Polaroid Digital Microscope Camera User Manual
Digital Microscope Camera
(DMC)
User Guide
Table of Contents
Quick startup iv
Introduction 1
Introducing the DMC Digital Microscope Camera 1
System requirements 3
PC systems 3
PowerMac or PowerPC systems 3
Technical assistance 4
Using this manual 4
Setting up 7
Unpacking 7
Camera switches and connectors 8
Setting the SCSI ID 10
Attaching the camera to your microscope 11
Connecting the camera to your PC 13
Installing a SCSI adapter 13
If the DMC is the only SCSI device 14
If your PC has other SCSI devices 15
Installing the DMC software on your PC 16
i
Connecting the camera to your PowerMac or PowerPC 18
If the DMC is the only SCSI device 19
If your PowerMac or PowerPC has other SCSI devices 20
Connecting to an Apple PowerBook 21
Installing DMC software on your PowerMac/PowerPC 22
Parfocalizing 24
Using the DMC camera 25
Typical DMC workflow 25
Turning on the camera 26
Starting the DMC application 26
Framing and focusing the image 28
Selecting picture options 28
Shutter speed 29
Film speed 30
Flash mode 30
Color temperature 30
Color or black-and-white 30
Resolution 30
Using the focus indicator 31
Capturing the picture 32
Capturing and enhancing 33
Capturing and transferring to an application 34
Capturing and saving directly to disk 34
ii
Maintenance and troubleshooting 35
Caring for the DMC camera 35
Troubleshooting SCSI connection problems 36
PowerMac/PowerPC SCSI ID conflicts 36
Windows 95 SCSI ID registry entries 36
SCSI drivers 36
DMC full one-year warranty 37
Service 37
Radio and television interference 38
DMC camera specifications 41
Software license agreement 43
Polaroid Offices and Service Centers 47
Index 49
iii
Quick startup
For more information, see the page indicated.
Setting up
Page
Page
PC/Windows
7 7 1 Unpack the DMC camera.
10 10 2 Set the cameras SCSI ID.
11 11 3 Attach the camera to the microscope.
13 13 3 Connect the camera to your computer.
16 22 4 Install the DMC software on your
(PowerMac/
PowerPC) Steps
computer.
Taking pictures
Page Steps
26 1 Turn on the camera.
26 2 Start your computer, and start your
application or DMC Direct.
28 3 Frame and focus the image.
28 4 Select picture options.
32 5 Capture, enhance and save the picture.
iv
Introduction
Introducing the DMC Digital Microscope Camera
The Polaroid DMC Digital Microscope Camera captures
high-quality digital color images from light microscopes and
other optical instruments. The camera uses a unique, millionpixel, 12.15mm CCD (charge coupled device) to capture
pictures with up to 16.7 million colors. It transfers these
pictures in seconds to an IBM-PC-, PowerMac- or PowerPCcompatible computer as high resolution (800x600 pixels) or
super-high resolution (1600x1200 pixels) TIFF images.
Dmccam.ai
Introduction 1
Using the Microsoft Windows or PowerMac/PowerPC
software provided with the camera, you can display a
viewfinder image on your computer screen, choose resolution
and other options, enhance color balance, brightness,
contrast and sharpness, then transfer the picture to your
image-processing application or a disk drive.
The camera has a SCSI-2 connection requiring no framegrabber or other special hardware or software. (For use with
IBM PCs or PC-compatible computers, the camera requires a
SCSI adapter board.)
Using a standard .63, 1:1, or larger c-mount adapter, the
camera attaches easily to microscopes for most types of
transmitted-light and reflected-light microscopy.
The camera also features a tripod mount and x-sync
connection for use with standard c-mount lenses on a
copystand.
For more detailed camera specifications, see page 41.
2
System requirements
Using the DMC software to view and capture pictures taken
with the DMC camera requires the following hardware and
software. If you do not have the required configuration,
contact your Polaroid dealer.
PC systems
· An IBM PC or compatible computer, with at least a 66 MHz
Pentium-class processor and 20 megabytes (MB) of RAM (32
MB recommended).
· Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT operating system.
· A monitor and graphics adapter capable of displaying 24-bit
color (16.7 million colors) is recommended for optimal
display of DMC pictures. (DMC software can be used with
monitors and adapters capable of displaying fewer colors,
but the quality of pictures displayed on the monitor may not
be satisfactory.)
· An ASPI-compliant SCSI adapter and the appropriate
Windows 95 or Windows NT drivers.
· A TWAIN-compliant image-processing application, such as
Adobe Photoshop, is recommended for working with DMC
pictures. If you do not have such an application, you can use
DMC Direct (provided and installed as part of the DMC
software) to capture pictures and save them on your
computers hard drive.)
· Light microscope with a .63 or larger C-mount adapter
PowerMac or
PowerPC systems
· A PowerMac or PowerPC computer or compatible with a
PowerPC processor and 20 megabytes (MB) of RAM. (32
MB is recommended.)
· Apple system software version 7.5 or later.
· An image-processing application, such as Adobe Photoshop,
compatible with Adobe Photoshop plug-in modules, is
Introduction 3
· Light microscope with a .63 or larger C-mount adapter
Technical assistance
recommended for working with DMC pictures. If you do not
have such an application, you can use DMC Direct (provided
and installed as part of the DMC software) to transfer
pictures from the camera and to control the camera from the
computer.
Call Polaroid toll-free from within the U.S.A. at 1-800-432-
5355, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern
time. Polaroid offers a variety of customer support services.
Call for details and applicable fees.
In Canada, call toll-free at 1-800-268-6970. Outside the
U.S.A. and Canada, contact the Polaroid office nearest you.
See Polaroid Offices and Service Centers on page 47.
Technical support is also available over the Internet. Connect
to the Polaroid World Wide Web site at
http://www.polaroid.com.
Using this manual
4
This book explains how to set up and use your Polaroid
DMC camera. It also includes the procedures for installing
the DMC software on your PowerMac or PowerPC
computer or PC, and for taking and saving pictures. To use
these instructions, you should be familiar with the operation
of your PowerMac/PowerPC computer or PC with the
Microsoft Windows 95 operating system.
Heres what youll find in this book:
Quick startup: Summarizes instructions for setting up the
DMC camera and software, and for taking pictures and
transferring them to the computer.
Introduction: Briefly describes the DMC camera, lists system
requirements and explains how to obtain technical
assistance.
Setting up: Explains how to install the DMC software on
your PC or PowerMac/PowerPC computer, and how to
connect the DMC camera to your computer.
Using the DMC camera: Provides detailed instructions for
taking and enhancing pictures.
Maintenance and troubleshooting: Contains camera care
information, solutions to problems that might occur, and
warranty and service information.
DMC camera specifications: Detailed camera operating and
physical characteristics.
Software license agreement: License agreement for the DMC
software accompanying the camera.
Polaroid Offices and Service Centers: Telephone numbers of
Polaroid locations throughout the world in case you need
service or support.
Introduction 5
Unpacking
Setting up
Listed below are the components in the DMC camera
package. If any is missing, contact your dealer immediately.
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a DMC camera
b Power adapter: Provides surge-protected 5.8VDC, 3-amp
power for the camera from 110-240VAC power outlets.
Setting up 7
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c SCSI cable (2 meter) and 25/50 DB to HD SCSI adapter:
Connect the DMC camera to a PowerMac/PowerPC
computer or the PC SCSI-2 adapter.
d Software diskettes: TWAIN driver (for Windows 95 and
Windows NT only), DMC Plug-in software for
PowerMac/PowerPC systems, and Polaroid DMC Direct
camera utility software for Windows 95, Windows NT, and
PowerMac/ PowerPC systems.
The package also contains this users guide, not shown in the
illustration.
WARNING: NOTHING INSIDE THE DMC CAMERA IS
USER-SERVICEABLE. TO AVOID THE POSSIBILITY OF
DAMAGING THE CAMERA OR VOIDING THE
WARRANTY, DO NOT DISASSEMBLE THE CAMERA.
Camera switches and connectors
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a SCSI ID selector: Sets the SCSI address of the camera (see
page 10).
b SCSI connector: Connects to the computer SCSI port via the
SCSI cable provided.
c Termination selector: Turns camera SCSI termination on or
off (normally set to On as shown).
8
d X-sync connector: Connector for electronic flash, if used
with the camera.
e Power switch: Turns the camera on and off.
f Power indicator LED: Lights to indicate that camera is
powered on.
g Power connector: Connection for the AC power adapter.
Camdetl2.ai
h Tripod mount: Standard mount for attaching the camera to
a copystand or tripod.
i C-mount: Accepts standard c-mount adapter for attachment
to microscopes, other optical instruments and c-mount
lenses.
Setting up 9
Setting the SCSI ID
The DMC camera is a Small Computer Systems Interface
(SCSI) device. You can connect up to seven SCSI devices to
your computer, one to another in a SCSI chain.
The DMC cameras SCSI ID is preset to 4 at the factory. You
do not need to change this number unless another SCSI
device in the chain is already using it. To determine whether
4 is already being used, check the user guides of the other
devices or run a SCSI utility program.
WARNING: EACH SCSI DEVICE CONNECTED TO
YOUR COMPUTER MUST HAVE ITS OWN UNIQUE ID
NUMBER SO YOUR COMPUTER CAN DISTINGUISH IT
FROM OTHER ATTACHED SCSI DEVICES. USING TWO
OR MORE DEVICES WITH THE SAME ID NUMBER
CAN CAUSE THEM TO MALFUNCTION. YOU CAN
LOSE DATA AS A RESULT.
If the DMC is your only external SCSI device or no other
device in the chain is using ID 4, skip the rest of this section
and go on to Attaching the camera to your microscope on
page 11. If you must change the cameras SCSI ID, use the
following steps:
10
1 Make sure the camera power is off and the camera is
disconnected from the computer. If the camera is on, use the
power switch (a) to turn it off.
Pwrswit.ai
2 Insert a small screwdriver into the slot of the SCSI ID
selector on the camera and rotate the selector until the arrow
points to the desired SCSI ID.
Scsiwit.ai
Note: Do not use 7 or 0, which are customarily reserved for
the computer and for PowerMac/PowerPC hard drives. If
possible, you should also avoid SCSI ID 3, which is often
used for internal CD-ROM drives.
Attaching the camera to your microscope
Note: Attaching the DMC camera to your microscope
requires a .63 or 1:1 c-mount adapter (not provided)
compatible with your microscope. Do not use a .5 c-mount
adapter, because it will produce image vignetting (dark
corners). Refer to the microscopes instruction manual or
contact the microscope manufacturer for more information
about c-mounts.
Caution: Before attaching a c-mount adapter or lens to the
camera, verify that the threaded end of the adapter (a) does
not exceed 0.195 inches (5mm). Longer c-mount adapters
may damage the camera. (The drawing below is actual size to
help you check the thread length of your c-mount adapter.)
=
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Setting up 11
Use the following steps to attach the camera to your
microscope:
1 Screw the threaded side of the c-mount adapter (a) into the
DMC camera (b).
Camtomic.ai
The mounting arrangement shown is typical. Yours may be
different.
Important: Finger-tighten the adapter. Do not use any tools.
2 Following instructions with your microscope or c-mount
adapter, insert the c-mount adapter into the microscope (c).
12
3 Assure that the camera image orientation matches the
microscope eyepiece image by rotating the camera so the
tripod mount (a) faces toward the bottom of the image.
Rotate.ai
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