Hdmi Or Usb Video Caputre for Pc - Recomendations

[dreico33]

Hellow Everyone,

I am planning to open a youtube channel for comercial purposes regarding to my work i am doing which is IT Hardware Services. So i am planning to buy a microscope with a camera and an overhead camera . I am new to this kind of field so i would like to give me your recomendations about a Video Capture Card ( PCI-E) that does these things:

1. I will have to cameras so i need a 2 Hdmi Inputs Right?
2. I am not intenting to do live streaming for now so i will need something that can record from these 2 cameras directly to an Hdd Internal or External.
3. I am not interting to capture more than 1080p.
4. I dont know much about video capture but i would like to do video recorging in the same time with the 2 cameras, and have ther ability to change among them with some sw or something? For example i am recoring with the camera of the microscope and change to the overhead camera which is also recording, and at final to have an output file containing
recording from these 2 cameras so i can uploaded in youtube.

So what i will need ? I would like to tell you also than i am on badget and dont want to spend lots of money.

Thank you for your time.

[dellsam34]

Use the cameras' storage and dump the footages in a NLE software and do your editing there, CAM1 to CAM2 switching, PIP ...etc. Capturing from HDMI requires an HDMI switch an expensive HDMI capture card and someone else to do the switching for you on the fly, it is much easier with software.

[dreico33]

Thank you for your replay. Mm i thought you only needed an Hdmi Capture Card since it has 2 Hdmi Inputs and you can switch while you are recording from cam 1 to cam 2 and vice versa on the fly.
So i guess will have to go to sw instead of hw. Is there any way to record from cams directly to some HDD instead of some sd card? Can you recomend a basic nle sw that does not need much of HW? I have an i5 3450 with 8 gb ram DDRIII and a Radeon HD 7850 with 2 gb of ram.

Thank you.

[DB83]

Typically a hdmi capture card that has two connectors only allows you to record from one of them. One is for input and the other is for output (to preview what you are capturing)

If you want to record two inputs then you need 4 connectors and these do cost $$$

[usually_quiet]

The Magewell Pro Capture Dual HDMI capture card has 2 HDMI inputs and no HDMI pass-through connections to connect monitors but it requires a PCI-e 2.0 x4 slot as its computer interface and most likely a more powerful processor than an i5 3450 to compress the video input from the card in real time or large capacity SSDs to capture the card's uncompressed video output. At about $580, this isn't a cheap capture card.

Information about the cameras would be helpful to determine if the cameras can record directly to hard drives.

[dreico33]

Well thank you for your answers. Yeah 580 Us$ is way to much for me. I Guess i will stick to the sw and do video editing from 2 difrenent sources. By the way you know a light- weight yet effective NLE sw for basic - moderate video editing? ( 2 Cams changing pip etc).

Thank you.

[usually_quiet]

VEGAS Movie Studio 16 Platinum can do PIP and Multi-camera. I have not used it, or any other real NLE, but VEGAS Movie Studio 16 Platinum is often recommended to beginning editors here, and the price is not outrageous, There is a free trial available, so you can try before you buy.

[ozymango]

So i am planning to buy a microscope with a camera and an overhead camera

Would USB cameras be an option? I don't know what kind of close up and/or motion work you need to do, but I've got a 2mp C-mount USB camera (uses c-mount lenses) that cost me under a hundred bucks including a small zoom lens, you can set it up as a microscope camera or room camera; it uses a generic Windows driver so it's compatible with pretty much any editor/recorder software. You can check ebay or Amazon for 2mp-5pm USB HD cameras (including microscope cameras), see if anything might work for you.

[dreico33]

Ok thank you for your reply. Well i need an overhead camera for geraraly working on pcb boards ( laptops tablets phone etc) and a microscope camera for the amscope microscope. You think that whatever c-mount usb camera will fit with the amscope? Or i have to buy a amcsope c-mount camera and nothing diffrent?

Thank you.

[ozymango]

You think that whatever c-mount usb camera will fit with the amscope? Or i have to buy a amcsope c-mount camera and nothing diffrent?
Thank you.

Well in my own experiences there are two common USB digital camera lens mount sizes: M12 and C-mount. M12 is simply a metric 12mm threaded hole, c-mount is a 1" threaded hole, and these are industry standards for lens/adapter mounts that you can then connect to a large combination of lens, for close-up and distance work. If you've got any sort of "copy stand" type of overhead camera (or overhead microscope, for circuit board close-up work), then a USB camera would be ideal for something like this, there are all sorts of standard fittings to connect an M12 or C-mount camera to various stands/microscopes.

I'm not sure what kind of microscope you already have, but here's a link to a c-mount USB camera with fittings for mounting in a standard microscope, is this along the lines of what might work for you?

https://www.amscope.com/3mp-usb2-0-microscope-digital-camera-software.html

[dreico33]

This is the microscope i want to buy. ->https://www.amscope.com/bundled-microscopes/3-5x-225x-super-widefiled-zoom-stereo-micr...ription_tabbed
( Base Model Is SM-3T) Is trinocular and i am not sure if it is simul focal also!

So i need a cam that fits in this microscope for pcb repair mostly (Laptops phones tablets mac etc)
I am intenting to record at 1080 p max. So a 2 mp camera would be ok right?

Antother thing that is dumb to ask maybe is when i am zooming in or out from the microscope theese actions i will be seen also from the camera right? Or the cam has its own zooming function? ( Witch i don not want).

Thank you.

[ozymango]

This is the microscope i want to buy. ->https://www.amscope.com/bundled-microscopes/3-5x-225x-super-widefiled-zoom-stereo-micr...ription_tabbed
( Base Model Is SM-3T) Is trinocular and i am not sure if it is simul focal also!

Yup, this microscope can fit a bunch of different cameras, USB or separate digital SLR camera.

So i need a cam that fits in this microscope for pcb repair mostly (Laptops phones tablets mac etc)
I am intenting to record at 1080 p max. So a 2 mp camera would be ok right?

2mp would work fine, especially as you won't be moving around a lot (i.e. you're not recording moving objects) so even 2mp will give you the detail you want at a good price.

Antother thing that is dumb to ask maybe is when i am zooming in or out from the microscope theese actions i will be seen also from the camera right? Or the cam has its own zooming function? ( Witch i don not want).

The camera mounts to the microscope's optics, so it sees only and exactly what you would see if you were looking through the eyepiece, which is I think just what you want.

So I definitely think a USB camera is the way to go for you!

EDIT: I see in looking through some of the Amscope-branded USB cameras that they use different sensors for imaging that may behave differently than other manufacturers imaging sensors at higher resolutions -- my 2mp USB camera will stream 1080p video at 30fps MJPEG, but the Amscope cameras may be optimized for detail over speed and require a larger sensor (higher pixel count) for full HD motion video. In any case, Amscope definitely has a great selection of microscopes and cameras to choose from so you might be able to get a better deal on a package from them (if you purchase both a scope and an HD USB camera there might be a discount).

[dreico33]

Thank you for your replies. I just have a one more question? All trinocular scopes are simul focal? If not what i have to consider?

Thank you.

[ozymango]

Here's another possible option for your microscope: It uses a standard 30mm eyepiece, so you could get a 30mm eyepiece to c-mount adapter similar to this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/C-mount-to-30-mm-30-5-mm-Adapter-for-Stereo-Microscope-Connec...JdtiCZSxRwTbNA

and fit it to any c-mount HD USB camera, such as:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-High-Speed-5MP-1080P-Video-FHD-HD-C-mount-Industrial-...MAAOSwWN5cUU8H

For my own use, I look mostly at the manufacturer of the imaging chip, pretty much any of the Chinese-made cameras use the same imaging chips, Aptina, OV, or Sony, so I look up the imaging chip specs to see what kind of resolution@frame rate that I need for whatever project I'm working on. But no matter what make/brand/cost the USB camera, definitely get a c-mount model and you can fit it to your microscope with an inexpensive adapter.

[ozymango]

Thank you for your replies. I just have a one more question? All trinocular scopes are simul focal? If not what i have to consider?.

The focus will be the same for both eyepieces and the camera, the only thing that differs with the trifocal 'scopes is the lighting adjustment: Because you may want to look through the eyepieces while the camera is also taking an image/video, the scope can be configured to divert more light to the eyepieces, or more to the camera, depending on whatever adjustments the scope allows. So if you turn the light up bright for the camera, you may want to be able to dim the light coming in through the eyepieces so you don't get blinded, or vice-versa, turn up the light for the eyepieces but down for the camera, depending. But I don't think this will be much of an issue for you if you're just using the scope for close-up work with circuit boards and similar, it might be more a concern if you were trying to work with biologic material.

[dreico33]

I think the scope i want to buy is not simul focal! What is your opinion?

https://www.amscope.com/bundled-microscopes/3-5x-225x-super-widefiled-zoom-stereo-micr...ription_tabbed

(Base Model SM-3T)

[ozymango]

I think the scope i want to buy is not simul focal! What is your opinion?

You can look up the manual for any of these scopes at https://www.amscope.com/download -- I looked at the 3T series manual and it certainly seems to have a single focus control for the entire head (stereo eyepieces and camera attachment). Now certainly there are separate diopter adjustments for the eyepieces (for those of us who don't have 20/20 vision in both eyes) and I'm certain you can adjust the position of the camera to align/focus it initially to match the eyepieces, but that's how it should be for any initial setup. Afterwards there's just a single knob for focus/height adjustment, at least in the 3-series manual I found.

[dreico33]

Well i did comunicate with amscope and they said is not Simul Focal. I need 3Tp Series or 3NTP Series. I dont understand why someone to buy a trinocular scope that accepts camera but is not Simul focal, which means or you can see both of eyepieces without camera or you can see through one eye piece and the camera. . And is enough more expensive ....You buy trinocular for camera but is not enough.....

[ozymango]

I mean no offense when I say I'm not clear what exactly you are looking for, we definitely have a slight language mis-match. I don't know enough about each particular Amscope to recommend a specific model, just that Amcscope does make a scope that will do what you want, BUT, I don't know which features are absolutely critical for you, and there are so many variations that Amscope offers that even if I were personally looking for a scope, the configuration possibilities are so large as to be a bit overwhelming. But in terms of connecting a camera to any of these scopes, IF the scope has any sort of standard eyepiece and/or an optical (camera) connection, you can attach ANY brand USB/HDMI/Firewire camera to it that has a c-mount (with the correct adapter).

[dreico33]

Sorry for the mis-Match. The thing i am saying is i can not use the 2 eyepieces and the camera in the same time, meaning i can not work with the scope through the 2 eyepieces and in the same time record from the camera. This is what a simul - focal scope can do right?. So The SM-3T Series although is Trinocular meaning that can accept camera is not Simul Focal. For that i need a SM-3TP Series or a SM-3NTP Series which is more expensive. My limited understading about this matter was that ALL Trinocular Scopes are Simul - Focal, which is not true.
I hoping that now i made it clear for you.

Thank you.

[dreico33]

Ok finaly i will take this scope which is simul focal--> https://www.amscope.com/7x-45x-simul-focal-stereo-lockable-zoom-microscope-on-single-a...oom-stand.html

And i am thinking also to buy this camera--> https://www.amazon.com/Industry-Digital-C-mount-Microscope-Recoder/dp/B015U163T0/ref=a...language=en_US

Will it fit or i need an adapter? No idea...
Any reviews for this camera ?

Thank you.

[ozymango]

And i am thinking also to buy this camera--> https://www.amazon.com/Industry-Digital-C-mount-Microscope-Recoder/dp/B015U163T0/ref=a...language=en_US

Will it fit or i need an adapter? No idea...
Any reviews for this camera ?

That's a very nice camera, I've used a similar one and had no issues. But you will need an adapter to attach this camera to your microscope -- it needs to be c-mount on the camera end, and 23mm diameter on the microsope end, that's the standard fitting size for the separate camera tube (most eyepieces are 30mm). Many vendors sell camera microscope adapters that have sleeves to fit both 23mm and 30mm, so you can use them with either a dedicated optical tube or in an eyepiece tube. Looks like the Amscopes also assume a .5x reduction on the camera end to display properly, so you need an adapter like this:

https://omaxmicroscope.com/a3rdf50-0-5x-reduction-lens-for-microscope-camera.html

I don't know how to search Amscopes site for a similar adapter, but you could probably call them and they should have this style available for a reasonable price. A sales rep should be familiar with these specs, c-mount to 23mm, .5x reduction, industry standard.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[dreico33]

What about one Vs Test. This camera with no adapter for 23 mm https://www.amazon.com/Industry-Digital-C-mount-Microscope-Recoder/dp/B015U163T0/ref=a...language=en_US

VS
https://www.amscope.com/3mp-digital-microscope-camera-for-windows-mac-os.html#product_...ription_tabbed.

vs https://www.amscope.com/3mp-usb2-0-microscope-digital-camera-software.html#product_tab...ription_tabbed

What do you think?

The amscope Cameras seems to have adapter for my scope right? ( Or Not)? Also the sensor thing are diffrent.

Thank you.

[ozymango]

What about one Vs Test. This camera with no adapter for 23 mm https://www.amazon.com/Industry-Digital-C-mount-Microscope-Recoder/dp/B015U163T0/ref=a...language=en_US

VS
https://www.amscope.com/3mp-digital-microscope-camera-for-windows-mac-os.html#product_...ription_tabbed.

vs https://www.amscope.com/3mp-usb2-0-microscope-digital-camera-software.html#product_tab...ription_tabbed

What do you think?

The amscope Cameras seems to have adapter for my scope right? ( Or Not)? Also the sensor thing are diffrent.

Thank you.

Either/both of those Amscope cameras will work with your scope, and both include the adapter so you'll have all the parts you need -- but the 14mp camera from Amazon has a much higher resolution, and would give much improved image quality, especially if you want to stream/record your video at full HD resolutions. So if the maximum image size and playback speed (HD real-time) is very important, I would go for the 14mp camera from Amazon, here's a link to one that includes the adapter (with fittings for 23mm and 30mm eyepieces):

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Industry-Microscope-Recorder-Eyepiece/dp/B07C3GNSTZ/ref...gateway&sr=8-3

[dreico33]

Exactly what i was looking for!!! Thank you very Much. I will choose the last!. And crossed finger everything is gonna go well!!1 Thank you all for your time!!!


I am just editing my reply!

Package Including
1 x HDMI Microscope Camera
1 x 12V Power supply
1 x USB line
1 x Software DISC
1 x 0.5x lens
1 x 30.0mm adapter
1 x 30.5mm adapter


Seems does not have 23mm Adapter, although in the discription says it has.

[ozymango]

Seems does not have 23mm Adapter, although in the discription says it has.

In looking at the photograph I realize the problem -- the base adapter is 23mm in diameter, and it comes with two adapters that fit over that 23mm base to expand it to 30mm, and 30.5mm. So if you don't attach any adapters, it's 23mm and you're good to go.

[dreico33]

Oh Ok then!. Than you very much for your help. I Really apreciate it! I not living inside US and make a mistake to a purchase is something i do not want
Thanks again!

Konstantinos.