Category: nikon

  • Voltage output from NIS Elements, MetaMorph or uManager for under $200

    I posted briefly about this a while back, in my explanation of the demise of the parallel port. I finally got my hands on a National Instruments USB-6008 box, and have found the unit to be 100% compatible with any NI-DAQ controlling application. What follows is an example of how to set this up using…

  • Nikon C2 – NIS Elements and Spectral Capability

      Nikon has redesigned and updates it’s classic C1 Confocal. The C1 was a great core facility confocal as it was a stable and reliable product. The one thing that held it back was the lack of access to NIS Elements software. With the release of the C2 this problem has been solved. So, along…

  • Nikon DS U3 Series Controller Install Guide

    The new Nikon controllers for DS Series Cameras run on Firewire. As with other firewire adapted imaging cameras, there are numerous small issues to awtch out for during the setup and operation process. Once they are up and running, they should be fine – but for those of you who perform installations, you’ll probably find…

  • Determining background sources in fluorescence

    For microscopy engineers and suppliers like me, the background produced in an image is of importance, if that background is created by the imaging system itself. What so many of us on this side of the scope (vs the user side) forget to train on and talk about is the specimen side of the background.…

  • *UPDATED* Micro-Manager Tethered to a Nikon Digital SLR

    ***UPDATE 3/3/2014*** After a few requests for a report on x64 capability using this tethering technique, I tried installing the NK Remote software on a rather fresh copy of Windows 7×64 – it did not communicate with the camera at all. On the other hand, the open source application “DigiCamControl“, worked perfectly. Now, as far…

  • Fix for Elements v 3.2 and ASI Stages

    As anyone who is running NIS Elements v 3.20 + is aware, the ASI stage controllers of any MS-2000 series will not be usable once elements issues a connection command to the controller. Elements will control the stage properly, however the user will not be able to position the stage using the manual joystick. So,…

  • Instensity Calibration using a Photostable Light Source

    I’m very excited to announce Technical Instruments’  first ever camera-specific calibration product! At left is an image of the CC-560, or Camera calibrator, which emits photons at 560nm. All of the cameras in the microscopy world rely upon a single defining point that (theoretically) justifies the price premium we pay for them. That defining point…

  • SLR cameras for Microscopy

    Most of the time, I work with people who need measurable and accurate (quantitative) results from the images they obtain. While this constitutes the bulk of my daily job, there is a much larger group of people using cameras on microscopes for photomicrography. Or put simply – taking a picture of what you see through…

  • How to Set Large Icons in Elements

    This is useful for large screens that are using very high resolutions. Sometimes the icons are so small as to be hard to click and unreadable. Open Elements and select the View Menu, then Layout, then open the “Layout Manager”. Next select the “Toolbar” Section on the Left (Step 1), then Select the “Large Icons”…

  • NIS Elements Stereo Zoom Settings

    The Auto-calibration feature in Elements (beginning in version 3.1) is a great thing to have. You simply choose the objective you are working with, the software knows what camera you are running, so the calibration is calculated for you when you add the objective list. While this is great for the compound scope systems out…