal camera (my microscope has an extra lens where the camera fits)
Patty, I have sent your pictures to someone for identification...
>>> [log in to unmask] 09/04/02 12:50AM >>>
Yes John (and others),
This can be a magnificent way of taking pictures of microshells
Since discovering this, about two months back, I have taken literally
hundreds of pictures of microshells, some of which will be published in the
upcoming issue of Australasian Shell News.
The method is very simple. Because digital cameras, even the more expensive
models, come with very limited (pathetic?) optics, you cheat and use the
optics of the microscope instead. Because the digital camera has such a
narrow lens, you can actually hold it right up to the eyepiece of the
microscope. Then you wriggle around until you get a good view of the shell
on the screen and simply press the button. Of course you have to turn the
flash off, and also the more light you can get on your subject the better.
I actually make sure the shell is in full unfiltered sunlight, and place a
piece of white paper to reflect the light back onto the 'shadow' side. It
also helps to turn off the automatic light meter to allow you to take
pictures at the maximum f-stop for better depth-of-field. I use the
automatic focusing feature without any problems. Just make sure the
microscope is in focus (i.e., the eyepiece that you are actually going to
take the picture through). For the background, I made a piece of black
'blue-tack' by mixing some ink with it. It still looks rather tacky, but
because it is all dark and contrasts with the shell, it is easily replaced
by a background colour of your choice in a graphics editing package. I
found this much easier than trying to achieve a completely black background
in the photograph by trying to balance a 2mm shell on top of a pin, in the
right position without any of the pin showing (AARGHHH, I don't have
patience for that!)
regards
Patty
Dr. Patty Jansen
Bookshop: http://www.booksofnature.com
Publishing and info site: http://www.capricornica.com
Books of Nature
P.O. Box 345
Lindfield NSW 2070
Australia
phone/fax: 02 9415 8098 international: +61 2 9415 8098
E-mail: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
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<DIV><FONT size=1>I wish my digital camera had a small lens! Mine's lens
diameter is about twice the microscope eyepiece and doesn't work. I use my
normal camera (my microscope has an extra lens where the camera
fits)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Patty, I have sent your pictures to someone for
identification...</FONT><BR><BR>>>> <A
href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]</A> 09/04/02
12:50AM >>><BR>Yes John (and others),<BR><BR>This can be a magnificent
way of taking pictures of microshells<BR><BR>Since discovering this, about two
months back, I have taken literally<BR>hundreds of pictures of microshells, some
of which will be published in the<BR>upcoming issue of Australasian Shell
News.<BR><BR>The method is very simple. Because digital cameras, even the more
expensive<BR>models, come with very limited (pathetic?) optics, you cheat and
use the<BR>optics of the microscope instead. Because the digital camera has such
a<BR>narrow lens, you can actually hold it right up to the eyepiece of
the<BR>microscope. Then you wriggle around until you get a good view of the
shell<BR>on the screen and simply press the button. Of course you have to turn
the<BR>flash off, and also the more light you can get on your subject the
better.<BR>I actually make sure the shell is in full unfiltered sunlight, and
place a<BR>piece of white paper to reflect the light back onto the 'shadow'
side. It<BR>also helps to turn off the automatic light meter to allow you to
take<BR>pictures at the maximum f-stop for better depth-of-field. I use
the<BR>automatic focusing feature without any problems. Just make sure
the<BR>microscope is in focus (i.e., the eyepiece that you are actually going
to<BR>take the picture through). For the background, I made a piece of
black<BR>'blue-tack' by mixing some ink with it. It still looks rather tacky,
but<BR>because it is all dark and contrasts with the shell, it is easily
replaced<BR>by a background colour of your choice in a graphics editing package.
I<BR>found this much easier than trying to achieve a completely black
background<BR>in the photograph by trying to balance a 2mm shell on top of a
pin, in the<BR>right position without any of the pin showing (AARGHHH, I don't
have<BR>patience for that!)<BR><BR>regards<BR><BR>Patty<BR><BR><BR>Dr. Patty
Jansen<BR><BR>Bookshop: <A
href="http://www.booksofnature.com">http://www.booksofnature.com</A><BR>Publishing
and info site: <A
href="http://www.capricornica.com">http://www.capricornica.com</A><BR><BR>Books
of Nature<BR>P.O. Box 345<BR>Lindfield NSW 2070<BR>Australia<BR><BR>phone/fax:
02 9415 8098 international: +61 2 9415 8098<BR><BR>E-mail:
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]<BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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