Microscope Camera Upgrade

[@ThingsWhichArentWork]

Thanks John - I thought long and hard about getting that 1080p camera myself before settling for the cheaper 720p 14MP version... Nice to see a review of the better camera. If you're interested, you can find the original manufacturer of both cameras is ShenZhen YangWang Technology ... if you google for 'YW3609' then you should get the product page... Cheers!!

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Hi Jim.. Good to see you & thanks for the comments. Just had a quick look at that site but I'll have a better sniff around around there tomorrow. On first glance though it seems I've got three of their cameras already.. Surely I'll be a product tester soon.. LOL. Cheers Jim John

[@sdgelectronics]

Nice John, thanks. Been thinking about something like this for myself.

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Hi Steve, and thanks. Not seen you for a while mate, hope you're keeping ok. The microscope & camera really do come in handy. Cheers John

[@sdgelectronics]

Currently in the process of moving house, so not a lot of time at the moment for making videos. The lab isn't packed up yet though so no real excuse!

[@zx8401ztv]

The new camera looks well made, really smashing :-D i did notice that the dark pcb surface was invisible, on mr rossmans camera you can see the surface, perhaps the camera settings do need a slight tweak. A tiny tiny bit less contrast would allow the dark pcb to show its tracks, but there are so many steps before it goes to youtube, youtube compression may be the culpret. But its new and you have to tinker with anything new to get the best :-D. This may seem old fashoned but, what about cutting the psu cable and inserting an old lamp switch in it, you could put an led in it too, no damage or modding to the camera :-D. The switch could be wherever you want it. Just a thought :-D

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Hi zx :) Thanks for the comments my friend. I agree with you with regards to the image quality.. Louis's camera does still seem a little better. As you mention though with any sort of photography the lighting is very important.. I have too much light in front of me really but not enough surrounding light.. The image is better still from the camera if I add more warm light. My work/video area is only lit by a few 7W Daylight LED's and a couple of underlight strips. I may try the centre room spot lights during the next SMD video to test for improvement. It was a shame really that the camera I had bought initially (the second hand £550 one from GT vision) was awesome, and the image from that was at least as good as Louis's cam. However as mentioned I couldn't capture the images from it :( On the positive side though zx... The image quality is actually better than in the video my friend.. Recently I've been testing with various rendering bitrates in Vegas Pro and Handbrake you see, to try and get a better image quality before KZbin has another nibble at it. I've not got it right yet. Sooooo many settings to fiddle with in pro editing software :) Splicing the PSU cable is a good idea.. I had considered that to be honest, but was thinking of a more permanent solution. Only because having the switch in the cable would look a bit unsightly.. But I suppose I'm the only one that sees it :) Cheers friend John

[@zx8401ztv]

I was just thinking its better to mod a cheap psu rather than a new and very nice camera :-D. Im sure you will get the lighting the way you want it :-). Im not supprised that you had the same thoughts on splicing, and unsightly depends on how much prettyness actually matters. A small black pod/switch wont show up unless you make it the size of a house brick LOL. You could make seperate mains socket just for the psu to plug into, a house light switch could be mounted on the underside of the table so you can click it easly, and not visible at all lol. Im full of daft ideas, but you know that lol.

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Hahaa....thanks for that mate. You really made me 😂. Hey.. I may as well go the whole hog then and put small diesel generator under the bench too, no need wire back to the wall then.. Hehee. Thanks mate, take care John

[@zx8401ztv]

Ha ha :-D. ta ta :-)

[@GadgetReviewVideos]

We all seem to be doing camera videos :-) Good video. I just found the correct combo for mine also, update video coming soon. Different camera though. I don't think you need to install the software for the mouse, it should be an on screen display that you can change the settings with and start recording or take a picture to thenSD card using the mouse. Something to note for others, I've noticed with almost all cameras the 60 frames a second is the HDMI out and you need a separate computer with a capture card that can capture at 60FPS to record at 60FPS. Not sure what the SD card can record at with your camera, most are 25 to 30 frames on a good SD card. I tested 8 SD cards claimed to be class 10 speed and only two did the full frame rate recording. So the SD card quality does matter. My goal is a little different from yours, I don't want a computer taking up more room in the lab and I'm happy with the video quality of 25/30FPS in 1080P, so I was looking for one that did good SD card video recording since I didn't want to spend more on a capture card. It can use USB claimed to be 30FPS but I have not tried it. Oh, and the opticam that Louis uses was sold by microscope.com but it was made by ToupTek, its discontinued and was expensive when they did sell it. But ToupTek is making others just as good now for less so they stopped making that one. Your old camera that I also tested had the Panasonic sensor, it a nice sensor. The new camera I'm testing has a Sony IMX sensor and is even better especially for low light. No need for 144 led rings, works good with half that light. I'll be doing the update video soon once I'm done my testing on the camera and new reduction lens with a wider FOV for the camera now if you have wide angle barlow lenses.

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Hi.. Yes it seems so :) Getting the camera videos out is a good thing I think though as we're short on the ground as far as reviews on them go. Yes 60FPS is likely only possible over HDMI, although USB 3.1 could handle the bandwidth from a 60fps sensor. I've always used HDMI to capture card though so I'm set up for all the data.. Although I'll still be on USB 2 for another month or so whilst I save up for my new PC hardware which will inc USB 3.1.. Yipee :) I wouldn't be surprised if the camera that I bought for £550 was a version of the Optixcam although as I mentioned in the video the one I got was second hand, but brand new they cost £1700 :o ... I was actually after a Basler Ace camera but thinking about it.. I just didn't need that sort of imagery for hobby use, and spending over £1000 seemed a bit silly really. Anyway... Looking forward to seeing your video now my friend. Cheers John

[@101blog]

O yeah I have the same camera as Jim's now I've bought another Lapsun one on an Arm I'll need to do a review !

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Hi.. Thanks for the comments.. Hope to see your review sometime soon 👍

[@wrongway2001]

I know you did this video a few years ago but it's been very informative for me. I bought the same microscope you have which arrived yesterday, a GXMXTL3 from GTVision. Yours is the first video I have seen using that model microscope. Plenty of Amscope videos ones around though. I am in the process of figuring out which way to go camera wise. I am not too bothered about recording video, mainly interested in monitoring live on a display and taking still images. I dont know if I should go the SLR camera type route as I have a good Canon SLR and a Canon mirrorless camera. Or to take the dedicated camera approach like you have done. Either way isn't cheap. GTVisions options are quite expensive but at least it's guaranteed to work. Are you still happy about the choices you made a few years on. Any advice appreciated.

[@OrbiterElectronics]

wrongway2001 ..Hi.. Firsty.. Yes the camera in the video is still the one I'm using now and without spending thousands its one of the best there is.. saying that you may like to wait a week or so as ive got another one on the way from China.. which is supposed to be better. The problem there is that the sellers don't really seem to know their own stock very well. As I was told recently about a camera supposedly having one of the latest Sony Starvis 1/1.8 sensors. After placing the order they got back in touch saying it wasn't that particular sensor 😞 Anyway I have another one coming hopefully next week so I'll have to wait to see what I get 😱. If its good I'll do another video. A lot of the microscope cameras out there at present..no matter where they come from or what is written on the side of them, come from China, and when opened up they all have similar guts. Only pay upwards of £300+ if your SURE you know what your getting. Check sensor sizes and pixel sizes etc on the manufacturers sites, don't just trust ebay sellers. The sensors you get ARE mostly from major manufacturers but the China factories just use the cheaper ones. By comparison a proper microscope camera with a top quality sensor will cost something like. wait fot it... Between £2000 & £7000+ Yes the proper cams cost a small fortune. I really wanted one but selling a body part or two to pay for it was out of the question 😂 With regards going microscope cam vs SLR etc. Well.. I was in the same boat with my Nikon stuff.. the problem is getting adapters etc to perfectly cooperate with the trinocular port etc. plus then you've got all that weight on the scope head. it may be fine, but the cheaper cams just seemed the way to go for me. For very high quality stills though the SLR may be a better option. Don't forget that even with the camera tube you have now on the scope. You'll likely still need another adapter with threads both ends to make a camera work. messing with tubes/adapters and 0.5x lenses was a pain for me.. as i wanted perfection, but in the end a home made cobbled setup was the best option to get the best images possible from the equipment/cameras/adapters i was using. Hope this helps a bit. Cheers, John

[@wrongway2001]

Hi John. Yes that information has helped a lot. There is still quite a bit to get my head around. Is there a way I can contact you direct.

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Just go to my youtube home page & click 'About' .. I re-enabled the little message symbol in there, It disappeared for some reason.

[@wrongway2001]

John. Do you know what the fitting on the top of the camera port is on the GXMXTL3. Mine looks to be around 23mm external diameter with a v shaped groove going around it and has an internal thread that takes a supplied cap. I am hoping to get a 0.5 C mount adapter for it. Do you know if its the same fitting as on the Amscopes as I am trying to avoid ordering from GTVision to keep cost down a bit. Looking at cameras on eBay preferably in the UK.

[@OrbiterElectronics]

To be honest I've no idea if the Amscope one fits this scope. I wish there were a definite one piece threaded connector for these things which meant you just had to plonk the camera on top. If you ever find something that will thread directly into the trinocular port please let me know too. I'm using that V groove thing at present purely because its the only thing I had that was secure on top of the scope. I then bought the lens in the link below.. And precisely ground down the top of that V to accommodate lens as the thread is on the outer side and I needed it on the inner side. Once I'd got the microscope focus and camera focus pretty much matched I then Araldited the lens to the V groove thing.. And it's still on and solid :) It's PITA to be honest but almost everyone has issues with it.. Well unless you live in the States as you can buy everything there it seems, although many folk still have the camera loose on top of their scopes and it spins around, which is useless really. Nothing seems to fit perfectly on these things :(.. I know when my next camera comes I'm going to have to disassemble the damn thing again to make it fit. I wish I knew somebody who was good with a lathe as an adjustable custom tube would be great. goo.gl/EWh5Ze

[@101blog]

The colour fringing and Vignette tend to be due to the lens..have you tried the old lens assembly on the new camera?

[@davidlegault9745]

Nice setup John .. maybe I should buy the camera and then explain to my wife that I obviously need a microscope to go with it. LOL Regards, Dave

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Thanks David. You certainly could try that but I hope it doesn't cause a war ☺️ Cheers friend John

[@SmiloDTech]

Yeah ! A new vid ;-)

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Hiya mate,, good to see ya :)

[@SmiloDTech]

Good to see ya too mate ;-)

[@VileVermin]

what's a point of using more then 2MP camera with output to FHD monitor ?!

[@VileVermin]

oops - my bad - i thought it is 16MP camera as I seen one in exactly same case...

[@cncdavenz]

Nice clear image John. Looks like you have the lighting just right. What PC configuration are you using to capture the video. Cheers Dave

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Hi Dave, Thanks for the comments. To be honest I could do with slightly better lighting as all the light at my bench comes mainly from the front which is normally ok but I think under the microscope it could be a bit better really. The main computer I use for my capture, edit, rendering etc is quite an old one now as computers go (5 years).. I used to upgrade my PC's every year or two but it got far too expensive as I always wanted the best parts available at the time :) My PC consists of an Asus Rampage 2 Extreme mainboard, with an i7-930 HT CPU, 12GB RAM, GTX760, Asus Xonar D2X sound card, Elgato HD60 Pro capture card, 12TB of HDD's and one 500GB SSD.. All powered by an Enermax Revolution 1250W psu. The PSU is quite a bit overkill nowadays but back when it was powering 2 GTX 295's it was needed :) I'll be upgrading the system again in a month or so as USB 2 and massive file transfers are getting laborious, along with video editing/rendering times etc.. It's still a great system but just showing its age as far as performance goes..Especially compared to the newer parts. I'll be opting for either a 6 or preferably an 8 core i7 along with a new motherboard, 32GB of 3000MHz RAM etc.. So with USB 3.1 it should speed things up nicely.. I don't need a new PSU, HDD's etc so I'll just buy an upgrade bundle from Scan computers in the UK and stick it in my Antec 1200 case... Cheers friend John