Advice for medical specimen photography

Hi all,
I'm not sure this is the best forum for my question, but here goes: I was asked by my company to recommend a system for photographing gross medical specimens, roughly from 0.1 to 10 cm in size. The system needs to be set up for a long-term time study and the images need to be as consistent as possible throughout, so I'm thinking the best option would be to mount the camera on a copy stand and leave it there for the duration. I'm going to recommend a 60D, primarily because the articulated screen should make composing on a copy stand easier, although we'll probably use EOS Utility to acquire from a PC. A macro lens is a no-brainier; I own a 100mm f/2.8 L myself, so I'm leaning toward that. I also think a ring light will be best for illumination, but I have no idea which brands/models are worthy.


So, am I on the right track here? Any suggestions on lighting products? How about a combination of ring light and side lights? If so, is it important to use the same type of light for both? Nowadays, ring lights are almost exclusively LED, but the selection of copy stand lights seems to be limited to halogen and fluorescent (at B&H, anyway).


BTW, my budget is somewhere between $3-4K.

p.s. I LOVE spending other peoples' money on photo equipment!

Dont touch with your hands!!!!

I think the best here is a really high end piece of glass and some white well balanced light.

An option is to add a hot babe dressed like a nurse in high heels and gloves, all in latex lol

I will come and help for FREE

Just joking.... ditch the high end glass and keep the nurse and lights.

My first thought is the 65mm Macro lens due to it's 1:1 to 5:1 macro ability. Is something 0.1cm going to show enough detail while "only" at the 1:1 scale? I'd think a camera with higher MP will show more detail too. A 5D2 would be an awesome choice. Obviously something to hold the camera, like a tripod, is needed. Consider getting a remote shutter release, but if you are using EOS Utility then you can just shoot from the computer.

Saw a POTN user Jon (? K) posted a shot on (?) 5D2 thread way back.
X finger if he can post his setup (with Nikon) here soon.

Probably a copy stand would be best for light and a 100 macro would be a good choice of glass for FF.

http://www.marietta.ed​u/~mcshaffd/macro/copy​.html

http://www.adorama.com​/BCCM2PQHTH.html

airfrogusmc wrote in post #14737458
Probably a copy stand would be best for light and a 100 macro would be a good choice of glass for FF.

http://www.marietta.ed​u/~mcshaffd/macro/copy​.html

http://www.adorama.com​/BCCM2PQHTH.html

if you're spending other peoples money why not get a 5D2 and MP-E 65 macro

lensfreak wrote in post #14737249
An option is to add a hot babe dressed like a nurse in high heels and gloves, all in latex lol

Sorry, no nurses here; it's a research facility.

watt100 wrote in post #14738678
if you're spending other peoples money why not get a 5D2 and MP-E 65 macro

It's mostly a matter of staying within budget. And for this purpose, I think 18 mp will be just fine. Plus, as I said earlier I think the articulating screen of the 60D will come in handy on a copy stand where the camera is always pointing down.

I looked into the 65mm macro and it sounds like a fine lens, but it doesn't have internal focus. Not a deal breaker, but wouldn't I have to put more money into buying a copy stand with a fine height adjustment knob? I suppose the ultimate setup would be a motorized stand to do stack focusing, but I suspect that's out of my price range...

How about the lighting question, guys? Any recommendations for a ring light? The Canon ring light looks sublime, but it's pricier than most.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #14737458
Probably a copy stand would be best for light and a 100 macro would be a good choice of glass for FF.

http://www.marietta.ed​u/~mcshaffd/macro/copy​.html

http://www.adorama.com​/BCCM2PQHTH.html

Thanks for the links! I think you answered my question re: fine focus adjustment on a copy stand.

I'm not sold on halogen lights for this work; the objects are heat sensitive. Leaning more toward strobe.

I can't really help but looking at the copy stand I would suggest one thing.

For powering the camera either go with an AC supply or you might want to think of getting a grip so you have easy access to the batteries. It looks as thought the rear plate of the copy stand might block the battery compartment.

KCY wrote in post #14738916
I can't really help but looking at the copy stand I would suggest one thing.

For powering the camera either go with an AC supply or you might want to think of getting a grip so you have easy access to the batteries. It looks as thought the rear plate of the copy stand might block the battery compartment.

Good catch. I'll add an AC supply and a remote shutter switch to the purchase list.

kawi_200 wrote in post #14737347
My first thought is the 65mm Macro lens due to it's 1:1 to 5:1 macro ability. Is something 0.1cm going to show enough detail while "only" at the 1:1 scale? I'd think a camera with higher MP will show more detail too. A 5D2 would be an awesome choice. Obviously something to hold the camera, like a tripod, is needed. Consider getting a remote shutter release, but if you are using EOS Utility then you can just shoot from the computer.

Yup! At 1:1, a 0.1 cm item is only around 200 pixels wide....

I worked for a hospital as a staff photographer for 10 years and used a light stand very similar to the one I showed you and shot medical specimens a lot. I had no problems...

airfrogusmc wrote in post #14740983
I worked for a hospital as a staff photographer for 10 years and used a light stand very similar to the one I showed you and shot medical specimens a lot. I had no problems...

May I ask you what your lighting setup was? Any suggestions?

Snafoo wrote in post #14741766
May I ask you what your lighting setup was? Any suggestions?

I use large OttLites for print evaluation and my rare copy work - very good colour and relatively cheap - 13W cool-running CFL with well-balanced colour. They makesmall clip-ons for not too much! I'm sure there are others out there ...

Snafoo wrote in post #14741766
May I ask you what your lighting setup was? Any suggestions?

It was a copy stand almost identical to the one I posted. 3400K tungsten lights.