4 Thing you need to know before selecting a c-mount adapter
- A C-Mount adapter is a part that connects a camera to microscope. One end is always 1” or 25mm threaded and another end is a male connector, which goes into a female video port of a microscope.
- C-Mount vs CS-Mount: A C-mount has the same mechanical size and thread a CS-Mount port does but with a different back focal length, 17.5mm vs 12.5mm, respectively. In other word, by adding a 5mm spacer to a CS-mount adapter, you can use it for a camera that has a C-Mount port.
- A C-mount adapter has an optical lens inside which should match with the camera sensor size. If a camera chip size is 1”, then you need a 1x C-Mount adapter; if the chip size is smaller like 1/2″, then you need a 0.5x C-Mount adapter. Here is a table:
|
Camera Chip Size |
Proper C-Mount Adapter |
Other Possible C-Mount Adapters |
|
1/4″ |
0.25x |
0.35x, 0.37x, 0.45x, 0.5x, 0.55x, 0.6x, 0.66x, 0.7x, 0.85x, 1x, 1.2x |
|
1/3” |
0.35x |
0.37x, 0.45x, 0.5x, 0.55x, 0.6x, 0.66x, 0.7x, 0.85x, 1x, 1.2x |
|
1/2.8” |
0.37x |
0.35x, 0.45x, 0.5x, 0.55x, 0.6x, 0.66x, 0.7x, 0.85x, 1x, 1.2x |
|
1/2.2” |
0.45x |
0.5x, 0.55x, 0.6x, 0.66x, 0.7x, 0.85x, 1x, 1.2x |
|
1/2″, 1/1.9” |
0.5x |
0.55x, 0.6x, 0.66x, 0.7x, 0.85x, 1x, 1.2x |
|
1/1.9”, 1/1.8” |
0.55x |
0.5x, 0.6x, 0.66x, 0.7x, 0.85x, 1x, 1.2x |
|
2/3” |
0.6x, 0.66x, 0.7x |
0.85x, 1x, 1.2x |
|
1” |
1x |
1.2x |
|
4/3” |
1.2x, 1.25x |
1x |
4. You can increase the magnification optically in a computer (beside digital zooming) using a high-magnification lens of c-mount adapter rather than a standard one. If your camera has a 1/3” chip (or sensor), you need a 0.35x c-mount adapter to generate the image at the resolution of a 10x eyepiece. Using a 0.66x or 1x c-mount adapter, you can expect the image is magnified twice or tripled, i.e. an image at the size of 20x or 30x eyepieces can be seen in your computer screen. The only drawback here is you will have smaller field of view as this happens by moving from 20x objective lens to 40x or 60x, accordingly.
Quiz:
1. What are the differences between these two combinations, assuming the camera sensor size is 1/2”?
Combo A: 20x objective lens, 10x /FN23 eyepieces, 0.5x C-Mount Adapter
Combo B: 10x objective lens, 20x/FN12 eyepieces, 0.5x C-Mount Adapter
Combo C: 10x objective lens, 10x/FN23 eyepieces, 1x C-Mount Adapter
Hint:
Think of magnification, Field of View, Resolution, Working Distance, Depth of Field, Illumination, and others.
2. Which combination gives larger FOV: a 1/2″ camera with 0.5x C-Mount adapter or 1” Camera with 1x c-mount adapter?
You can answer this question and get 5% discount and may be more.