Technical information

ICT in the science department 1614 © CLEAPSS 2005
Table 16.3 Types of camera (continued)
Microscope camera A video camera for general use but also has various adapters to fit onto a
microscope eyepiece tube.
Flexible gooseneck camera
Often known by the trade name Flexcam
®
. The more-expensive cameras
of this type have higher resolutions and eyepiece adaptors to link to high-
quality microscopes.
16.6 Image capture and display
Image-capture technology allows images to be observed simultaneously by a whole
class of pupils and saved for later reuse. In addition, if captured via a computer or
digital-recording device, the images can be inserted into electronic documents for
display, eg, as web pages or printed out. Software (often provided with the camera) is
available to manipulate the images, enabling them to be edited as required.
Setting up and mastering the range of powerful facilities to enable images to be cap-
tured, saved, exported and manipulated takes time and a certain amount of expertise.
If these challenges can be overcome, the results can be rewarding and open up possib-
ilities not otherwise achievable.
Different types of camera are described in the previous section, though there is some
overlap between the types. The cameras of some flexcam-type models can be detached
from their goosenecks, while other cameras, some designed for use with microscopes,
can be attached to separately-supplied goosenecks. A few stand-alone cameras can be
either attached to goosenecks and/or, with a suitable adaptor, to microscopes. It is
therefore becoming easier to purchase a multi-purpose camera.
Information in this section is provided about some of the general features common to
different types of camera. Two specialised systems, flexcam-type cameras (section
16.6.5) and equipment for video microscopy (section 16.6.8), are discussed in more
detail. The use of web cams in school science is also considered briefly (section 16.6.6).
Reference to section 16.14 (ICT: Glossary) will be helpful to explain many of the terms
used in this section.
If some equipment is already available in the department, it makes sense to use it to
its full potential, if possible. If it cannot be adapted for a particular function, or if the
quality of display is unsatisfactory, the purchase of new equipment will be necessary.
16.6.1 Starting out: choosing equipment
The immense variety of equipment available in both the educational and the comm-
ercial markets makes it difficult to know how best to make a choice. It can be useful to
consider the following steps:
a) Decide what the equipment will be used for.
• If the intention is only to use equipment to show images on a screen, a camera
that can be connected directly to a TV monitor will be the most convenient and,
with equipment within school budgets, will probably give the best images. How-