1. The SPOT camera is certainly a very good all-in-one choice.

2. For USD 2500-3000, you can also turn your PI camera into a
SPOT-like camera using the MicroColor LCD filter from CRI
(http://www.cri-inc.com/Pages/framesets/product_rgb_imag.html). The
software handles PI cameras among others according to CRI, I have no
idea how good it is, though.

3. If sensitivity is not a major concern but money is, you might also
want to try the Nikon Coolpix950 with microscope adapter. You get
fairly high resolution (1600x1200, 24bit interpolated color) at a
very modest price - and you can still use the camera for its original
purpose.

I hope that helps a bit,

Beat

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