DIY Digital Camera Microscope Adapters

DIY Digital Camera Microscope Adapters

Making Digital Camera Microscope Adapters

Richard J Kinch, PhD
Last updated: December, 2011.

This page describes the custom adapters I make to fit a variety of cameras, microscopes, and medical instruments. I engineer and fabricate these adapters personally using my own CAD facility, optical engineering laboratory, machine shop, and electronics workbench. For most of these simpler mechanical adapters, I charge $175 to $375 (USD), depending on the complexity. Adapters incorporating optical elements are more complex and typically cost $500 to $950, including the optical elements. Complete kits for medical and scientific instruments, with custom mechanical, optical, and electronic components, range from $800 to $6000. Old and new optical instruments are thereby fitted into the modern age of digital imaging.

Besides the mechanical attachment, these adapters apply one of several optical principles to couple the camera to the microscope, including:

Afocal (through the normal eyepiece to inexpensive small-format digital cameras)
Focal (from a photoport to lensless digital SLR cameras)
Focal (from a photoport to small-format digital cameras via a relay lens)
Afocal (through a custom photo-eyepiece for large-lensed digital cameras)

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Digital Microscope Camera Adapter
An inexpensive way to enhance your scope!


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