MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Just bought a szm zoomable stereo microscope with trinoccular port. Just for home hobby use. I want to fit a usb compatible camera. Many out there but little info on what will work. Do I need an adapter? It comes with a C mount adapter. Do I need one with a lens? I am thinking 5 Mp is sufficient but correct me if I am wrong. I realise that only determines the output image size and not the quality. Any suggestions or info?

Whether you will need reducing optics for a c-mount camera depends on the size of the sensor. Typically the trinoc ports are set up so a 1" sensor camera will not need any reducing optics, and thus smaller sensors need increasing reduction to capture the whole field of view (.5x for a 1/2" sensor, etc). That is sort of broad but gives an idea. What exact mounting hardware you will need will depend on the scope, though I think it is probable yours uses a standard 23mm to c mount adapter, which are widely available relatively inexpensively.

Thanks. That's a great start. So if I get a 1/3 cmos then I just get a 1/3 reducing lens? I am totally new. I am finding some beautiful things at lower mag and would love to capture them.

Possibly a bit of an ask but does something like this sound okay? It seems to come with a cctv lens as an accessory. Instead from what you say, I would need a 1/3 reducing lens.
14MP Digital C-mount Industry Camera HD Microscope Video Recorder TV USB DVR Lab


Features:

High quality, high resolution, clear images.Small size, light weight, anti-vibration and anti-impact, not affected by the magnetic field.It supports on-screen display, you adapt working parameter to best condition.Magnify fine objects, relieve eye and neck fatigue, improve working efficiency.Suitable for industrial testing, medical micrographics and machine vision, etc.
Specifications:
Plug: US Plug
Voltage: 100-240V
Model: BNC214
Color: Red
Interface type: C
Type: HD
Effective pixels: 1280 x 960
Picture sensor: 1/3 HD high performance processor
TV system: PAL/NTSC
Horizontal definition: 1200 TVL
Min illumination: 0 Lux
SNR: ＞52db
Camma character: 0.45
Gain control: H/L switchable
White balance: ON/OFF
Background fill light: ON/OFF
Video output: 1.0Vp-p composite video signal, 75 Ω (BNC)
Working temperature: -10℃~50℃
Weight: Approx. 334g

Package Included:
1 x Industry Camera
1 x Lens
1 x Power Adapter

1 x Connect Cable


Note: Please kindly make a note if you need any plug adapter

Yeah, a .33x adapter would be ideal, though ones that low are a bit uncommon. It would probably be easier to get a .4x or .5x and live with a bit of cropping in that situation.

That camera is probably fine, though I'd be concerned about what they mran by "effective pixels". You can probably save some money by buying one that doesn't come with a lens, just the camera body.

Thanks again. I am getting an understanding now. To my understanding, effective pixels is true pixels but I could be wrong on that. The price of $56 is what attracted me to that model. They are all over priced in as they are just specialised web cams.

Webcams use similar tech for sure, though the quality of sensor varies a lot in microscope cameras. That said, giving you 1mp and interpolating it to hell to fake 14mp would be particularly bad imo.
50 bucks can get you this 5mp hayear, which seems to actually deliver about 5mp from my brief testing (still waiting on some parts to mount it properly on the scope it's going to live on). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9TCZLV there are probably cheaper options yet.