If your laboratory has a few tens of thousands of dollars lying around, you can get a really good photomicroscopy setup. But how many labs have that much money to spend? It is possible to get good quality microphotography from less expensive setups by shopping around and learning to get the most from your equipment.

Buy What You Can Afford

Start by calculating how much your organization can afford to spend on photomicroscopy. Shopping without a budget is either disappointing, after you realize you can't afford that great equipment you just found, or dangerous, when you purchase a system only to realize that uses up your equipment budget for the next three years.

With a spending limit, you can quickly eliminate the more expensive systems and focus your research on affordable equipment. And you will need to do your research. Budget photomicroscopy falls into two categories: inexpensive and cheap. Inexpensive is good; cheap is bad. Cheap lenses will distort the light. Cheap microscopes and cameras will fall apart quickly, forcing you to spend more money later. Inexpensive equipment, on the other hand, may not have the capabilities of expensive items, but what it does it does well.

Learn And Practice

Here's the real secret to photomicroscopy: skill is more important than equipment. A talented photographer with an inexpensive system can get better pictures than an ignorant and inexperienced technician using the best cameras and microscopes around. Read the manuals. Learn the capabilities and limits of your equipment.

Just like you didn't stop learning when you left school, you don't stop becoming a better microphotographer after you've read the manual. You should always be discovering how to take better pictures. Experiment with the equipment on nonessential samples. Join photomicroscopy internet forums to ask questions and learn new techniques. If you take a bad picture, understand why you took a bad picture so you don't make that mistake again. Keep pushing yourself to expand your abilities and soon you will be producing images that rival those found in scientific magazines.

Hire A Professional

Although exceptional skill is more important than expensive equipment, the best photomicroscopy comes from people who have both. If your organization can't invest the time necessary to develop at least one microphotography expert in the department, it may be cheaper and more effective to hire an outside agency to handle your microphotography needs.

The experience that comes from years of practice combined with the professional equipment commercial photographers use produces breathtaking images of your tiny subjects. Many labs find it more affordable to bring in an expert than to buy the equipment, especially if they have only occasional need for microphotography. Even if you have your own equipment, a professional can help you learn how to use it more effectively.

Whether you choose to do it yourself or hire an outside photographer, it is possible to produce informative and beautiful photomicroscopy images without breaking the lab budget.