some of my first Canon 600D images

Litonotus · Post by **Litonotus** » Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:10 pm

No one said it would be easy (;

I placed the camera on my old Motic scope on 50/50 tri head (not enough of light of course) and a 4x phototube - I know, that's too much and gives empty magnification that is very noticeable; no image is really sharp.

PZO achromats 10x and 20x and the universal filter.

zeiss gf planapo works really good here, and gives quite sharp images.

zeiss oil planapo 40/1.0 works good but I expected more (I still remember great Nikon CFN Plan Apo 40/0,95)

arturoag75 · Post by **arturoag75** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 1:45 am

great pics, did you shot in RAW mode?

Cactusdave · Post by **Cactusdave** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:34 am

I think that the last two images are very good, but need a little processing to let the detail that has been captured really shine through. The second from last image, which I guess is of appendages from the water flea, benefits from a little contrast enhancement and sharpening to my mind. The last image benefits from correction of the yellowish colour cast, a little reduction in jpeg noise and some sharpening and increase in colour saturation. Usual health warnings, all post processing is subjective, and results that delight some, dismay others. It is easy to overdo image processing and end up with a caricature of the original image. End of warning.

If you like I can post my edits.

Generally you may find that DSLR images need a little more work to get the best from them than you are used to. Shooting in RAW is an option worth considering if you don't currently use it as it gives you more options to correct incorrect exposure and colour temperature.

I wonder also about the degree of compatibility of the objective lenses you are using with the Motic microscope internal optics and the quality of the X4 photoeyepiece. The question of the suitability, exact positioning and quality of the photoeyepiece becomes critical when you are depending on it to relay the image to the DSLR sensor. How close to parfocal with the visual eyepieces have you managed to get your camera/photoeyepiece? How sharp does the image look when viewed on the DSLR screen?

Litonotus · Post by **Litonotus** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 5:39 am

I have no experience in editing RAW files.

I say the less you process the better (: And as we in Poland say -"you can't make a sh*tmade whip", so when the image is not sharp you may make it a bit sharper by processing but not razor sharp

here is an example of almost all I can do in PS

I have done couple of things here, much more than levels or brightness contrast adjustments; it's in my opinion a bit overprocessed now. I can't install Topaz plugins (they do not work on portable PS).

here is a 1:1 crop - it is not sharp at all. It is not sharp on the LCD view too, so I thing the phototube causes that. This is a hybrid set PZO condenser>Zeiss objectives>chinese phototube. I have no possibility to try direct projection now.

How close to parfocal with the visual eyepieces have you managed to get your camera/photoeyepiece?

they are 99% parafocal.

You may post my photos edited (:

Cactusdave · Post by **Cactusdave** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:24 am

I appreciate your point Litonotus. In English we have lots of versions of that saying, some polite and some definitely not. A really polite one is 'you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's (pig's) ear'

However, I don't think your pictures are that bad. I respect your quest for perfect sharpness. I think the main problem may be the X 4 phototube. If there is a possibility of replacing that it may produce worthwhile improvement. Could you post a picture of the phototube and trinocular on the Motic?

Here are my edits. The edit of the crustacean appendages ended up looking quite similar to yours. I used Photoshop Elements 7, with Topaz DeNoise 5 and Topaz Detail 2. Most of the Topaz effects can be replicated in Photoshop with Sharpening and Curves tools if you play around enough, but Topaz pulls the best tweaks together into a convenient package.

I hope you don't think those are too much over processed for your taste.

I have corrected colour, reduced jpeg noise a little and boosted micro contrast and sharpness.

I really like the crustacean appendages image. It has a curious abstract quality. It reminds me of an impression fossil in rock somehow and the colour is beautiful.

Litonotus · Post by **Litonotus** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:38 am

there IS a difference (: thank you (: imagine how good they could be when the basic image was better...

they are not overprocessed (:

I can not replace the 4x phototube now, I will try to do something but now I do not want to pump more money into my old scope...

I will post a photo of that Motic set when our polish forum is back. I can not do it now because I permanently deleted that image from my computer /:

I love english sayings (: