I started with a HyperVCam Mobile from Aiptek
that I picked up for £30. Any
web camera should be fine although the more expensive ones are likely
to have higher quality sensors that will work better in low light. In
the past I've founf black and white cameras to produce better quality
images. It should also be possible to do the
same thing with a video camera circuit such as those from Maplin
(around £40 for grey and £80 for colour) if you want to get
TV video
output rather than PC connectivity.
Inside the casing is a little circuit with a lens unit that
unscrews to reveal the CMOS chip. This camera contains the near-IR
filter within the lens assembly so it cannot be used separately in the
eyepiece version.
The two inter-locking base elements (green bits here) from some twist
connectors made suitable spacers for the
circuit board to fit into a Maplin project case.
One half was glued to the case, the other half to the circuit board so
that the board would slot comfortably in place but still be easily
removed if necessary.
Here is the camera re-housed in a case that makes it easier
to get access to the internals and play around with lens adaptors. As
you can see from the picture the lens mounting around the CMOS sensor
was not removed. This enables the original lens to be screwed in to
turn the device back temporarily into a webcam, although there's no
reason why it can't be removed to get the sensor closer to front of the
housing.
Finally, a hole was drilled in the cover and glued on an adaptor that
allows the unit to be attached the to the micoscope. The tube was the
hardest piece to find - I ended up buying a second hand eye-piece
without the optics for a fiver.
The final item. To be used on a microscope lack of near IR filter has
to be
addressed
.
dylski @ 2ne1 . com - Last Updated: 10th November, 2008
