Paging camera geeks
June 8, 2011 2:28 PM   Subscribe

Please help me figure out the best camera set up for a research project.

For a research project that I will be working on for the next 10-12 months, I need to take macro pictures of a leaf surface (total area of each leaf would fit within 10x10 cm) to be able to count little critters on them (~1mm in size). For each experiment I will need to photograph the same leaf every two days for several weeks. From those pictures I will count (either manually or using some automated image analysis algorithm) these critters (and its various stages) on the leaf surface to track population change through time.

At present, a colleague marks the center of the leaf with some brightly colored tape. Then she takes 4 pictures (each quadrant), then counts critters on it while keeping track of potential overlap between quadrants. This method is inefficient, slow, and prone to many errors (too many images to keep track, possible double counts from overlapping areas etc). [Example Shot]


Please help me figure out what sort of camera I would need to be able to do this with a good degree of precision while making efficient use of time and money. For each experiment I will have twenty or more plants (two leaves per plant) to photograph every other day (so time is limited).

Challenges so far:

Depth of field: Each leaf has some curvature to it. Flattening the leaf will interfere with the bugs (which I am hoping to avoid). However, leaf curvature creates depth of field issues.
Format: Although medium/large format film cameras are (relatively) cheaper, I really do not have the resources to print and scan images (necessary for automated counting) given the scale of the experiment. So the output image has to be digital (TIFF or RAW).
Precision: Manually taking 4 quadrant shots per leaf increases the chances of error.

  • Is there any camera set up that would allow me to take a single picture of a leaf and then subsequently zoom in to see all the details (i.e. Critters that are about 1 mm in length)? Would that be something like a medium or large format camera? A cursory search suggests they cost upwards of 15k. Can you think of some other way that I am missing here?
  • A second option I have considered is to purchase a device like Gigapan PRO and use it to stitch a high resolution image. The device is very affordable but since it pivots the camera from one single point, there is still the depth of field issue. The images will also need to be stitched and that introduces possible alignment issues.
My current research camera is a Nikon D5000 with a macro lens. I am able to purchase other equipment (up to a few thousand dollars) if it would better serve my goal. I’d be very grateful if any camera geeks can suggest other ideas or leads that might solve this problem.
posted by babbyʼ); Drop table users; -- to Technology

This post was deleted for the following reason: at poster's request -- mathowie

 
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