Not happy with my videos

[Antartica]

hello,

Looking for advice on how to improve the quality of my videos. My videos look unattractive and plain.

Here is one of my videos. I've been recording only in brightfield so far.
https://youtu.be/AVUZBXHFE0U

My setup is:
Olympus bh2 bhs
splan objectives
Canon eos 5d mark 2

I would like my videos to be more dazzling. Here are a few from a youtube channel that I really like.
1) https://youtube.com/shorts/uwF0EU8qYi0?feature=share
2) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/94U3a2Q8SIw
3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W0XMM7 ... =tardibabe

Her setup is a Motic BA310e microscope with an iphone adapter. How is she getting such dazzling and vibrant videos using an iphone?? Specifically:

In video 1) above, why is her brightfield much sharper than mine? Her videos in general have almost no background specks, floaters or noise. How does she do that?
In video 2), how does she achieve that nice black background and such vibrant green for the algae? Also, how does she get the bluish background?
In video 3), how does she produce that sparkle effect? It's beautiful.

In general her videos are sharper, clearer and visually more appealing than mine. I know she's not doing any professional editing, so the footage is coming directly from the microscope. I'm just baffled as to how she's producing such amazing footage.

[imkap]

Hi and welcome,
I have a similar setup to yours and had some success with video, but mostly with darkfield and larger specimen, therefore smaller mag.
I think iPhone and phones in general do some software processing automatically so the colors are more vivid etc.
You should try some video editing on your computer, davinci resolve is free for non commercial use.

I think good slide preparation makes a huge difference, which I think might be a reason why I didn't get very good results at higher magnification. I think a lot depends on the proficiency of the microscopist.

You should also find good actors for your video, some have more interesting colours than others, e.g green euglena...

As for your video I think it is good, the downsides might be a bit lazy actors and the condenser iris might be closed too much to my taste. I think it would look much better if you fiddled with the image on your computer... Camera settings like white balance make a difference too.

I made a very simple darkfield adaptation, you can see the results here and there is a link to the info on the darkfield patches. Darkfield has a much bigger wow factor than BF, as does DIC but DF is much cheaper

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16248&p=127546#p127546

Hope this helps

[smollerthings]

I don't want to throw accusations around without proof but I highly doubt that only a ba310e was involved.

https://youtu.be/5W0XMM7DQ-E?t=108
https://youtu.be/5W0XMM7DQ-E?t=275
All look like DIC

The sparkle is polarizer (+DIC?)

This is the kind of videos "Journey to the Microcosmos" would produce and he uses a freaking expensive DIC setup.

[Phill Brown]

I would suggest there is some excellent use of rheinberg filters as well as dark field.
I don't think it's DIC or polarized.
Phone cameras are well suited to image capture from microscope eyepieces which are already adjusted to compensate for the objective.
Very well chosen subjects separated from the general sludge in a drop of pond water.
Some of the video looks cropped from lower power objective to give much better depth of field.
Good luck with your experiments, it takes perseverance rather than more spending.

[macnmotion]

hello,

Looking for advice on how to improve the quality of my videos. My videos look unattractive and plain.

Here is one of my videos. I've been recording only in brightfield so far.
https://youtu.be/AVUZBXHFE0U

My setup is:
Olympus bh2 bhs
splan objectives
Canon eos 5d mark 2

I would like my videos to be more dazzling. Here are a few from a youtube channel that I really like.
1) https://youtube.com/shorts/uwF0EU8qYi0?feature=share
2) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/94U3a2Q8SIw
3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W0XMM7 ... =tardibabe

Her setup is a Motic BA310e microscope with an iphone adapter. How is she getting such dazzling and vibrant videos using an iphone?? Specifically:

In video 1) above, why is her brightfield much sharper than mine? Her videos in general have almost no background specks, floaters or noise. How does she do that?
In video 2), how does she achieve that nice black background and such vibrant green for the algae? Also, how does she get the bluish background?
In video 3), how does she produce that sparkle effect? It's beautiful.

In general her videos are sharper, clearer and visually more appealing than mine. I know she's not doing any professional editing, so the footage is coming directly from the microscope. I'm just baffled as to how she's producing such amazing footage.

I haven't used my 5D2 for years. I can't recall, are there color profile presets in-camera that can be applied to video? If so, try one of the more vivid profiles. Otherwise, as suggested, you can pop the colors in post processing.

[Javier]

.

[woyjwjl]

I don't want to speculate too much...

But if the colours you see through the eyepiece are different from what your video shows, the

Hell, you're not using an NFK photographic eyepiece, are you?

[viktor j nilsson]

Martin Kaae Kristiansen described his method here:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/Amateur.M ... 725296433/

And yes, tardibabe is very talented, and creates beautiful, informative videos with very simple equipment.

[imkap]

Martin Kaae Kristiansen described his method here:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/Amateur.M ... 725296433/

And yes, tardibabe is very talented, and creates beautiful, informative videos with very simple equipment.

This is great, another cheap method with great results Just what I'm looking for. Thanks, I'll certainly try...

[EYE C U]

Screen Shot 2022-10-23 at 12.57.54 PM.png (437.96 KiB) Viewed 8360 times

Fix it in post production.

[Javier]

.

[Antartica]

I don't want to speculate too much...

But if the colours you see through the eyepiece are different from what your video shows, the

Hell, you're not using an NFK photographic eyepiece, are you?

Yes, I’m using nfk 1.67. Why does that matter?

And I’ve worked with da Vinci resolve before. But I don’t think she’s doing much editing herself. So I thought maybe I could buy whatever filter or attachment she has :p I’m not sure I could edit my videos to look like hers because it looks like she has a polarizer? Is there one for the bh2 that anyone has experience with?

And other ideas are welcome. I’ll try fiddling with camera settings etc. but how to get the sparkle effect

[Dennis]

My AmScope camera software has a few things like "White Balance" etc...

The camera (USB) costs less than 150.

I get okay things but no "sparkle."

Big difference between microscopes costing in the hundreds and microscopes costing in the thousands of dollars.
I personally have greater financial things to worry about than saving and spending that kind of money to get pretty pics and videos of water microbes
So I think you have to realize things.

You could probably up your images a little with a camera that comes with software. Repeat "a little" not like DIC polarizing etc... That costs $$$$

Looking at your video, and I am no expert, I would suggest messing with the light and diaphragm, looks like a light issue. The last video you show of what results you wish for is beyond my two microscopes. That is $$$ to get that !

-Dennis

[Phill Brown]

I'm confident it's not polarised but would be happy to be corrected.
I have played with polarizing but don't see why it's needed to boost contrast and colour.

[Dubious]

Whether in the post production processing or not, Tardibabe's results are impressive.

"All videos were taken with my iPhone mounted on a BA310E Motic microscope with an @ilabcam adapter "

Ilabcam's LabCam adapter exists and looks quite nice (for iPhone users), if a bit more expensive than the usual $20 cellphone adapter...

https://www.ilabcam.com/

https://www.amazon.com/iDu-Optics-Micro ... B00O98AHH0

[Scarodactyl]

I don't want to throw accusations around without proof but I highly doubt that only a ba310e was involved.

https://youtu.be/5W0XMM7DQ-E?t=108
https://youtu.be/5W0XMM7DQ-E?t=275
All look like DIC

The sparkle is polarizer (+DIC?)

This is the kind of videos "Journey to the Microcosmos" would produce and he uses a freaking expensive DIC setup.

She has said she uses obliqie to get these kinda of results. It could be, well tuned oblique can be very good.

[xioz]

I know she's not doing any professional editing

Depends what you mean by this, but an amateur can get professional results quite easily these days, though it often takes more (a lot for a beginner like me!) time. There is obviously some editing as some of the music is coordinated with the cuts (in the second short for example) so why not colour & contrast adjustment as well? Most people are happy with this as it generally enhances the imagery and at this scale you can argue that there is no 'one' true depiction of reality anyway, unlike normal photo/videography which can get close to capturing our own visual experience of a scene.

From comments here on the forum, it sounds like slide preparation can be an artform, getting the right coverslip height above the slide so there is less out-of-focus material above and below your specimen, isolating and even transferring individual specimens to separate slides etc Some of the reference books mentioned in this forum have prefaces on some techniques, but it seems many people develop their own too. No wonder people use humidity chambers to keep slides after all the prep! I am hoping a darkfield mod to my microscope will 'hide' some of my lazy/impatient/bad slide prep!

Also could be from equipment as well as some have said above. I had a persistent colour vague blob on my footage that I eventually tracked down to a tiny scratch on my (phone) camera lens coating. It only affected micro photos with a particular objective magnification.

[Antartica]

Thanks everyone for the answers. Things I will attempt based on your advice

I will try my best to prepare my sample as best I can. Also, I will play around with my camera settings especially white balance and color profiles. I should also try post processing edits to make it fancier. Lastly, investigate other techniques like dark field, oblique and perhaps polarized.

Regarding the last point has anyone done polarized on an Olympus bh2. What kind of result’s did you get and what equipment is necessary? Some sample images to look at would be nice to see what is possible on a bh2.

[Dubious]

However she is doing it, the results speak for themselves. I need to learn how to do post editing. Is davinci resolve the best software to use?

[xioz]

However she is doing it, the results speak for themselves. I need to learn how to do post editing. Is davinci resolve the best software to use?

Apparently it is, I just started using it. Professionals use it, but it free for personal use but limited with fps output and a couple of other things.
They say it is no harder to use then other software with the same features, but it does take time to get your head around how it works and the interface can be confusing.

Fortunately there are many short Youtube videos explaining how to use particular features as it is very popular.

[xioz]

Thanks everyone for the answers. Things I will attempt based on your advice

I will try my best to prepare my sample as best I can. Also, I will play around with my camera settings especially white balance and color profiles. I should also try post processing edits to make it fancier. Lastly, investigate other techniques like dark field, oblique and perhaps polarized.

Regarding the last point has anyone done polarized on an Olympus bh2. What kind of result’s did you get and what equipment is necessary? Some sample images to look at would be nice to see what is possible on a bh2.

Keep posting here with your results/experiments, I would love to see the changes. I am on a similar journey, but my time is limited so it takes ages to get a video up. Plus there are people here that have a much better eye for these things, that take me several views to even notice, but stands out to them!

Have you looked at http://www.alanwood.net/olympus/ website? I would start with the manuals for finding the accessories for polarization: http://www.alanwood.net/olympus/downloads.html

[WWWW]

There are many video editing programs.
Personally I use Shotcut, it's easy, simple, lots of instruction videos and totally freeware.

[woyjwjl]

I don't want to speculate too much...

But if the colours you see through the eyepiece are different from what your video shows, the

Hell, you're not using an NFK photographic eyepiece, are you?

Yes, I’m using nfk 1.67. Why does that matter?

Oh, if you use the correct NFK photographic eyepiece, the camera should reflect the same color as the eyepiece

On the other hand, if you see this kind of dim color in the eyepiece, you should first solve the problems other than photography, rather than looking for cameras or even post-processing problems, right?

[LouiseScot]

Lots of things to consider - especially lighting, including Kohler adjustment if you have it, contrast enhancement techniques, having good quality objectives (obv Apo are usually best), the camera setup and camera you use, a proper darkfield condenser is best for darkfield, post-processing - and not forgetting the detail and application of sample prep. The list goes on, I'm sure! It's like when you see some of the superb macrophotographs skilled people produce - it takes the right equipment, practice and attention to detail.
I've been working on my imaging skills for years, but I still struggle to get things right. If only it was all just point and shoot! C'est la vie!

Louise

[Chas]

Antartica, you havent had some condensation deposit and dry on the front glass of your objective?
As it looks as if there is a light overlay of soft light on your video reducing its contrast ..in older microscopes this can often be caused by deposit of 'dry fog' on the internal surfaces of the eyepiece.
If you want to do a quick check, rest the (projection) eyepiece upside down on the light on your mobile phone and look at the lens glass obliquely ..if there is 'dry fog' it should show up.
You can use the same method to look at the surfaces of lower powered objectives.
I use the term 'dry fog' as it is not like a wet refractive fogging that you might get on spectacles... its more like a covering of fine flour.
-It isnt the easiest stuff to remove as it tends to form a slime that you can end up pushing around the lens surface for quite a while

[Scarodactyl]

I have a pretty superb Nikon E800 with DIC and a couple nice objectives. I still have no idea what I'm doing with prepping or shooting live subjects and my videos aren't good as a result.

[woyjwjl]

Show a picture（Pediastrum duplex ） I shot a while ago, just to illustrate, even for professional (normal?) This is necessary for microscopes.

[Antartica]

Show a picture（Pediastrum duplex ） I shot a while ago, just to illustrate, even for professional (normal?) This is necessary for microscopes.

How did you capture that? What equipment did you use? That’s what I want to achieve!

[woyjwjl]

OLYMPUS BHS Splan40 DIC kit

Overlay by 10 image focal points, no post-processing except cutting

NFK 5.0 photographic eyepiece
U-PMTVC adapter
Panasonic GH4 camera

[Dennis]

I think Chas hit it. Get some lens wipes and some isopropyl achohol 70% and clean the haze film off eye pieces, lenses.

-Dennis