Images from HD Video

LSRasmussen · Post by **LSRasmussen** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 10:03 am

Earlier this year I got lucky. Very lucky ! I've been on the lookout for a DIC capable microscope for over a year and out of the blue a biological Polyvar 2 with DIC came up for sale here in Denmark. The scope was in very good condition (the seller was a retired Leitz/Leica repairman) and it came with documentation. The price was right, actually half the price of a similar Zeiss on sale in Germany, so I took the chance. It's a wonderful piece of technology. I love working with it and I am already getting good results. So, back to the topic !

Due to the nature of the Polyvar's photo relay optics (Made for Yashica) it was impossible for me to get a Nikon camera par focal on the darn thing. So I had to get a Canon which I purchased before I was aware of the quiet shutter issue. Yes, I got a 60D... Bugger. Not that there is a big problem with shaking (this is due to the very robust construction of the Polyvar) however it is an issue. Consequently I started using the HD video mode and experimenting with extracting frames from the video as still images. By using VLC's Take Snapshot function I managed to make the image below. Obviously this is an subject that is almost immovable which helps but I still thing the quality of the images one can obtain from HD video footage is remarkable. By the way, this is 3 frames stitched together vertically in Photoshop. I only had to repair the corners (background.. yes I suck at using Photoshop for retouching ;-)).

Dead Philodina & Haematococcus Pluvialis

Full resolution can be found here
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3 ... directlink

I'm very pleased with the video quality I get from the Canon 60D but as the Polyvar's Photo relay optics is made for full frame, I think I'll have to get a 5D mark II to replace the 60D. That should capture allmost the full view of the Polyvar.

Lastly, I've setup a Youtube channel for the videos I shoot. Let me know what you think.

//Lars
Videos : http://www.youtube.com/Polyvar2

Pau · Post by **Pau** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 10:26 am

Congrats for your new big toy

The videos are very nice.
If you can adapt a flash it will be nice both to supress vibration and to freeze subjets.

LSRasmussen · Post by **LSRasmussen** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:25 am

Pau,

Thanks, I'm really over the moon. Never expected to own a microscope of this caliber. I just hope I can learn to get the most out of it. I have tried to implement a flash function by modifying the built in Halogen setup, but it did not live up to my expectations. This was due to the compact way the illumination system is implemented. Currently I'm looking into a LED solution where the LED also functions as a flash (like in a mobile). However, this is not easy to implement. If anybody out there are looking into something similar, get in touch.

So, for now I use the Video function to capture details and then extracting the images via VLC.

Another 2 samples. The first is 2 frames combined. The second is a single frame.

Unknown

Live Philodina

And to end this post, an image of my new toy !

//Lars

curt0909 · Post by **curt0909** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:32 am

That's a great piece of equipment and giving you excellent photos and videos. Judging by the the photos it dwarfs my Reichert Diastar. I look forward to seeing more photos and videos from you.

LSRasmussen · Post by **LSRasmussen** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:38 am

Thanks Curt,

I expect to upload a few more this coming weekend. Got some interesting specimens from a saltwater sample last weekend.

And yes, it's a big microscope. Fully equipped it's about 45 kg.

//Lars