Hello! In an earlier Micscape article I described my trials with a 'JamC@m 2' web camera when used with a microscope bought for a few dollars at a yard sale. I have enclosed some additional pictures for everybody to view. The pictures include a shot of an Aphaenogaster species ant and a small wasp. I also include two un-retouched photos of the wasp from the camera i.e. with no color correction. (The quality has degraded a bit because of the high jpeg compression which I need to e-mail images on my slow modem.) But I hope they give an idea as to what to expect from the 'JamC@m 2'.
The pictures do initially come out with a reddish hue. (I think this has something to do with indoor lighting. My other indoor shots also come out reddish; especially close-up shots.) This can easily be corrected using software such as 'Paint Shop Pro' or 'Photoshop'. Color correction before taking the image is recommended for those with access to photographic filters. But good results can be achieved using image software alone.
To capture the images I simply hand held the camera over the microscope eyepiece and took the shot. One nice thing about the 'JamC@m 2' is its light weight, and weighs just a tad more than a standard nine volt battery. One could probably tape the camera to the 'scope, or perhaps support it with 'Plasticene' or modeling clay. Hence avoiding the need to build an elaborate camera mounting system.
Comments to the author David Young welcomed.
Image gallery by the author.
(Editor's note: to fit in the web page, the author's master 640x480 images have been resized and sharpened a little to correct softness introduced by resizing. Some tonal balance adjustments have also been made. The first five images have been colour corrected by the author in software. Vignetting does occur in the masters but where the image can be cropped this has been done.)
Aphaenogaster sp. ant |
Beetle leg |
Beetle leg detail |
Bee wings |
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Image left: red ant. Images below. Wasp detail. Lefthand images have been colour corrected in software, righthand images have been uncorrected for colour balance. |
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Image left, colour corrected
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