I use a modified web camera for photomicrography. It makes good stills and videos at high magnification. The modification involves removing the lens mount from the circuit board (exposing the CCD) cutting off a millimeter or so to enable a 12mm Marshall lens, that replaces the original, to focus to infinity. The CCD gets crap on it very easily. At the magnifications I use -- 1200X and more the dust specs are like boulders covering detail in the specimens. Cleaning is a very difficult job. because taking it all to pieces and putting it back outside a clean room is hopeless. I tried working with the camera inside a plastic bag, doesn't help much, if at all. Cleaning the *ist D sensor is a piece of cake. I use a Zerostat (probably contains Polonium isotopes) to give it a preliminary blow and then a Pasteur pipette with a rubber bulb on the back to give a final puff or two. So far it has been successful. But the Quickcam Pro is a real pain. I'm going to make a small hood -- wire frame and plastic sheet to work in before I try again.
D (NPP) -- Dr E D F Williams www.kolumbus.fi/mimosa/ http://personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams/ 41660 TOIVAKKA – Finland - +358400706616 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
