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Hello Dave,
We have recieved preliminary results from recent subjective tests that
are impressive.  Signal/noise ratios with the 5-Live are well beyond
anything we have achieved out of our SP-2 point scanner and it is fast.
I'll be trying out the instrument in person at the beginning of next week.
    The impression related by our end users who briefly tested the
5-Live is that it will noticably out-perform a PMT based point scanner
in terms of signal/noise regardless of whether one needs the speed or
not.  This doesn't suprise me too much.  The intensity of illumination
seems to be much greater than one gets with a Nipkow based system--this
is useful under some circumstances, but it might not be necessary for
those who are prepared for working under low light conditions.  My
initial reaction is that the line scanning strategy will likely be more
efficient on both the illumination and detection sides of the equation.
Also, the 5-Live platform uses all solid state lasers; this is probably
a step in the right direction.
    The 5-Live is more expensive than a Nipkow rig, but I think it is
promising that the investment would be worth the extra cost in terms of
flexibility, quality of software/hardware integration, and service
support from the manufacturer.
Regards,
Karl

David Knecht wrote:

> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
> I got a brochure recently on Zeiss's new LSM5 Live confocal
> microscope for live cell imaging.  It appears to be designed to
> compete with the spinning disk instruments, however it is a line
> scanner rather than a point scanner or Nipkow disk.  Has anyone
> actually seen the instrument to comment on its performance?  Thanks-
> Dave
> --
>
> Dr. David Knecht
> Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
> University of Connecticut
> 91 N. Eagleville Rd.   U-3125
> Storrs, CT 06269-3125
> [log in to unmask]
> 860-486-2200      860-486-4331 (fax)
> home page: http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~mcbstaff/knecht/knecht.html


--
Karl Garsha
Light Microscopy Specialist
Imaging Technology Group
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
405 North Mathews Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
Office: B650J
Phone: 217.244.6292
Fax: 217.244.6219
Mobile: 217.390.1874
www.itg.uiuc.edu