Any experience of ebay Chinese 5MP microscope eyepiece camera? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2019, 09:06:03 pm
content: Hi All,I've been looking at ways of capturing still images from my Amscope style (actually it's a Meiji) stereo microscope. I started out looking at ordinary cheap usb microscopes and then realized that I already have something substantial with stable focus, so moved on to thinking about eyepiece ones.I considered a Bresser 2MP one which is on Black Friday sale but comments suggest that it gives a magnification of approximately x20, which would be too high (I use x10 eyepieces and a x1 objective).The next ones I have found at 'economical' price are the Chinese 5MP ones on ebay. eg:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5MP-USB-Camera-Microscope-Digital-Eyepiece-Video-CMOS-Industrial-0-5X-Adapter-UK/173995544673Please read nothing into 'Chinese' other than that they clearly come from China and have Chinese text on them!The cameras include a x0.5 barlow lens adapter and 30.5mm adapter, the only problem is that none of the listings quote the likely effective magnification when inserted in the eyepiece hole. There are also concerns about the S/W that comes with them and whether they would be recognised without it, or useable with something else.I've checked for reviews, YouTube and otherwise, but all I've turned up is a guy unpacking one and a couple of sellers turning one over in their hands, not very illuminating... nobody using one or views of the S/W.So, the question... does anyone around here actually own one? If so, what magnification do you get, what are the image quality and UI like?Thanks,Chris

author: sn4k3
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2019, 11:47:29 pm
content: It seens very cheap to be any good. Look this:Transmission rate: 30fps@640X480; 15fps@ 1280X1024; 5fps@ 2592x1944The low res 640X480 @ 30fps, it will not be smooth, you will see the image with lot of ghosting. 15fps and lower is a joke and not usable.I recently put on sell a good camera for amscope with c-mount:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/fs-(eu)-microscope-1080p-60fps-hdmiusb-camera-0-35x-len-adaptor/Don't want to push a sell, but if you want some quality i think those cameras are the way to go, look at price and specs of a proper camera and compare with that crappy camera.My 50cents: if you buy that cheap camera at 40£ i think you will end using it as a papper weight.If you want proper test: render a video with 640X480 @ 30fps with your pc, then you will realize. Plus keep in mind that sensor quality will record video like stone age phonesEDIT:Didn't notice you want still images, in that case fps are not a problem, but don't expect good looking images. Also ask seller if that adaptor can be mount on your scope, otherwise you will have a very bad time

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 29, 2019, 12:11:23 am
content: Some pics of the software here.And some reviews to read throughhttps://www.aliexpress.com/item/32741153822.htmlWhen it comes to things like this the hardware probably wont be that bad for still images.You just have a raw image sensor capturing data so there is no lens quality to worry about.Lens quality is one of the main reasons cheap cameras look bad. (plastic lenses etc..)It's the software that usually lets you down on cheap gear like this. However being a USB camera you're not forced to use their software.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 29, 2019, 09:21:23 am
content: Many thanks guys.@sn4k3:Yes, stills only (that I can think of anyway) which relaxes the demandsa lot(apart from optics) The good thing is that the camera itself has just a plain window, so the only lenses would be in the x0.5 barlow attachment. I could maybe look for a better one later on.You're right 5MP is a lot for something that cheap - hence my original question.Thanks for the reminder about your listing, sadly outside my price range - or at least what I could justify for very occasional use. My microscope is just a stereo (no camera port) so anything I use will get 'shoved down an eyepiece hole' (yes it does come with the appropriate 30 and 30.5mm adapters)@Psi:Many thanks for the link, the reviews don't look bad. Lenses in the X0.5 attachment might be plastic but are the only ones, as you say.The s/w pics are very helpful - that S-EYE s/w actually looks ok (at least all the text is in English), it looks easy enough to drive, has White balance adjustment etc. which would be all I need. As you say though, I could always just install the driver (if needed) and use something else. It looks as if the sensor is a Micron one.Thanks again both, I'm not going to rush into it just yet, but for stills use only It looks like a runner.I still don't have a definitive answer on equivalent (to eyepiece) magnification. Working on the basis of the Bresser having a pixel size of 3x3um and apparently giving a magnification of x20 or slightly higher, the 5MP one, with 2.2x2.2um and a x0.5 lens looks like it might come out somewhere in the vicinity of x10.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 29, 2019, 10:56:44 am
content: From what I have read on a few microscopy forums, the bigger challenge may be the eyepiece relay lens. The inexpensive ones tend to be pretty poor.If by hook or by crook, you can set up a C-mount photo port for a one-inch sensor, you can attach a used and quite economical, micro four thirds camera, and shoot pretty decent stills. If you like, I can post an image of "decent".For the scheme to work, however, you would need a good relay lens: to pull the image out of the eyepiece tube and project it on to the camera sensor. Or an attachment adding a third photo tube to the microscope, plus c-mount, if the microscope supports that. A third tube would be the most pleasant solution.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 29, 2019, 05:38:56 pm
content: Thanks jfiresto,Yes, I suspected that might be the case, I will look around and see what is available in the way of relay lens C-mount adapters. I'm not sure how much cost will become an issue though - I need occasional 'good enough - probably mostly to post on here anyway!Unfortunately my microscope was never intended to take an additional camera port. It has vertical eyepieces too, not angled. I much prefer to angle the whole body so that I get an angled view of the work - less straight-on reflections and better depth of field without constantly adjusting the focus.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 29, 2019, 06:29:26 pm
content: I wish you the best of luck. I keep reading reports of people buying inexpensively manufactured relay lenses that produce worse images then with an afocal setup, where you carefully hold a camera with a small image sensor and a short focal point lens, above a high eye point eyepiece, and capture the image that was meant for an eye.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2019, 12:35:15 pm
content: Attached is a picture I took with an aged, 2 megapixel Sony U30 Minox-style camera, with a small sensor and a cellphone-flat lens. It is cropped and only slightly shrunk from the heavily compressed JPEG out of the camera.It is the best of three tries, where I held the camera over a Zeiss 10X/23 high eyepoint eyepiece and gently squeezed the shutter. As you can see from the unevenly lit background, I was a bit off axis. I am sure you could do better with a modern, higher resolution camera and a fixture to steady and place the camera exactly over the eyepiece.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2019, 01:25:44 pm
content: That's an impressively detailed image for 2MP.Time to do some experimenting before further outlay in that case. The microscope is already fitted with high eyepoint eyepieces (I wear glasses). My camera also has a selectable 2 second shutter delay option to avoid shake on macro shots. A mini tripod might even serve as a suitable fixture.Thanks for the encouragement.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2019, 04:09:55 pm
content: Acouplelinksthat might give some ideas. The seller the first link mentions isstill on ebay.