Topic · 49 posts
Imaging
49 posts on Imaging, 2009–2026, newest first.
Imaging posts, newest first
- 21 Jul2026
Starlyte Nebula Driver FAQ
TL:DR Live Debugging Get a Full list of Supported Drivers Testing a Specific Driver File Testing Host and Sub Devices Live Debugging Due to the open nature of our driver system, it’s relatively straightforward to write a new driver file…
ImagingNebulaProgramming3 min read
- 16 Jul2026
Understanding TTL control, Blanking & Device Streaming, and why it matters for your research.
While this is an old subject in terms of technology, I find that every few years I end up describing it to a new group. Surprisingly to me, every time people seem to appreciate the information, and I think it’s just not covered often in…
ImagingLaserNebula8 min read
- 26 Feb2026
Triggerscope Mini Released
Compact, Simplified TTL and DAC – Micromanager Native I’m happy to share a new device I’ve been working on after encouragement from numerous clients. This new smaller version of the Triggerscope is intended to bridge the gap between large…
ImagingMicroscopesNebula1 min read
- 26 Nov2016
Black Friday / Cyber Monday Discounts for Builders & Makers
Hackaday has a great list of links on whats available for black Friday & Cyber Monday. I found this a great deal – Autodesk has an offer for 2 years of Fusion360 for only $60/yr! My local 3D printer manufacturer, Printrbot, has a 10% off…
Imaging1 min read - 14 Nov2016
Pt Grey Camera Driver for MicroManager unleashes low-cost microscopy
Let’s say you want to build an imaging system, but you want to attach 2 cameras for time-correlated 2 channel imaging. The limiting factor for such an arrangement is usually cost, that cost being $10,000 USD per camera means $20,000 for…
ImagingMicro-Manager4 min read - 19 Sep2016
High speed stable enclosure for GoPro and Black Magic cameras
Here’s a project I can finally talk about! This is one of my clients, PEOVI, who makes rugged, high speed camera mounts for anything from race cars, to airplanes. If you need to mount a Black Magic Micro, or GoPro, to your high speed…
ImagingOptics1 min read - 21 Jul2016
95% QE SCMOS vs. EMCCD
In 2011, I reviewed the Andor Neo, one of the first scmos cameras commercially available. I ended my report with this statement, “…there is much life left in the good old frame transfer sensor…until someone cooks up a back thinned scmos…”…
ImagingPhotometricssCMOS1 min read - 15 Jul2016
Microscope Objective Zemax Files
While I haven’t had a chance to test these for accuracy, I was excited to find them while looking for some tube lens specs! You can find the file set here. These designs include some of the common infinity corrected objectives, as well as…
ImagingMicroscopesNikon1 min read - 05 Jun2016
Shutter Configuration of TTL devices in Micromanager
I made this video to show how to use both a state device shutter object and a group shutter object in micro-manager. Hopefully others can make use of it!
ImagingMicro-ManagerMicroscopes1 min read - 04 May2016
Dynamic Mirror Reflection Angles using Fusion360
SO I’ve been working with AutoDesk’s Fusion360 for a while now, and have found it to be an exceptional tool for diving into CAD. If you’ve considered CAD before, but have been scared off by the learning curve, I recommend checking it out…
ImagingOpticsProgramming1 min read
- 28 Apr2016
Optical Design comes to the iPad!
Over the past 5 years, almost every project I’ve worked on has required some level of optic design. In many cases, simple designs suffice. For example, projecting an LED can be accomplished at a basic level with an aspheric condenser. But…
ImagingLaserOptics1 min read
- 01 Apr2016
Automated Capture and Save script for Micro-Manager
I wrote this for a client, but figured others could make use of it. This code simply captures a number of images as defined by the user, and saves them to the specified folder without displaying them. This is useful if you don’t want all…
ImageJImagingMacros1 min read
- 15 Jan2016
How to use external triggers on scientific and industrial cameras
Controlling a camera from an external trigger can be very useful. External triggering provides greater timing accuracy, direct control over exposure duration, and remote operation from TTL devices. This is a prime reason I made the…
ArduinoDevice automationImaging5 min read
- 17 Sep2015
Acquisition Speed Comparison of MetaMorph, NIS Elements, Micro-Manager
How fast can a typical imaging system really run? What factors affect this? While most research might not require rapid sequential capture, almost all experiments can benefiet from tight exposure/illumination timing, yet few microscope…
ArduinoDevice automationNIS-Elements3 min read
- 01 Aug2015
Echo Laboratories launches the Revolve Microscope
Over 450 years have seen the compound microscope evolve into an incredible instrument. From simple contrast viewing, we’ve moved to super resolution systems capable of sub-diffraction accuracy. But for all this advancement, we’ve been…
Disruptive TechnologyImagingMicroscopes5 min read
- 31 Jul2015
Countdown to a Revolution in Microscopy – Day 1
Well, I guess I should continue providing lengthy explanations of this skunk works project, but I think it’s time to let this thing stand on it’s own merit. So…here’s a nifty countdown timer until the announcement goes up! The wait is over…
ImagingMicroscopesOptics1 min read - 29 Jul2015
Countdown to a Revolution in Microscopy – Day 3
Every so often I will get the chance to cook up some code for one of the usual software scope control packages. But these days, I spend most of my time in programs like Fusion360, Fritzing, and the like. So I guess this is how I feel when…
Device automationImagingMicroscopes2 min read
- 28 Jul2015
Countdown to a Revolution in Microscopy – Day 4
What can’t your microscope do? Any user of a modern scope, or at least, a high end scope, considers the addition of new widgets. Whether it’s a better illuminator, adding a more sensitive camera, or even a motorized component, we think of…
ImagingMicroscopesOptics3 min read
- 28 Jul2015
Countdown to a Revolution in Microscopy – Day 5
The foundational design of the compound microscope has, in many ways, remained locked in place for the 450 years of it’s existence. Combining an objective, eyepiece, and illuminator to provide a magnified view of a specimen has drastically…
ImagingMicroscopesOptics2 min read
- 02 Mar2012
Nikon nSIM wins #5 in TheScientist’s 2011 Best and Brightest
Here’s a short video review of the top 10 innovations in 2011. Some really cool technology here! Top 10 Innovations of 2011 from thescientistllc on Vimeo.
Device automationImagingNikon1 min read - 29 Feb2012
ImageJ Counting Macro for Known Field Values
Here’s a simple method to deal with varying intensities in a large run of images, assuming you have a known number of cells in a field. If I assume I should see, say, more than X cells per area, I can adjust my threshold to slowly increase…
ImageJImagingMacros1 min read - 30 Jan2012
How TIRF works on a Microscope
TIRF is a widely used tool for effectively creating a super resolution instrument out of a standard widefield microscope. The cool part of TIRF is that it bypasses the limits of axial resolution on the scope not by altering the optics…
ImagingNikonTIRF3 min read
- 25 Jan2012
Neo camera at 100fps
Andor’s Neo camera has been out for about a year now. I first wrote about using it back in February. The camera immediately showed the major difference in field of view between sCmos sensors and traditional interlines quite well, but the…
Disruptive TechnologyImageJImaging1 min read - 07 Nov2011
WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND THE UCSF/QB3 Microscopy Course
Over the course of my career, I’ve flown across the US to attend a variety of imaging related instructional courses, all on the eastern seaboard. We are all familiar with the Woods Hole courses, the AQLM course, and so forth. What has…
NIS-ElementsImageJImaging1 min read - 29 Aug2011
PhotoFluor 2 Driver for Nikon Elements
89 North has asked me to cook up a driver for the PhotoFluor 2, which I am now hosting under my Macros & Journals page, or you can use this link. This driver works in NIS Elements AR, and BR with Advanced Interpreter. Please contact me if…
NIS-ElementsImagingMacros1 min read - 08 Jul2011
Lumencor Spectra Driver Available
I’ve written a Lumencor Spectra Driver that works with NIS Elements B3.2+. (AR or BR + Advanced Interpreter) The driver provides integrated control into elements for both intensity of lines and channel. These appear as a shutter and two…
NIS-ElementsImagingMacros1 min read
- 05 Jul2011
How to Align a Dualview 2
Walking through the alignment procedure of the DV 2, narrated by Jeff Harris from Photometrics . Great video and great explanation Jeff! For those of you who have a DualView, I’m certain this video will come in handy…
Device automationImagingPhotometrics1 min read - 17 Jun2011
Nikon Oils, Perfect Focus and What to Use
There are two docs published by Nikon regarding the use of oils. Most people think you can use any old oil for any microscope, but this is not the case. Zeiss, Leica, Nikon and Olympus all have specific chromatic, spherical and viscosity…
ImagingNikon1 min read
- 23 May2011
Acquisition crashes, and power settings in Win7
Windows 7 has a new power management interface, and the design of modern motherboards, along with win7 Automatic Power Management (APM), can cause some insidious device-based software crashes if power options aren’t set correctly. Here’s…
Device automationNIS-ElementsImageJ1 min read
- 29 Apr2011
Voltage output from NIS Elements, MetaMorph or uManager for under $200
I posted briefly about this a while back, in my explanation of the demise of the parallel port. I finally got my hands on a National Instruments USB-6008 box, and have found the unit to be 100% compatible with any NI-DAQ controlling…
Device automationNIS-ElementsImageJ2 min read
- 18 Apr2011
Nikon C2 – NIS Elements and Spectral Capability
Nikon has redesigned and updates it’s classic C1 Confocal. The C1 was a great core facility confocal as it was a stable and reliable product. The one thing that held it back was the lack of access to NIS Elements software. With the release…
NIS-ElementsImagingNikon1 min read
- 08 Apr2011
Proper RGB Conversion of Multichannel Images
When acquiring images in NIS Elements, it is possible to acquire each image with a color over that is approximate to the wavelength used for acquisition. This is the easiest way to view and relate multi-channel data, but when converting…
NIS-ElementsImagingMacros1 min read
- 29 Mar2011
Determining background sources in fluorescence
For microscopy engineers and suppliers like me, the background produced in an image is of importance, if that background is created by the imaging system itself. What so many of us on this side of the scope (vs the user side) forget to…
NIS-ElementsImageJImaging2 min read
- 25 Mar2011
Photometrics LVDS cards on Win7
I recently slogged through a tough install with a customer (Thanks Sean!!) in an attempt to run an older Photometrics camera using a PCI card in windows 7/xp. What we found was that the latest driver, (as of this post v. 2,7,10) is not…
Device automationImagingPhotometrics1 min read
- 11 Feb2011
*UPDATED* Micro-Manager Tethered to a Nikon Digital SLR
***UPDATE 3/3/2014*** After a few requests for a report on x64 capability using this tethering technique, I tried installing the NK Remote software on a rather fresh copy of Windows 7×64 – it did not communicate with the camera at all. On…
Device automationDSLR CamerasNIS-Elements3 min read
- 07 Feb2011
Fix for Elements v 3.2 and ASI Stages
As anyone who is running NIS Elements v 3.20 + is aware, the ASI stage controllers of any MS-2000 series will not be usable once elements issues a connection command to the controller. Elements will control the stage properly, however the…
ASI StageNIS-ElementsImaging2 min read - 31 Jan2011
Merging multiple channels in Fiji
I had this question asked at my recent Bio-X training, and wanted to provide a thorough answer to it, as this is a common need: Assume we have multiple images, or multiple stacks, and we want to analyze something like the intensity through…
ImageJImagingProgramming3 min read
- 21 Jan2011
BioX Training at Stanford
Welcome Bio-X Course Attendees! Due to it’s utility and ease of providing common tools in a variety of operating system choices, I’ll be running this course using the FIJI build of ImageJ. You can find Fiji here. Please bring the following…
ImageJImagingProgramming1 min read
- 27 Aug2010
Instensity Calibration using a Photostable Light Source
I’m very excited to announce Technical Instruments’ first ever camera-specific calibration product! At left is an image of the CC-560, or Camera calibrator, which emits photons at 560nm. All of the cameras in the microscopy world rely upon…
Device automationImagingNikon3 min read
- 16 Jul2010
SLR cameras for Microscopy
Most of the time, I work with people who need measurable and accurate (quantitative) results from the images they obtain. While this constitutes the bulk of my daily job, there is a much larger group of people using cameras on microscopes…
Device automationDSLR CamerasImaging4 min read - 11 Jun2010
Steve Jobs Explains Back Thinned Chips!
A few of my work colleagues pointed out the well presented positive aspects of larger pixel, back thinned sensors. If anyone has heard me prattle on about this they’ll find it familiar! Fast forward to minute 1:00 for the points on the new…
Imaging1 min read - 17 Apr2010
How to Set Large Icons in Elements
This is useful for large screens that are using very high resolutions. Sometimes the icons are so small as to be hard to click and unreadable. Open Elements and select the View Menu, then Layout, then open the “Layout Manager”. Next select…
NIS-ElementsImagingNikon1 min read
- 05 Mar2010
NIS Elements Stereo Zoom Settings
The Auto-calibration feature in Elements (beginning in version 3.1) is a great thing to have. You simply choose the objective you are working with, the software knows what camera you are running, so the calibration is calculated for you…
NIS-ElementsImagingNikon1 min read - 11 Feb2010
Bio-X Course Follow-up
Thanks to everyone who attended my first course on image processing (and acquisition as it turns out). As promised here are some links: – MBF Tools for ImageJ. This is a suite of processing and analysis tools, provided by the McMaster…
ImageJImaging1 min read - 11 Feb2010
Quick Image Merge in Elements
If you want to merge multiple channels in Elements here is a quick solution: 1. Make sure you have the channel tabs activated. Do this by clicking the Edit menu, then Options. Select the “Appearance” settings. Make sure the “Show Channel…
NIS-ElementsImaging1 min read
- 11 Feb2010
Saving an image as you see it in Elements
If there is one simple question I get during training sessions it’s “How do I save an image, so that I can open it using Photoshop or other programs, and have the image appear exactly as it does in Elements?”. The reasons for this are…
NIS-ElementsImaging1 min read
- 29 Jan2010
Elements release for Lumenera cameras
Here is the latest build for Elements if you are running a Lumenera camera. Follow the directions explicitly if you plan on updating or installing without a local rep available! Download
NIS-ElementsImaging1 min read - 04 Jan2010
Dynamic Graph Output for Elements
Happy New Year! Laura Sysko from Nikon sent us a How-To on outputting live graphs that can be included with a timelapse or other ND file. You can find the How To Here.
NIS-ElementsImagingNikon1 min read - 28 Sep2009
Fluorescent Microscope for a Cellphone?
Believe it or not researchers at UC Berkeley found a way to make it happen. It uses a simple excitation diode and emission system, coupled to a cellphone’s camera. They even have some examples of fluroescence! – Austin
Imaging1 min read