Mosquito pupa (32 image stack using Helicon Focus)

[Charles Krebs]

This is a mosquito pupa photographed on a compound microscope with a low power objective. 32 images were combined to get sufficient depth-of-field.

Charles Krebs

[iamnemo]

Charles, have you thought of printing posters of your pictures? These are classics!

Congratulations again!

Iam Nemo

[Bob Town]

Hi Charles
My colleagues and I have been admiring your images for some time now, congratulations, we know very well how tricky it can be.
Can you tell me what illumination technique you used to get this superb pupa image, presumably it is a darkfield technique but I suspect there is more to it than that.
Incidentally, in a previous incarnation I was part of the team that invented the original software technology for extended focus (Auto-Montage) and last year we tested Helicon Focus and found it to have the best algorithms compared to several other products.

[iamnemo]

Hello Bob,

May I ask to what products you compared HeliconFocus to? CombineZ5 for sure but what others? What else is out there?

Does that include Auto-Montage itself? Sorry, could not resist asking Thanks! Iam

Incidentally, in a previous incarnation I was part of the team that invented the original software technology for extended focus (Auto-Montage) and last year we tested Helicon Focus and found it to have the best algorithms compared to several other products.

[Charles Krebs]

Bob... thanks! This was indeed primarily darkfield (on a compound microscope with a low power objective) but there was a little more to it. I added some illumination from above using fiber optic light guides to get some detail and surface texture in the areas not adequately illuminated by the darkfield lighting.