Polaroid DCM 2 Online - Manuals

12 Taking Pictures Typical Picture-Taking Sequence 1 Turn on the camera. 2 Start the DMC 2 software. 3 Frame and focus the preview. 4 Choose a capture area 5 Choose color or grayscale preview. 6 Rotate the image. 7 Zoom the preview. 8 Set exposure. 9 Set sensitivity. 10 Select color temperature. 11 ...

13 Turning the Camera On 1 Turn off the computer. 2 Turn the camera power switch to on (1). 3 Verify that the green and yellow LEDs are on, indicating AC and termination power are on. 4 Turn on the computer. Power switch (on = 1) Green LED Yellow LED

14 Starting the DMC 2 Software If more than one DMC camera is connected to the computer, you must select the cam- era to be used in this session. To select a camera, see Selecting a DMC Camera . Macintosh Windows Double-click Polaroid DMC 2 . The main DMC 2 window appears. 1 Select Programs from the...

16 Framing and Focusing the Preview 1 View the subject through the microscope eyepiece. 2 Adjust subject position, focus and lighting according to the microscope instruc- tions. 3 If your microscope requires, manually switch the light path to the camera. 4 If a viewfinder image is not visible in the...

Next 17 Choosing a Capture Area You can capture the entire DMC frame or a smaller, selected area. To capture an area smaller than the DMC frame: 1 Adjust exposure to obtain an acceptable image on the Viewfinder Display tab of the main DMC 2 window. 2 Click the Region of Interest Selection tab. 3 Sel...

19 Choosing Color or Grayscale Preview You can view the preview image in the DMC 2 main window in either color or gray- scale. A color preview provides a more accurate representation of the final image, while a grayscale preview refreshes faster. To view a color preview image, select Color in the ma...

20 Rotating the Image To correct picture orientation, you can rotate the preview image 180 degrees by clicking the rotate button. When you rotate the preview image, the final image is also rotated.

21 Enlarging the Preview You can enlarge the view of the preview image for focusing and closely inspecting detail while framing. Enlarging the view does not affect the final image. To enlarge the preview image: 1 Click the image to display the zoom and focus box. 2 Drag the zoom and focus box to the...

22 Setting Exposure Automatically 1 If you have not done so, calibrate automatic exposure for the current lighting and specimen conditions. See Calibrating Auto Exposure . 2 Click the Auto button in the main DMC 2 window. 3 Wait a few seconds for the DMC 2 software to optimize the exposure.

23 Calibrating Auto Exposure 1 Manually set exposure to the optimum position for the current setup. See Setting Exposure Manually . 2 Click Calibrate Auto Exposure on the Tools menu. 3 Click the Set button in the Auto Exposure Calibration box.

24 Setting Exposure Manually Drag the Exposure slider right or left to adjust the camera shutter speed for brighten- ing or darkening the image. Range: 20 milliseconds (far left) to 8 seconds (far right).

25 Setting Sensitivity Choose a sensitivity (camera gain) setting from the Sensitivity list:• Low (ISO 25 equivalent)• Medium (ISO 50 equivalent)• High (ISO 100 equivalent). The default setting is Medium (ISO 50 equivalent).

26 Selecting Color Temperature You can select one of the standard color temperatures to match your lighting:• Tungsten (3200K)• Daylight (5500K) These color temperatures are appropriate for many lighting situations, but best results are often obtained by creating and using a custom color temperature...

Next 27 Creating a Custom Color Temperature Setting If the standard color temperature settings are inappropriate for your lighting, you can create a custom color temperature setting based on the actual lighting. To create a custom color temperature: Macintosh Windows 1 Select Calibrate Custom Color ...

28 Creating a Custom Color Temperature Setting (continued) Macintosh Windows 4 Click Calibrate . 5 Wait for the Calibrate Color Tempera- ture box to close. 6 To use the custom setting, select Cus- tom from the Color Temp popup menu. 4 Click Begin . 5 Wait for the Calibrate Custom Color Temperature b...

29 Selecting Image Type You can select one of these image types for your final image from the Image Type box: • 48-Bit Color (68.7 billion colors) • 24-Bit Color (16.7 million colors) • 16-Bit Grayscale (65,000 gray shades) • 8-Bit Grayscale (256 gray shades) The image type you choose affects the si...

30 Selecting Image Size Choose a final-image size from the Image Size box: • 1600 x 1200 pixels• 800 x 600 pixels• 400 x 300 pixels (Windows systems only) These sizes are available if your selected region of interest includes the entire frame. If your region of interest is smaller, the available ima...

31 Image File Sizes The size of the saved TIFF image depends on image type and size, as shown in the fol- lowing table. (File sizes are approximate.) Image Size (Pixels) 48-Bit Color 24-Bit Color 16-Bit Grayscale 8-Bit Grayscale 1600 x 1200 11,300 kbyte 5,650 kbyte 3,800 kbyte 1,900 kbyte 800 x 600 ...

32 Verifying Sharp Focus Digitally If necessary, you can fine-tune your image focus digitally with the DMC 2 software: 1 Click the image to display the zoom and focus box. 2 Drag the zoom and focus box to the area of interest. 3 Zoom into the area of interest by clicking . 4 Click Focus Tool on the ...

33 Capturing the Image After you have selected the capture settings in the DMC 2 main window, you are ready to capture the image and transfer it to the computer. You have the following three options for capturing the image: • Capture the image, enhance it with DMC 2 software, then save it as a TIFF ...

Next 34 Capturing and Enhancing with DMC 2 Software Use this procedure to capture the image currently displayed in the DMC 2 main win- dow for enhancement with DMC 2 software: 1 Click Capture & Enhance to capture the image, transfer it to computer memory, and display it in the DMC 2 Enhance wind...

35 3 Do one of the following: Macintosh Windows • Save the image to disk by clicking Save Image (not available when running the DMC 2 plug-in). • Transfer the image to a plug-in compatible application by clicking Transfer Image (available only when running the DMC 2 plug-in). Save the image to disk ...

36 Capturing and Saving Immediately to Disk To capture the image and save it to disk without further enhancement: 1 Click the Capture & Save button. Note: On Macintosh systems, this option is available only when running the DMC 2 software. When running the DMC 2 plug-in within another applicatio...

37 Capturing and Transferring to Another Application (Macintosh) Note: This option is available only if you are running the DMC 2 plug-in within the other application. It is not an option if you are running the DMC 2 program. To capture the image and display it in the application, click the Capture ...

Next 38 Capturing and Transferring to Another Application (Windows) Use these steps if you want to transfer the captured image immediately to another image-processing or image-analysis program. The procedure you use depends on whether you opened the DMC 2 program from the Windows Start menu or you o...

Next 40 Capturing a Rapid Sequence The DMC camera and software allows you to capture a rapid sequence of images in the camera memory. After the images are stored, you can select one of the captured images for transfer to the DMC 2 Enhance window or for saving immediately. To capture a rapid sequence...

42 Printing the Image To print the current image from the DMC 2 Enhance window: The image prints at 300 dpi and sized to fill the page. Note: To print at different resolutions or sizes, save the image and open it with an image-editing application such as Adobe Photoshop. Macintosh Windows Select Pri...

43 Enhancing the Image with DMC 2 Software After you capture an image by clicking Capture & Enhance in the DMC 2 main win- dow, the captured image is stored in memory and displayed in the DMC 2 Enhance window. Before printing, saving or transferring this image to another application, you can app...

44 Automatically Adjusting Color Balance To have the DMC 2 program analyze the current image and automatically set the color sliders to their optimum position, click the automatic balance but- ton. This feature is not recommended for fluorescent imaging.

45 Adjusting Color Balance by Selecting a Whitepoint To adjust overall color balance by identifying a whitepoint in the picture, click the white eyedropper button. Then click on an area of the picture that should be pure white. The area you clicked becomes white, and all other colors in the image ar...

46 Adjusting Color Balance by Selecting a Neutral Gray Point To adjust overall color balance by identifying a neutral gray point in the pic- ture, click the gray eyedropper button. Then click on an area of the picture that should be neutral gray, such as a metallic object, concrete, gray brick, or a...

47 Adjusting Color Balance by Selecting a Blackpoint To adjust overall color balance by identifying a blackpoint in the picture, click the black eyedropper button. Then click on an area of the picture that should be pure black. The area you clicked becomes black, and all other colors in the image ar...

48 Manually Adjusting Color Balance Drag the three Color sliders left or right to adjust color balance. The effect of your settings appears in the preview image to the left.

49 Manually Adjusting Dark Levels Drag the Dark Levels slider left or right to decrease or increase dark levels. The effect of your settings appears in the preview image to the left.

50 Manually Adjusting Brightness Drag the Brightness slider right or left to increase or decrease brightness. The effect of your setting appears in the preview image to the left.

51 Adjusting Gamma Drag the Gamma slider right or left to increase or decrease gamma (the apparent con- trast between the highlights and the shadows). The effect of your setting appears in the preview image to the left.

52 Viewing a Histogram Use the histogram display to judge the distribution of brightness values in the current image. The horizontal axis represents all possible brightness values in the image (0- 255) and the vertical scale represents the number of pixels at each brightness value. The Channel list ...

54 Adjusting Sharpness Drag the Sharpness slider left or right to decrease or increase sharpness. The effect of your setting appears in the preview image to the left.

55 Viewing the Full Image If necessary, you can view the full image for close inspection after capturing but before saving. When viewing the full image, you can zoom and pan to assure you have captured the desired area and detail and that enhancements you applied have the expected results. To view t...

56 Reducing Grain in Long Exposures You can reduce image grain in long exposures (longer than 500 milliseconds) by enabling the DMC 2 multi-frame averaging/dark subtract feature. To enable or disable multi-frame averaging/dark subtract: 1 Click Set Preferences on the Tools menu. 2 Click the General ...

57 Adding a Label This label appears at the bottom of the image when it is saved, transferred to another application, or printed. Macintosh Windows 1 Click the Add Text Label box. 2 Type a label or other descriptive infor- mation in the text box. 3 Select a font and a font size. 4 If necessary, clic...

58 Adding a Calibrated Micron Marker DMC 2 software can add a calibrated scale or micron marker to the lower right corner of your image, providing an accurate tool for determining dimensions of features in the image. To add a micron marker to the image: 1 If you have not already done so, create a ca...

Next 59 Creating a Calibrated Micron Marker To create a calibrated micron marker you can add to the bottom of images for deter- mining dimensions of features in the image: Macintosh Windows 1 Place a micrometer horizontally under the microscope objective and focus the microscope to obtain a sharp im...

Next 60 Creating a Calibrated Micron Marker (continued) Macintosh Windows The Micron Marker Calibration win- dow opens and displays the microme- ter image. 4 Define a measured distance on the micrometer image by dragging a line from one micrometer scale mark to another.The measured distance appears ...

62 Creating a Calibrated Micron Marker (continued) Macintosh Windows (no further steps for Macintosh systems) 8 If you want this calibrated marker to be the default marker in the Enhance window, click the Use as default objective box. 9 Click OK .

63 Deleting a Calibrated Micron Marker If necessary, you can delete a calibrated micron marker from the list box located below the Add micro marker box: 1 Click Add micron marker at the bottom of the Enhance window. 2 Click Delete Micron Marker from the list of micron markers. 3 In the Micron Marker...

Next 64 Saving and Reusing Program Settings If you develop settings in the Enhancement window that you expect to use frequently, you can save them to a file, then reload them when necessary.If necessary, see Program settings you can save. To save the current program settings in the current settings ...

Next 65 Saving and Reusing Program Settings (continued) To save the current settings in a new settings file: Macintosh Windows 1 In the Enhancement window, click Settings . 2 Type a name for the new settings file. 3 Select Save . 1 If the main DMC 2 window is open, click Settings on the File menu to...

Next 66 Saving and Reusing Program Settings (continued) To load enhancement settings you saved earlier: Macintosh Windows 1 In the Enhancement window, click Settings . 2 Select the name of the settings to be applied. 1 In the main DMC 2 window, click Settings on the File menu to display the Settings...

Next 68 Program Settings You Can Save When you save DMC 2 program settings for reuse (see Saving and Reusing Program Settings ), the following settings are saved. Main DMC Window Settings Enhance Window Settings • Color checkbox state• Exposure• Sensitivity • Color Temperature• Image Type• Image Siz...

Next 69 Program Settings You Can Save (Continued) Preferences Box -- General Settings Note: The state of the Multi-Frame Averaging/Dark Subtract checkbox and the num- ber of dark and light frames are not saved. • On each image capture• Cast found on color balance• Show preview on startup• Use flash•...

71 Setting DMC 2 Software Preferences The DMC 2 Preferences dialog box (Macintosh) and the Set Preferences dialog box (Windows) let you choose these categories of settings for the DMC 2 software: To display the Preferences box for viewing or changing preferences: • General• Remote • Output• Cameras ...

Next 72 General Preferences Use the General tab to select general DMC 2 software operation preferences. On each image capture: Reset to defaults Resets all controls in the Enhance window (Color, Dark Lev- els, Brightness, Gamma, Sharpness) to their factory-defaults after you capture a picture. Use e...

Next 77 Remote Preferences Use the Remote tab to capture images using the remote trigger. You can specify if you want the captured images transferred to an image-editing program, the Enhance win- dow, or to files. Use Remote Capture Captures images using to remote trigger. Select if you want to capt...

Next 79 Output Preferences Use the Output tab to select the highlight property and the output defaults of the images. Highlight Property: Specular Usually provides best image results with reflected-light microscopy specimens containing specular highlights (reflective or metallic areas or points much...

85 Camera Preferences Use the Select Camera tab to select the active DMC camera when multiple DMC cam- eras are connected to the computer. Cameras are identified by their Device IDs (SCSI addresses) and their Adapter IDs. To select a camera, click the appropriate line in the window and then click OK...

Next 86 Using the Color Stacker Utility The Color Stacker utility provided with DMC 2 software provides a way to combine three images. This is useful when imaging a single sample with multiple fluoro- chromes. Instead of viewing separate images, you can process the fluorochromes in red, green and bl...

88 Color Stacker Preview Options The Color Stacker utility displays a preview of the composite image as you select files for each color channel. By clicking the Options button at the top of the Color Stacker window, you can select from one of these composite preview options: • Show Original Image• S...

89 Camera Maintenance DMC 2 camera maintenance consists of cleaning the camera when necessary. Click on either topic below for more information. Cleaning the camera optics Cleaning the camera body

Next 90 Cleaning the Camera Optics Important: Protect the DMC 2 camera from dirt, dust, rain and moisture. Damage caused by these conditions may not be covered by the warranty. Always protect the shutter, the anti-aliasing filter (behind the shutter), and the CCD sensor by placing the cap on the cam...

Next 91 Cleaning the Camera Optics (Continued) Verifying the Location of Dust or Dirt Avoid needless cleaning of the DMC 2 camera optics by determining the location of dust or dirt before proceeding. You can determine whether the dust or dirt is in the camera optics or the microscope optics by compa...

Next 93 Cleaning the Camera Optics (Continued) Camera Optics Cleaning Steps 1 If you have not already done so, install the shutter-opening software on your com- puter as follows. (This software opens the shutter, allowing you to clean the cam- era optics.) Macintosh Windows a Copy the file DMC 2 SHU...

97 Cleaning the Camera Optics (Continued) c If dust or dirt remains after the first attempt to wipe it away, repeat the proce- dure with a new, clean wipe. 10 After the filter is clean, close the shutter by turning the camera power switch on and then off. 11 Reattach the camera to the microscope.

98 Cleaning the Camera Body If the DMC 2 camera body requires cleaning, use a clean, soft cloth dampened with water. Do not use cleaners of any kind, and do not spray water or other liquids directly onto the camera.

99 Obtaining Software Updates For the latest information about DMC 2 software updates, visit the Polaroid Web site: www.polaroid.com

Next 100 DMC 2 Camera Specifications Sensor 2.1 megapixel, 11mm CCD Output resolution Super high resolution (1600x1200 pixels) High resolution (800x600) Normal resolution (400x300 pixels); Windows version only Image formats 48-bit color (68.7 billion colors) 24-bit color (16 million colors) 16-bit g...

101 DMC 2 Camera Specifications (Continued) Note: Specifications subject to change without notice. Dimensions 2.1x7.2x5.1 in (5.3x18.3x13.0cm) Power supply 100-250V, 0.38A, 50-60Hz surge-protected input +6 VDC, 2.0A output Safety approvals SA, CE, DVE Limited warranty 1 year, parts and labor

102 System Requirements Using the DMC 2 camera and software to preview, capture and enhance pictures requires a minimum level of computer hardware and software. If your system does not meet these requirements, contact your Polaroid dealer or your computer dealer. PC system requirements Macintosh sys...

103 PC Minimum System Requirements • 166 MHz Pentium processor and 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM. (96MB of RAM for a TWAIN-compliant image processing program such as Adobe Photoshop or Image- Pro.) • Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000 or NT (4.0 or later) operating system. • ASPI-compliant SCSI adapter a...

104 Macintosh Minimum System Requirements • PowerPC Macintosh computer or compatible with a SCSI-2 interface and 64 mega- bytes (MB) of RAM. (96MB of RAM for a Photoshop-Plug-In-compliant image pro- cessing program such as Adobe Photoshop or Image-Pro.) • Apple system software version 8.6 or later. ...

105 Installing Software and Setting Up the Camera 1 Unpack. 2 Install the DMC 2 software. 3 Attach the camera to the microscope. 4 Connect the camera to the computer. 5 Connect the camera to AC power and turn on. 6 Take a test picture.

Next 106 Unpacking Make sure you have all the following components. Contact your dealer if any is miss- ing or damaged. 1 DMC 2 camera 2 power supply and cord (may differ from illustration for some locations) 3 SCSI host adapter installation kit for PCs (optional; con- tact your dealer) 4 SCSI cable...

Next 107 Installing the DMC 2 Software 1 Turn the computer on. 2 On Windows systems, close any applications that may be running. 3 Insert the Polaroid DMC 2 software CD into the drive. 4 Start the installation program: Macintosh Windows Double-click the Polaroid DMC 2 Installer. Wait for the DMC 2 i...

Next 108 5 Follow instructions on the screen. 6 Remove the CD from the drive. Attaching the Camera to the Microscope You need a 0.63 or 1:1 c-mount adapter (not provided) compatible with your micro- scope. (Do not use a 0.5 c-mount adapter.) Refer to your microscope manual for more information about...

Next 110 Connecting the Camera to the Computer The DMC 2 camera requires a SCSI host adapter in your computer. If your computer does not have an adapter, you must install one (see Installing a SCSI Host Adapter ). If your computer is a PC-compatible with a SCSI adapter, but the adapter is connected ...

Next 111 Setting the Camera SCSI Address Each device connected to a SCSI host adapter must have a unique address from 0-6. To assure a unique address for the camera, determine the addresses of any other SCSI devices: Macintosh Windows 1 Run Apple System Profiles, usually on the Apple menu. If it is ...

Next 112 Setting the Camera SCSI Address (Continued) Turn the camera power switch to off (0) and set the SCSI address switch to a value not used by any other device. Note: The address is preset to 4. Do not change it unless another device is using 4. Other addresses typically available are 2, 5 and ...

Next 113 Connecting the SCSI Cables Place the DMC 2 camera at the end of the SCSI chain as shown or between the com- puter and other SCSI devices. Use the shortest possible cables. Note: Turn the computer, camera and all other SCSI devices off before connecting or disconnecting any cables. Do not co...

Next 114 Setting Termination The last device in a SCSI chain must be terminated (or have termination on), while all other devices must be unterminated (or have termination off).If the camera is the only SCSI device connected to your computer or the last device in a SCSI chain, set camera termination...

Next 115 Connecting the Camera to AC Power and Turning On 1 Connect the camera to AC power and turn the power switch on. 2 Verify that the green and yellow LEDs are on, indicating AC and termination power are on. 1 To AC power Power switch (on = 1) Green LED Yellow LED

Next 117 Taking a Test Picture 1 Start the DMC 2 program: 2 Place a specimen under the microscope and focus it through the microscope eye- piece. 3 Click Preview in the DMC 2 main window. If necessary, adjust the c-mount on the microscope to focus the image on the computer screen. (Refer to your mic...

119 Camera Limited Warranty Polaroid Corporation warrants the DMC 2 camera against defects in manufacture or work- manship for a period of one year from the date of purchase. To verify the warranty period, you should keep the invoice, sales receipt, or other proof of the purchase date. Should this p...

Next 120 Radio and Television Interference FCC Notice (U.S.A.) Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a res...

124 Copyright and Trademark Notices © Copyright 2001 Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA. “Polaroid” is a registered trademark Polaroid Corporation. All other product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Next 125 Polaroid Offices and Service Centers Australia España Polaroid Australia Pty. Ltd. Polaroid (España). S. A. 13-15 Lyonpark Road Calle Orense 16 -2 a planta. P. O. Box 163 28020-Madrid North Ryde, NSW 2113 Tno.: 913778103 Tel.: (02) 950 7000 Fax: (02) 887 2209 Belgique/België France Polaroid...

132 Technical Support If you need additional help with your Polaroid equipment, call your nearest Polaroid office at the number listed in Polaroid Offices and Service Centers . Polaroid offers a variety of customer support services. Call for details and applicable fees.You may also write to: Digital...

133 Solving SCSI Communication Problems SCSI device not recognized Horizontal lines, sections missing from image System stops responding during image transfer

Next 134 Problem: Device not recognized Failure of your computer to recognize a SCSI device could be caused by any of the fol- lowing: Device not turned on. Turn the power switch on. (See instructions for turning the device on.) Cables loose or disconnected. Check all cable connections. (See instruc...

136 Symptom: Horizontal lines, sections missing from image If your images display horizontal lines or bands, check the following: Incorrect termination. Check for proper SCSI chain termination. (See instructions for setting termination.) Low-quality cables. Use only high-quality SCSI cables. Cables ...

137 Symptom: System stops responding during image transfer If your system locks and stops responding to the mouse and keyboard during image transfer, check the following: Incorrect maximum sync transfer rate or other settings (for Adaptec 2940 and 3940 host adapters only). Change the maximum sync tr...

Next 138 Changing Sync Transfer Rate on Some Adaptec SCSI Adapters If your system has an Adaptec 2940 or 3940 SCSI host adapter, it may not recognize a SCSI device if the minimum sync transfer rate or other values are incorrectly set. To change the minimum sync transfer rate and other important valu...

140 Installing a SCSI Host Adapter This device connects to a SCSI host adapter in your computer. Most Macintosh com- puters have a SCSI adapter built in, but most IBM PC compatible computers do not. If you must install a SCSI adapter, turn the computer off and follow instructions pro- vided by the a...

Next 141 Index A AC power, connecting camera to 115 area of interest, choosing 17 attaching camera to microscope 108 B blackpoint, adjusting color balance by selecting 47 brightness, adjusting manually 50 C camera body, cleaning 98 camera optics, cleaning 90 camera preferences 85 camera, attaching t...