Top Tier vs Mid Range DSLR Cameras

[micro]

I've been looking up DSLR cameras to buy for making videos and found this website with a list of what they think the best cameras for microscopy are:
https://www.lmscope.com/en/Camera_Ranking_en.html
https://www.lmscope.com/en/camera_for_m ... on_en.html

It lists a $4,000 sony a9 camera as #1 I can technically afford this but cripes I might as well try and save for a million dollar electron microscope at this point

Is this an accurate list? I am probably going to buy an Olympus BX40 from someone soon and also will be getting a new camera with a budget of $1,000 to $2,000 maybe $3,000.
If I do get the Olympus BX40 does it make sense to get an Olympus brand camera to pair with an Olympus brand camera adapter?
I already have a lumix g85 micro 4/3 camera but I want to take really high quality pictures and video.
From what I've read the sensor/pixel size and quality is more important than pixel count.
How big of a difference for microscopy would there be with a $1400 Canon EOS 6D Mark II and a $2800 Sony a7R III Mirrorless Camera or the $4,000 sony a9?

$1400 Canon EOS 6D Mark II:
26.2 Megapixel Full frame CMOS Sensor
Optical Viewfinder with a 45 point All Cross type AF System. Compatible Lenses: Canon EF lenses (excluding EF S and EF M lenses)
Dual Pixel CMOS AF with Phase detection & Full HD 60p
DIGIC 7 Image Processor, ISO 100 40000. GPS, Wi Fi, NFC and Bluetooth low energy

$2800 Sony a7R III:
42.4 MegaPixel
INCREDIBLE DETAIL: Shoot high speed subjects at up to 10fps with continuous, accurate AF/AE tracking
OPTIMAL LIGHT: A back illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor with gapless on chip lens collects more light. Operating Temperature: 32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit / 0 to 40 degrees Celsius
FASTER IMAGE PROCESSING: An updated BIONZ X processing engine boosts processing speeds up to 1.8x
STUNNING HD VIDEO: Sony Alpha 7R 3 mirror less cameras record clear 4K video for editing and viewing.Bluetooth Standard Ver. 4.1 (2.4GHz band)

Would be nice to have a camera that shoots those 4k slow motion clips for videos of a vorticella contracting or whatever

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Mirrorless- ... 361&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076TGDHPT/?c ... dp_it&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072MZCJKN/?c ... _lig_dp_it

Here is an Olympus camera that ranks #24 in that list for $1800 but like I said I don't know if pairing camera brands with adapter brands is much of a factor. Come to think of it I'm not even sure the Olympus cameras are the same company as the microscope Olympus company.

https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-OM-D-Mar ... =1-10&th=1

[Scarodactyl]

LMscope is a good place to start but I don't think they're all that rigorous, and I wouldn't necessarily take their ratings as extremely accurate. Better to use it as a reference while looking out for the specs that matter most for your work.
A lot of features that make a camera nicer for normal usage (and thus more expensive) are not that relevant for microscope usage.
You don't need to worry about camera brand vs microscope brand matching.

[MicroBob]

The microscope image's information content vearies with the magnification. Fpr a 100:1 oil immersion objective only a couple of MP are needed to capture all that is in the image. The sensor format of the camera is an equivalent of the light capturing ability. As long as there is plenty light there is no need for an especially big sensor. M43 would do nicely.
The lmscope list lacks the most important information: Does the camera have a fully vibration free shutter release? Mirror slap is not acceptable anyway, but many cameras close their shutter and reopen it before exposure and introduce virbation when it is least wanted. The needed feature is EFSC, electronic first shutter curtain, and Lmscope doesn't seem to care for it.
Apart from EFCS you should think about how to fine focus, how to release, ergonomic handling, data writing speed (for stacking), tethering to a PC or tablet or phone or not at all? Also a part of the selection process is the actual adaptation - you want the whole image covered but preferably no black corners.

Canon, Sony and Olympus have had good micro cameras in their lineup over the years but not all model qualify. Other makers too had a few good micro cameras.

Bob

[jfiresto]

I do not know the microscope this is for, but I suspect investing more in a "prime lens" and less in the camera body will win you much better images. The micro four thirds Panasonic G85 is already more than good enough to make the microscope and the photo adapter the limiting factors – if you are not attentive and careful. The inexpensive microscope photo adapters you can buy, for example, are largely not at all careful.

I am running into this issue, myself, with fairly low numerical aperture, stereo microscopes. If I were in your shoes, I would first improve the microscope and adapter until they show up the camera body, then upgrade the body. By then, the body you can buy may be beyond what you can now imagine.

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

[Hobbyst46]

Some comments.
1. The optics of the BX40 microscope are infinity corrected, so there is no compensating eyepiece. Either afocal setup or focal (direct projection) setup is possible. In the latter case, only a camera body is needed, not a camera lens.
2. Superb images can be achieved from afocal setup, based on "obsolete" 40mm or 50mm manual prime camera lenses.
2. Superb images can be achieved from 12MP cameras. As often shown on this forum.
3. Remote control from a laptop/PC is an important feature of the camera.
4. Auto focusing is irrelevant, since focusing is done with the microscope and not the camera.

[75RR]

I do not know the microscope this is for, but I suspect investing more in a "prime lens" and less in the camera body will win you much better images. The micro four thirds Panasonic G85 is already more than good enough to make the microscope and the photo adapter the limiting factors – if you are not attentive and careful. The inexpensive microscope photo adapters you can buy, for example, are largely not at all careful.

I am running into this issue, myself, with fairly low numerical aperture, stereo microscopes. If I were in your shoes, I would first improve the microscope and adapter until they show up the camera body, then upgrade the body. By then, the body you can buy may be beyond what you can now imagine.

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

Agree with jfiresto. Put your money into your microscope/objectives. The camara after all can only capture what you image with the microscope.

Also you do not necessarily need to buy new (big savings to be had on practically unused secondhand cameras) and you may not need it to come with a lens either, body only might suit you better.


As an aside (and talking about microscopes) the Olympus BX40 does not have an interchangeable nosepiece, which limits its upgradability.

There is an adapter one can get to solve that, but you might want to look into the price and availability first.

[blekenbleu]

If I do get the Olympus BX40 does it make sense to get an Olympus brand camera to pair with an Olympus brand camera adapter?

No. Have you read this: viewtopic.php?t=8324
A PE 2.5x projection lens is wanted for color correction matched to BX40 objectives and tube lens, to get red, green and blue light rays simultaneously in focus.
Beyond that, a DSLR wants (by any other name) Live View (for best focus), silent shutter and remote trigger (to reduce vibrations).
M42 and/or so-called T2 adapters are available for nearly any DSLR lens mounts.
T2 adapters are more likely to have set screws, for rotating and fixing camera body at desired orientation after adapter threads are tight.

Be aware than many DSLRs support 4K video only for a crop of still image sensor.
My experience has been that changing spacing between projection lens and camera body
changes sensor fill without appreciably impacting image quality.

[Scarodactyl]

Just as a sidenote, the pe projectives are not compensating. Olympus infinity objectives are entirely corrected in-objective (aside from the infinity metallurgical objectives from the BH2 era which use the same corrections as oyhers in the series).