Celestron Handheld Digital Microscope Pro

[ray_parkhurst]

One issue I'm having is that it's hard to focus the scope due to the flexibility of the mounting post, combined with the stiffness of the focusing block. I think this will improve if I can loosen the focus block, but for now it's sort of trial and error. Focus best you can, then let go of the knob, then re-focus a bit, and repeat until you get the shot in best focus.


Edited to add:

I found out why it was so tight...the focus knob was all the way CW, which was "locked". I turned it all the way CCW and now it is very reasonable. The post is still pretty flexible so I'll need to look into how to stiffen it.

[VAB2013]

I tried shooting with my usual Jansjo LED lights, and it became quickly obvious that the scope is heavily-optimized for white balance using the on-board LEDs. These LEDs have low R and very high B, so the R channel is cranked up and B is suppressed. When trying to use a Jansjo, which is a "warm" LED with lots of R, the R channel is driven to saturation. I must conclude it's not possible to white balance using the Jansjos. The best you can do is using the internal LEDs and adjust white balance manually with a gray reference, then use those settings to adjust levels on each image. That's what I did with the images above.

Ray, I'm going to need some help with this explanation... it just went "woof" over my head LOL! If we only knew half of what you know! I know you said you were going to try to remove the LED's and replace with a diffuser maybe after that is done I will understand this process better. So, there is no way to adjust software settings for Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Hue, Saturation, Sharpness and Exposure? Not a White Balance (Red/Blue) setting adjustment?

[VAB2013]

One issue I'm having is that it's hard to focus the scope due to the flexibility of the mounting post, combined with the stiffness of the focusing block. I think this will improve if I can loosen the focus block, but for now it's sort of trial and error. Focus best you can, then let go of the knob, then re-focus a bit, and repeat until you get the shot in best focus.


Edited to add:

I found out why it was so tight...the focus knob was all the way CW, which was "locked". I turned it all the way CCW and now it is very reasonable. The post is still pretty flexible so I'll need to look into how to stiffen it.

Yay! That's a good thing, better than my idea of WD-40!

[jfines69]

Ray,
On the 3D image you were unable to balance the image out using the smoothness adjustment???

[ray_parkhurst]

Ray, I'm going to need some help with this explanation... it just went "woof" over my head LOL! If we only knew half of what you know! I know you said you were going to try to remove the LED's and replace with a diffuser maybe after that is done I will understand this process better. So, there is no way to adjust software settings for Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Hue, Saturation, Sharpness and Exposure? Not a White Balance (Red/Blue) setting adjustment?

Correct, there is no adjustment for any parameters at all. I think that's probably the main limitation of this scope. They have optimized the white balance best they could for the particular LED's they selected. These LEDs are very blue, with very little red. The Jansjos are well-balanced, but with more red than blue, so when you use them with the scope, the built-in white balance makes the image bright red. Unfortunately, since the exposure is also optimized for the on-board LEDs, the red is over-exposed, so it's impossible to white balance after taking the image.

Bottom line I don't see any way to make this work with different lighting, so I don't see a reason to remove the on-board LEDs. Without white balance and exposure adjustments, that's the best you can do.

[ray_parkhurst]

Ray,
On the 3D image you were unable to balance the image out using the smoothness adjustment???

I did try increasing the smoothing to 100 but this compressed the vertical amplification. Increasing the vertical amplification to compensate brought back the noise. So in the end I could not get a decent rendering.

[VAB2013]

Correct, there is no adjustment for any parameters at all. I think that's probably the main limitation of this scope. They have optimized the white balance best they could for the particular LED's they selected. These LEDs are very blue, with very little red. The Jansjos are well-balanced, but with more red than blue, so when you use them with the scope, the built-in white balance makes the image bright red. Unfortunately, since the exposure is also optimized for the on-board LEDs, the red is over-exposed, so it's impossible to white balance after taking the image.

Bottom line I don't see any way to make this work with different lighting, so I don't see a reason to remove the on-board LEDs. Without white balance and exposure adjustments, that's the best you can do.

Okay, thank you Ray. Question please... what if you turn off the LED's completely and use the external light source? Would that help with the white balance and achieve a more natural color coin photo? I'm speaking in terms of a full coin photo.

As far as the plastic piece at the bottom that you were going to remove, I am disappointed that it is not automatically removable because it is needed for searching coins by hand. In other words, it is necessary to keep a steady distance between the coin and the microscope with the coin in your hand. If that were removed it would hinder using it as a handheld device.

[ray_parkhurst]

I have tried removing the plastic piece but it's firmly fixed. I expect it to break if I try to remove it.

The comments I made about the white balance problem were indeed with the on-board lights turned off, and only Jansjos used for lighting.

The stand post is just a little too short, so I tried adding some duct tape around the lower part of the microscope (just above the clear plastic piece). This allows the scope to clamp into the holder a couple inches higher than normal, and is plenty high enough to frame a Cent. In this configuration, the lights are at a very high angle, so this creates a lot of contrast and dark edges to the devices. I found that an index card wrapped around the scope and extending well below it makes a good diffuser, and results in a very even lighting. The shot below is with this configuration:



This shot is not horrible, but not very good either. It shows clearly that the software is over-sharpening the image. I had to do quite a bit of color adjustment (mostly reducing the blue).

[VAB2013]

I have tried removing the plastic piece but it's firmly fixed. I expect it to break if I try to remove it.

The comments I made about the white balance problem were indeed with the on-board lights turned off, and only Jansjos used for lighting.

The stand post is just a little too short, so I tried adding some duct tape around the lower part of the microscope (just above the clear plastic piece). This allows the scope to clamp into the holder a couple inches higher than normal, and is plenty high enough to frame a Cent. In this configuration, the lights are at a very high angle, so this creates a lot of contrast and dark edges to the devices. I found that an index card wrapped around the scope and extending well below it makes a good diffuser, and results in a very even lighting. The shot below is with this configuration:



This shot is not horrible, but not very good either. It shows clearly that the software is over-sharpening the image. I had to do quite a bit of color adjustment (mostly reducing the blue).

Thank you Ray, I am getting really tickled over here at the duct tape and index card thing. See... I knew you would eventually get out the duct tape! No telling how many set ups our members are using right now have duct tape somewhere!

Ray, I can see where you think this full coin photo is not very good, but... in comparison to what many of our camera's will do, it's actually pretty good. I can see where the software is over-sharpening the image but it is a full coin photo (which is sometimes impossible to achieve with other microscopes in this price range) and it's clear, not blurry and not overly shiny and distorted with glare from the LED's. You are definitely onto something... I think the index card made a big difference!

[VAB2013]

Correct, there is no adjustment for any parameters at all. I think that's probably the main limitation of this scope.

Very good point Ray! I don't see why Celestron cannot incorporate these color adjustments into their software. The AMCAP software I previously used and the xploview software I am currently using does have setting adjustments for this and it's very basic to understand and adjust.

[VAB2013]

The stand post is just a little too short, so I tried adding some duct tape around the lower part of the microscope (just above the clear plastic piece).

Excellent idea for full coin photos! Ray, will the addition of the duct tape still allow the microscope to be adjusted lower on the post (i.e., for close ups of mint marks)?

It would have been nice if Celestron could have added an extra inch or so to that post huh?

[ray_parkhurst]

Excellent idea for full coin photos! Ray, will the addition of the duct tape still allow the microscope to be adjusted lower on the post (i.e., for close ups of mint marks)?

It would have been nice if Celestron could have added an extra inch or so to that post huh?

Yes it would, though they probably didn't have Cent collectors in mind when they designed the scope.

The scope body is a little too small near the bottom end to mount tightly in the clamp, but the duct tape makes it tight. It can still be easily moved to the normal position by loosening the clamp and pushing the body down, so this makes it flexible.

I understand your point about the quality of the photo, which is why I said it was "not horrible". With just a few tweaks it came out looking decent.

I may still try to remove the plastic skirt from the bottom, since it is keeping me from being able to do the "money shot" for RPM variety imaging, ie the shot with full date and MM filling the screen. IMO that's the most important shot for any system to be able to reproduce, since it's used for identification of any variety or error coin and is the only way to see for sure the relative positions of the MM and date. Cross you fingers the piece comes out without breaking...

[VAB2013]

I may still try to remove the plastic skirt from the bottom, since it is keeping me from being able to do the "money shot" for RPM variety imaging, ie the shot with full date and MM filling the screen. IMO that's the most important shot for any system to be able to reproduce, since it's used for identification of any variety or error coin and is the only way to see for sure the relative positions of the MM and date. Cross you fingers the piece comes out without breaking...

Fingers are crossed! Ray you are so awesome to help us with this and take the time to answer my questions!

That's another thing... that plastic piece is fixed on the Celestron but it is removable on some other microscopes. Well, if it breaks, it breaks... the money shot IS "the most important shot for any system to be able to reproduce" we can figure out what to do without that plastic piece.

[jfines69]

The over sharpening is what makes the coin look heavily pitted I believe!!!

[VAB2013]

The over sharpening is what makes the coin look heavily pitted I believe!!!

I think so too Jim, it's like heavy contrast (in layman's terms LOL)