Can anyone reccomend a body

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tpe
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Can anyone reccomend a body

Post by tpe »

Unfortunatly our cameras got stolen in our department at work.

Fortunatly they didnt steal the microscopes.

So now we are looking for a body to attach to microscopes fitted with an OM-Mount photomicro adaptor L.

Does anyone know if Olympus still make a body that will fit this adaptor, that we can control via a computer, with some kind of remote control? It is very difficult to find any references to this type of feature on their website so we have ths suspission that it is no longer possible to get a body that will fit that can be controlled by computer.

If anyone knows if this is possible, or better alternatives it would be great to hear.

Many thanks

Tim

Charles Krebs
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Post by Charles Krebs »

It sounds like you really need the computer control. This narrows it down considerably.

Also you are using the OM-Mount Photomicro Adapter L. You can get an OM->Canon EOS adapter very inexpensively. The nice thing about this is that you will maintain the same focus into the camera body. Canon also has bodies with the EFSC (electronic first shutter curtain) which makes a considerable difference in terms of vibration control for a microscope mounted camera. Canon cameras come with a very nice computer control program included in the box.

Are you looking for a 24x36mm sensor or an APS-C sized sensor?

tpe
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark

Post by tpe »

Hi Charles and thanks for the quick reply.

I can only presume that the adaptor will give the entire full frame image, but cant confirm this. I think we would be willing to take the risk. I am also of the oppinion that perahps we should go over to canon or nikon because of the amount of parts available. If you happen to know what canon call their remote software and which of the bodies have EFSC (as you say it is a very good point to remove the vibration) it would be useful but i will also try and look it up now.

Odd that Olympus stopped using a remote as their microscopes were such a big portion of their optics buisness.

Best

Tim

tpe
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Post by tpe »

O.K. found the name, "remote control" very easy :). Also asked about the format, and it sounds as if it is unimportant. One of the things that i am told would be useful is if one can see the live view on the computer, as this would allow many students to see the subject at once. Does anyone happen to know if this, is possible with "remote control" and do all canon bodies allow this, or infact any pictures to be taken, with a non canon lens attached? These are probably all questions I can ask in the shop now, as it seems this is the right way to go :).


We called the local dealer and he could not say if we can see live feed from the camera directly on another screen or what if any canon bodies support this. Nor could he say if all canon bodies can take pictures with non canon lenses attached, but we are on our way. Hopefully there is a canon representative in denmark that knows this for our next stop.

Tim

microcollector
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Post by microcollector »

Tim,

I use a Canon T2i on a bellows for my mineral photography. The camera is connected to the laptop by USB cable and the computer to an external monitor by HDMI cable. When the camera is in live view, I see the image on the monitor. Makes focusing and composing much easier. The T21 has EFSC. The camera cam with a CD that had the required programs. When I switched to Windows 8 I had to download an updated program. The T2i is an APS-C size sensor.
micro minerals - the the unseen beauty of the mineral kingdom
Canon T5i with Canon 70 - 200 mm f4L zoom as tube lens set at 200mm, StacK Shot rail, and Mitutoyo 5X or 10X M plan apo objectives.

My Mindat Mineral Photos
http://www.mindat.org/user-362.html#2

Charles Krebs
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Post by Charles Krebs »

Yes you can see the image live-view "feed" on the computer through the control program ("EOS Utility"). There is also an HDMI output on just about all current cameras so that the live-view image can be fed directly from the camera to a large HD screen. But I seriously doubt you could do both at the same time.

http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/app/pdfs ... kGuide.pdf

There are other good cameras out there, both "scientific" and "consumer". I should not have assumed you were looking for "consumer" camera. It would be helpful to have an understanding of what it is you need to accomplish with the camera.
Also asked about the format, and it sounds as if it is unimportant.
It would be good to know how the optics are set up in the Adapter "L" (which photoeyepiece is being used). This will allow a camera choice that provides a better "fit" for the image produced by the microscope. (Although if money is a big issue then you are likely looking at an APS-C sized sensor. (What is the camera that is being replaced?)

If you want a "consumer" camera with good computer remote software you are pretty much looking at Nikon or Canon. Since you have the Olympus L adapter on your microscopes a Canon model has the advantage of maintaining the same parfocality between eyepieces and camera. (Canon body depth is 44mm, Olympus OM is 46mm and Nikon is 46.5mm. So an Olympus OM-> Canon EOS adapter can maintain the same focus as an OM body, whereas an OM-> Nikon F-mount adapter... if it even exists... would act like a small extension tube. So it would be trickier to make the eyepieces and camera parfocal.)

All the Canon cameras I've tried have operated without lenses (and metered as well) using plain inexpensive T-mounts or various adapters. (I use adapters with no focus confirmation "chip" installed. I have no operational difficulties. Some recommend "chipped" adapters but I am not really certain what is gained with these. Both types are very inexpensive.)

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Post by rjlittlefield »

Charles Krebs wrote:Yes you can see the image live-view "feed" on the computer through the control program ("EOS Utility"). There is also an HDMI output on just about all current cameras so that the live-view image can be fed directly from the camera to a large HD screen. But I seriously doubt you could do both at the same time.
On my T1i, it's possible to get both at the same time. The trick is that it's required to push the Live View button on the back of the camera, in addition to configuring the computer for USB control. But as we've discussed before, the HDMI monitor will blink out for annoying long times on mode changes, including when a photo is taken. I think it would be better to just run a second monitor or projector from the computer.

--Rik

Alan Wood
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Re: Can anyone reccomend a body

Post by Alan Wood »

Olympus do still make cameras that can fit the Photomicro Adapter L, using a cheap adapter from eBay, but they all have a small Four Thirds sensor which will give a restricted field of view, and as far as I know none of them can be controlled from a computer.

As others have said, your best choice is a Canon digital SLR. If your stolen cameras were 35mm, then you probably have an NFK 2.5x photo eyepiece sitting inside the dovetail to which the Adapter L is connected, and a full-frame EOS 5D Mark II would work very well.

This page may help:
http://www.alanwood.net/photography/oly ... scope.html

There are links at the bottom of that page for other Olympus microscopes.

Alan Wood

tpe
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Post by tpe »

Just to say many thanks Microcollector, Charles again, Rik and Alan.

We have ordered a low end canon body and adaptor, if it works well then we will get some more. These are for the teaching lab, and therefore the quality is not as critical as the price and ease of use so the commercial option was hopefully the best.

Once again many thanks, also on behalf of the professor and postdocs that will be teaching with the equipment.

Best

Tim

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