Camera adapters

Adapters for attaching Cameras to Microscopes

Microscope camera adapters provide a way to attach a camera to a microscope. There are several ways to do this depending on the camera you wish to use.

C-mount camera.

Almost all specific microscope cameras are C-mount which is a screw thread used originally on CCTV cameras. If your microscope has trinocular phototube, this is usually the preferred choice. A wide range of cameras and adapters are available and the camera can be easily operated from your laptop.

DSLR.

DSLR’s are usually attached via an adapter with a T2 thread. A camera-specifc T2 ring then attaches to the T2 thread.

Eyepiece camera.

These tend to be inexpensive but less practical systems. The microscope eypiece is removed and the camera placed in the empty eyepiece tube each time you wish to take a photograph.

Matching your adapter to your camera and microscope

In simple terms, the circle of light produced by your phototube/adapter should cover your camera sensor. A typical example would be a 0.5x adapter on a standard 22mm FOV (field-of-vew) microscope producing an 11mm diameter circle FOV – this would match nicely with a 1/2″ camera sensor (8mm diagonal).

Sensor_adapter_diagram_Microscience

See the table below for more information.

Camera sensors and microscope adapters
Sensor name* Sensor Dimensions (mm) Adapter size and field of view (FOV) calculation
Diagonal Width Height Adapter factor FOV (mm)*1 Circle diameter (mm)*2
1/3″ 6 4.8 3.6 0.35 22 7.7
1/2″ 8 6.4 4.8 0.5 22 11
1/1.8″ 9 7.2 5.3 0.5 22 11
2/3″ 11 8.8 6.6 0.7 22 15.4
1″ 16 12.8 9.6 1 22 22
4/3″ 21.6 17.3 13
APS-C 26 21.5 14.4 Sony
26.7 22.3 14.9 Canon
28.4 23.6 15.8 Nikon
Canon APS-H 33.5 28 18.6 1D Mk IV
Full frame 43 36 24 Full frame
* Sensor name is based on an archaic system for video recorders and cannot be converted directly to mm
*1 Check microscope eyepieces for field size of microscope e.g. 10 x 22 mm means 22mm field of view
*2 Circle diameter refers to the resulting field of view size in mm after passing through the adapter lens. The diameter of the circle should be larger than the diagonal sensor size to ensure the camera sensor is fully covered.

If you need help choosing microscope camera adapters, please contact us with details of your microscope and camera for more information and advice regarding which adapter to use. Due tothe huge range of adapters available, not all items are held in stock and may take longer to arrive than other items.

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Showing 1–9 of 10 results