C-Mount/SLR Adapters

Universal 0.5x/ 0.66x C-Mount Adapter for Zeiss, Leica, Olympus, Nikon or Huvitz-10463
Bioimager learns the camera sensor size & microscope type then suggessts a c-mount adapter at reasonable price for Zeiss, Nikon, Leica & Olympus microscopesContinue Reading...
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C-Mount Adapters & SLR Adapters

For all brands of microscopes and cameras: Zeiss, Leica, Olympus, Nikon, Huvitz, Meiji Techno, Motic, etc.

C-Mount adapter is an external part of microscope that allows you to connect a digital camera to your microscope through trinocular head or photo/video port (side port, front or back port depending on the microscope type and design). A C-mount adapter has two ends, one end of that connect to a digital microscopy camera which is normally a standard threaded port of 1″ (25.4mm) and another end of that connects to the video port of the microscope. Being said this as a mechanical specification, a c-mount adapter does one optical job. It projects the image, seen in eyepieces, into the camera sensor. The size of image seen through the camera on a screen at 100% scale (neither zoomed in nor zoomed out), should match with the size of image seen by a 10x eyepiece.

BIOIMAGER offers various SLR and C-Mount adapters for digital microscopy cameras to use with all brands of microscopes, e.g. Carl Zeiss, Olympus, Nikon, Leica, Meiji Techno, Leitz, Wild, Huvitz etc. A microscope c-mount adapter is used to connect a microscope main body (trinocular head or video port) to a camera to the microscope trinocular port. A C-mount or CS-mount adapter has an external standard 1″-32 or 25.4mm diameter.
0.5x c-mount adapter

How to choose a proper C-mount adapter for your camera?

A) These images are captured with an upright biological microscope  BUM500 with 10x objective lens:

0.35X C-Mount Adapter 0.45X C-Mount Adapter 0.66X C-Mount Adapter 1.0X C-Mount Adapter
1/2″ Chip BIC4C-1.4C/M Camera
 2/3″ Chip BIC4D1-1.4 Camera

B) Field of Views of a camera with different C-mount adapters with BUM500 upright microscope at 40x objective lens. The high magnification c-mount adapters give smaller field of view but higher resolution.

1/2″ Chip BIC4C-1.4C Camera with different C-mount adapters  2/3″ Chip BIC4D1-1.4 Camera with different C-mount adapters

Six Things to read before buying a C-mount adapter for your microscope camera:

  1. A C-Mount adapter is a part that connects a camera to a microscope. One end is always 1.00”-32 or 25.4mm threaded and another end is a male connector (exceptionally female in Zeiss Axio series), which goes into a female video port of a microscope.
  2. 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.
  3. 3. 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 screen (besides digital zooming) using a high-magnification lens of c-mount adapter rather than a standard one. For instance, 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 a smaller field of view as this happens by moving from 20x objective lens to 40x or 60x, accordingly.

5. Every brand is unique. A microscope is like a car. You cannot take a part from Toyota and put into BMW. Microscope manufacturers use different size of video port (to sell more!).

Others or Custom
Zeiss 30mm Leica 35mm Nikon 38mm Olympus 42mm Contact Us

 

6. There is a T-mount adapter beside C-mount adapter. The difference is simply the port size that goes to a camera. A T-mount has M42-75 thread. cameras with a sensor larger than 1″ normally uses T-Mount. Accordingly they need a 1x, 1.2x, 1.5x, or 2.25x T-Mount adapter. That you can use a C-Mount to T-Mount converter, it is a possibility to use an existing camera or adapter.

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 at least 5% discount.