Choosing the Best Camera System for Your Biological Light Microscopy Needs: Part I

Digital imaging has made scientific light microscope imaging much faster and facilitates a range of imaging techniques not previously available. Advances in microscope digital image detection systems over the last decade have played an integral part in establishing digital imaging as the medium of choice for most types of microscopy. Although we still refer to them as cameras, in actuality, current detector systems constitute specific hardware and software components specifically adapted for specific types of microscopy. Although these advances have facilitated data collection with microscopes, the plethora of choices comes with the need to understand which system best suits a specific researcher’s needs. In an effort to help navigate the multiple choices available, this article and a subsequent one will list what I feel are the major parameters to use in the evaluation of different detection systems, describe the major categories of cameras available, and discuss the advantages and pitfalls of each digital image solution.