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Chemistry Laboratory Web Pages: Photographs |
Buy or borrow a good digital camera. Although a standard film camera can be used (and I have done it), transitioning a film-captured photo to web format using a scanner often leads to loss of quality. It is possible to have the film processed as digital images, but the delay between taking the picture and seeing the result means that the project will take a lot of time. The great advantage of a digital camera is that you can try a new camera setting or lighting arrangement, take a picture, and know the result in a few minutes. Digital pictures let you be creative, trying things that you would not bother doing if you had to wait and pay for film developing.
What is a "good digital camera"? A multitude of styles and features are available, but a camera with a high enough resolution and a couple other features (see below) is a "good" camera for taking pictures for your web pages of chemistry glassware and equipment.
Please note: The information that I give you about camera features that are available today will be outdated in a few years (or even months). The camera with the features that I consider important will probably still be available, although the same camera is likely to be cheaper, and cameras with additional features will be available.
Resolution is the number of pixels per image. The more pixels, the sharper the edges of objects in the photo, the greater the detail, and the larger the size of the resultant photo. A camera with a capacity to take 2 megapixel pictures is sufficient for web photos of lab equipment.
The pictures of crystals, below, show the difference between 1 megapixel and 2.5 megapixel camera images. In the early 1990s I had just purchased a 1 megapixel camera when a lab student showed me her crystals of a Diels-Alder adduct. I took a picture of those crystals, but the photo did not show the detail that I could see with my eyes. Later in the 1990s I purchased a 2.5 megapixel camera and again took pictures of the Diels-Alder adduct. See for yourself the difference in the photos. (Click on the small images to see a larger view.)
 1 megapixel |
 2.5 megapixels |
(Note: in these and other pictures on these pages, click on the small picture
or "thumbnail" to see a larger image of the same.)
If you buy a relatively expensive camera, it will probably show truer colors because it has better image sensors. Compare the distillation set-up photo on the left, taken with a 1 megapixel camera, with the one on the right, taken with a 2.5 megapixel camera.
 1 megapixel |
 2.5 megapixel |
The photo below is one example of the detail you can obtain with a 2.5 megapixel camera:
Cameras with 2 megapixels or better are currently referred to as "high-end" cameras, and as such a lot of features are incorporated into the camera. You may or may not want or use all of these features. The features which I consider important are listed and explained below.
Viewfinders and preview screensViewfinders can be either through-the-lens or optical. Through-the-lens viewing is the type of viewfinder that you are probably used to in your 35mm film SLR camera: What you see is exactly what will be captured in the picture, including the focus of the picture. Optical viewfinders let you see a framed view of what the picture will be, but they do not let you know if it is in focus. If you have a choice, opt for an SLR digital camera.
Most digital cameras have an LCD preview function. This is a small screen on the camera on which you can view a the picture to be taken. Some people prefer to use a preview screens, some the viewfinder. The viewfinder has a few drawbacks: It is sometimes hard to see in certain types of light, sometimes you have the hold the camera at an awkward angle to see the viewfinder, and viewfinders in general use up a lot of battery power.
Focus optionsMost digital cameras have automatic focus, especially if you have a 2 megapixel camera. A fixed focus camera does not work if you want to take good pictures of glassware.
Manual focus using a focusing ring is useful in taking pictures of lab set-ups. Sometimes your idea of what to focus on is different from that chosen by the autofocus of the camera. Various types of manual focus options are available. My camera has some manual focus options but does not have a focus ring. It does take good pictures, but is sometimes difficult to get the exact focus that I desire.
White balance adjustmentsWhite balance adjustments allow you to set the "white point" for the picture. Cameras detect white light and automatically balance it against the overall color of the photograph. But, the camera's sensor can be fooled under certain lighting circumstances, resulting in unrealistic colors. The ability to override the automatic setting and set a manual "white point" allows you to adjust your picture's colors. (See examples of this in the "Taking the Pictures" section.)
You have to have storage in your camera, but the type you get depends on your personal preference and/or what is available when you purchase your camera. Usually, the digitized photos are stored on a small card which is inserted into your camera. The card is read either on a "reader" connected to your computer, or by connecting your camera to the computer.
A few other features you might see or like on cameras are:
The following web sites currently (9/2002) have good descriptions of these and other features:
This page is maintained by Patty Feist, Lab Coordinator, Organic Chemistry Teaching Labs at CU Boulder.
Please send any comments, corrections, or suggestions to feist@colorado.edu.
CU Organic Chem Homepage: orgchem.colorado.edu
