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What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 6:31 pm
by keikaname
Hi All,

Could you please advise what magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have? Amazon listing states that it has x40 magnification https://www.amazon.com/AmScope-MD130-Mi ... B005NCBXT2 and indeed image seems closer to that x25 eyepiece gives but somewhat bigger. So should I consider that it's really x40? Does it makes a sense to talk about "camera's magnification" if it doesn't have lens at all?

P.S. AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera has rather poor quality. It was bundled with the microscope and came at super-discounted price but I wouldn't bought it separately and especially at listing price.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 7:14 pm
by MichaelG.
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According to the Amscope website: https://www.amscope.com/1-3-mega-pixel- ... amera.html
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Sensor Size 1/3" format
(4.61mm x 3.69mm)
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Compare those dimensions with the size of the intermediate image, and you can probably convince yourself that it is 40x

MichaelG.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:16 pm
by MicroBob
Hi,
In my view the camera shouldn't have a magnification in itself, it should just pick up the image in the tube. The sensor of this camera is small and without additional optics it will probably always give a tiny crop from the middle of the image. So perhaps one can say that it uses just 1/40th of the available image. :shock:

To find out the size of captured objects one would need an object micrometer or a fine object of known size like a wire. Then one could determine how many pixels equal 1mm.

Bob

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:44 pm
by MichaelG.
MicroBob wrote:
Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:16 pm

The sensor of this camera is small and without additional optics it will probably always give a tiny crop from the middle of the image. So perhaps one can say that it uses just 1/40th of the available image. :shock:
.

That was my impression, Bob

MichaelG.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:52 pm
by MicroBob
Hi Michael,
I wouldn't have expected that somebody would point out this defect as a feature! :lol:
A fairly simple achromatic lens should be able to rectify this problem.

Bob

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:52 pm
by keikaname
x40 digital zoom :D

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:03 pm
by keikaname
So the camera gives an image comparable to one that one would see if he/she looked at x40 eyepiece thus we say that camera has an apparent “magnification” of x40. Got the idea, thank you!

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:22 pm
by Greg Howald
Most digital microscope cameras are close to 40x. I use a 0.5 adaptor lens which makes it close to 20x. Due to the length of the reducing lens it makes apparent 22.5x.
Greg

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:21 pm
by crb5
I use an Amscope 1.3 MP camera and find the apparent magnification is equivalent to nearer 50x. Here is an example. Using a calibration graticule slide, a 10x objective and 10x eyepiece (18mm) I see a field with diameter 1.78 mm diameter (just a bit less than the 1.8 mm expected). The USB camera sees a field of 0.355 mm wide and so "magnifies" the image 1.78/0.355 = 5.01 more than the 10x eyepiece - hence an apparent magnification = 50.1x. Given a chip size of 4.61mm width, one might expect with an intermediate image size of 18mm to have an apparent magnification of 18/4.61 = 3.9x. (or 39x cf. a 10x eyepiece). I presume the discrepancy is due to the active sensor size being a bit smaller than the physical chip size because some of the chip is used to readout the signal. Incidentally, I was disappointed with the image quality when using a 0.5x reduction lens. Given that different microscopes have different ways of sharing optical corrections between objective and eyepieces, any single 0.5x reduction lens cannot match all objectives. I found a better solution, when I really needed to see the whole field, was to attach a 6 mm focal length security camera lens in front of the USB camera and then mount them over the eyepiece lens i.e. the same afocal method when holding an i-phone against the eyepiece. Obviously not optically perfect but adequate when projecting a live plankton image over a Zoom session to a class of students.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 3:15 pm
by keikaname
Thank you crb5!

So you wouldn't recommend to buy reduction lens?

I also came to idea that mounting camera over eyepiece could be a better choice but can't give up the convenience on bundled cam yet.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 1:21 am
by crb5
The Amscope reduction lens adapter I tried (for a Nikon dSLR camera) was via Amazon, so I was able to return it and get a full refund. I have not seen such a separate adapter for a lens-less USB camera, but some USB cameras come with a built-in reduction lens - I haven't tried one of those, but my guess is they cannot work well with every objective, if the latter varies in the type and degree of correction shared with the eyepiece.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 9:25 am
by lucatalbot
Is amscope really worthy to buy for?
I am confused in choosing brand, every brand is claiming itself as market leader.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 7:19 pm
by crb5
Amscope is a distributor for several manufacturers, so quality varies, but in general I think they are good value-for-money and items can be returned if they do not match up to expectation. To follow up on my previous post in this topic, I found a Gosky T2 mount adapter for a 23 mm diameter eyepiece tube which allowed me to mount my Nikon dSLR at the primary image plane of my Amscope 120 microscope and capture the full field seen by the eyepiece. When the center of the image was in focus, the edges were blurred - as a expected for a standard achromat (non-plan) objective lens. So using a cheap lens-less small-sensor USB camera with a cheap achromatic objective is a good combination that produces a satisfactory image although restricted to the central 1/5 of the field diameter. It is certainly good enough for tracking live plankton in water where the optical corrections are compromised and 1.3 MP is usually enough to satisfy the Nyquist resolution limit.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:16 am
by Greg Howald
My experience tells me that the camera magnifies nothing. The image is certainly larger but you don't get more detail with camera image than you see in the eyepiece. You may in fact see the reverse of that with more detail through the eyepiece than through the camera.
Without a reduction lens, the camera image will appear to be between 40 to 50x. With a reduction lens it will look like 20 to 25x. A reduction lens seems to do best with a 10x objective.
But all that is of course just my opinion based upon what I have seen. No two digital cameras are exactly alike. Their tolerance is usually as much as ten percent. That's a huge range and it is one reason why each camera should be calibrated to match each objective lens.
Greg

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2022 6:50 am
by Mush
:) I totally agree with crb5, that it gives 50x magnification. But I wonder why there is no way in the camera settings to adjust the magnification!!!
crb5 wrote:
Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:21 pm
I use an Amscope 1.3 MP camera and find the apparent magnification is equivalent to nearer 50x. Here is an example. Using a calibration graticule slide, a 10x objective and 10x eyepiece (18mm) I see a field with diameter 1.78 mm diameter (just a bit less than the 1.8 mm expected). The USB camera sees a field of 0.355 mm wide and so "magnifies" the image 1.78/0.355 = 5.01 more than the 10x eyepiece - hence an apparent magnification = 50.1x. Given a chip size of 4.61mm width, one might expect with an intermediate image size of 18mm to have an apparent magnification of 18/4.61 = 3.9x. (or 39x cf. a 10x eyepiece). I presume the discrepancy is due to the active sensor size being a bit smaller than the physical chip size because some of the chip is used to readout the signal. Incidentally, I was disappointed with the image quality when using a 0.5x reduction lens. Given that different microscopes have different ways of sharing optical corrections between objective and eyepieces, any single 0.5x reduction lens cannot match all objectives. I found a better solution, when I really needed to see the whole field, was to attach a 6 mm focal length security camera lens in front of the USB camera and then mount them over the eyepiece lens i.e. the same afocal method when holding an i-phone against the eyepiece. Obviously not optically perfect but adequate when projecting a live plankton image over a Zoom session to a class of students.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2022 2:19 pm
by BramHuntingNematodes
The reduction lenses sold by Amscope and omax for around fifty bucks are quite bad. You might look for one from optem or spot. There also have been a few reduction lenses, some examples I know of from B&L and Nikon, that incorporate the eyepiece, basically a fixed afocal jig.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 9:23 pm
by crb5
by Mush » Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:50 pm

:) I totally agree with crb5, that it gives 50x magnification. But I wonder why there is no way in the camera settings to adjust the magnification!!!
The MD130 does not have a built-in reduction lens and its 4.6 mm sensor sits at the primary image plane which has a diameter closer to 18 mm (i.e. as seen by a 10x objective with a field number of 18). So there is no way you can recover the image that fall outside the sensor area. You can increase the magnification digitally, but not decrease it - hence the need for a reduction lens if you want a larger field-of-view.

Re: What magnification does AmScope MD130 1.3MP camera have?

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2022 5:20 am
by MichaelG.
crb5 wrote:
Tue Jul 05, 2022 9:23 pm
- hence the need for a reduction lens if you want a larger field-of-view.
… and please forgive me for mentioning that with a reduction lens, the low pixel-count of the sensor might produce disappointing results !
An interesting comparison might be made [static subjects only] between this and the use of ‘image stitching’

Sorry, I don’t have time at the moment to try this myself.

MichaelG.

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Ref. __ https://youtu.be/XipXRo7iftg