FAQ
How do I select a digital microscope?
- Digital microscopes price range from few hundreds to over $50,000, and they all depend on functions and quality. Consider your applications:
- how much magnification? what field of view you need to see? how small is your part for inspection?
- how you will be using the digital microscope, what you want to do with digital microscope?
- what environment the digital microscope will be in
- how much working distance (clearance between lens and object)
- how much budget is planned
What camera resolution should I choose?
- There are 1.3, 2, 3, 5, and up to 20 and 50 Mega Pixel digital cameras for microscope. However the most popular digital microscope cameras are 1.3 and 2 mega pixels for matching the LCD screen resolution and fast refresh rate for real-time viewing. Cameras with 20 or 50 MP usually use pixel shifting to create 20 or 50 MP image from a 1.3 MP camera sensor. Therefore the camera sensor is still 1.3 MP, just the final captured image has 20 or 50 MP resolution.
How much magnification do I need?
- Magnification is a function of field of view. The higher the magnification, the smaller field of view. So the other way to answer the magnification question is to determine what size of inspection area you need, how small the object you try to see.
What do I plan to do with the microscope?
- Some just need to do QC inspection, some need to take picture for documentation, some need to measure dimension, some need to send pictures by email… etc.
- Some digital microscopes come with LCD screen, some connect directly to computer USB2.0 port, some are handheld model, some are mounted on system stand for hand free operation.
What kind of measurement functions do I need to perform?
- With measurement software, you will be able to perform any kinds of dimensional measurements on the microscope image. Usually the software has image enhancement, image analysis, perfect focus and photo stitching functions on top of dimensional measurement.
Well if you still have questions, just send us an email or call us.