Digital photomicrography

Carl Zeiss presents two new digital cameras for photomicrography in biomedical research: the AxioCam HRm digital camera with optimum resolution, 14 bit digitisation and microscanning feature, and the AxioCam MRm high-resolution, scientific digital camera with 12 bit digitisation.

The technology of the sensitive cameras permits short exposure times. The resulting reduction in exposure to light protects living biological objects and decreases the bleaching of fluorescence specimens.

Furthermore, specimen-protecting fluorescence dyes in near IR can be used, which is particularly beneficial in neurobiology. Short exposure times also mean high speeds for recording sequences such as time-lapse, Z-stacks or multichannel photos.

Further benefits are the possibilities of using contrasting methods such as phase contrast and differential interference contrast and performing live cell imaging and deconvolution examinations.

Other technical innovations include the increased sensor sensitivity, claimed to be by a factor between 1.2x and 1.9x, depending on the wavelength, and the additional increase in light sensitivity in the binning modes by the factor 2.

In the NIR mode, light sensitivity is claimed to be increased by approximately 20%.

The AxioVision software permits complete camera control, synchronised with the microscope. It is also possible to record Z-stacks, multichannel images and time-lapse displays.