>
> I own a Spot II and agree the non-real time focusing problem is tough
> for occasional users.  We just demo'ed Optronics new Magnifire
> camera.  This camera is cooled 40 degrees below ambient, has a filter
> wheel in front of the chip that allows RGB images or B&W, has
> firewire transfer relying on an inexpensive generic card that comes
> included, does 10 frames per second so it looks like real time (but
> isn't quite) when focusing or moving the stage x-y controls.  It only
> costs $13,200 list.  I find it far superior to the Spot II.  I am
> ordering mine next week.
>

You should test the registration between images acquired with different
color filters in the filter wheel. You may find that there is a slight
shift in the images. If this is so, it can be corrected later, but
you need to know it is there. In applications like FISH, a shift of
one or two pixels can make a big difference.

--aryeh
Aryeh Weiss                          | email: [log in to unmask]
Department of Electronics            | URL:   http://optics.jct.ac.il/~aryeh
Jerusalem College of Technology      | phone: 972-2-6751146
POB 16031                            | FAX:   972-2-6751275
Jerusalem, Israel                    | ham radio: 4X1PB/KA1PB