We're developing a low-cost, automated microscopy system and have so far evaluated Ximea cameras, which are good but costly. Are there any manufacturers that provide a cameras with low exposure (100 micro seconds or less) and a large sensors area (either large pixels plus a decent pixel count or smaller, 1um pixels with a large pixel count of 10 MP or more). I've looked at e-con but there's no data about exposure settings.
I need low exposure/higher sensitivity since the illumination intensity cant be increased beyond a certain value.
Thanks in advance !
Dear Prateek,
I suggest you to see links and attached file on topic.
Microscopy Cameras - Microscope Camera | Edmund Optics
https://www.edmundoptics.com/c/microscopy-cameras/773/
Consumer Digital Cameras for Microscopy Imaging - SPOT Imaging
www.spotimaging.com/.../consumer-digital-camera-microscopy-im...
Microscope Imaging Software - SPOT Imaging
www.spotimaging.com/software/
Digital Cameras - SPOT Imaging
www.spotimaging.com/cameras/
Best regards
Thank you Mohamed-Mourad Lafifi . I'm looking for a low cost camera though.
In order to get quality images with exposure times of less than 100us, you'll need a fast, cooled CMOS camera which is going to cost a pretty penny. Is it really necessary to do such short exposures in your application? Are you trying to image something that is moving quickly? The typical solution to image light sensitive samples is to do longer exposures. Some fluorescence images require 100ms or more. This assumes that the sample is not moving of course. For samples that oscillate, you can gate the shutter and take multiple exposures when the object is in the same position during each cycle.
A good fluorescence microscopy camera can easily set you back $20K but you'll only need to get that sensitive if you're trying to image weakly fluorescent samples. You may be able to get away with an amateur astronomy camera for less than $1K if you are willing to give up some sensitivity.
You can speed up your exposure time if the camera supports on-chip binning but you'll give up some resolution when you do that.
During your search, look for the sensor model and then search for the datasheet. For instance, http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Imagers-Opticstar.asp?p=0_10_0_50_126 uses the AR0130 from OnSemi. The datasheet https://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/AR0130CS-D.PDF is available directly from the manufacturer. Look on the datasheet for the "Responsivity." This will be your best bet on determining the ability of the camera to capture images in low light. If you need fast readout... That's a whole other issue.
Best of luck on your search.
Ron Reiserer Thanks for the insight!
I'm doing brightfield imaging , not fluorescence. However, the sample is under motion, hence the need for low exposure to minimize motion blur and other image artifacts.
We have been using a Ximea camera (MQ 13 CG e2) that goes down to 100 µs and less. However the cost is still high for us (about US $500) since the intended use is in a low-cost, point of care device. Hence I was wondering if a similar spec'd camera can be found for less cost, assuming a trade off on image size/frame rate.
Trying to stop motion complicates the picture. This will require a sensor with global shutter capabilities which excludes 99% of the cheap cameras (
Oh nice, Ron Reiserer Thanks! Yeah, I've been using the global shutter cameras. E-con is the only vendor I knew but it wasn't straightforward to find the data on exposure settings on their boards. Anyways, will look into these two cameras as well. Thanks again.
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