Okay, for those of you who need the COOLEST new gadget...

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Abarnswell

New Member
Check out the Mesoscope here:

http://www.ogles.info/default.aspx

This little baby is awesome. It's basically a microscope that you can attach to the side of your reef tank and look at your fish/rocks/inverts/corals, etc... with great magnification and see things you have never seen before. It's not inexpensive, by any means. But it's awesome! I've got one on my wish list, and my birthday is coming up in February..... :alice Happy Birthday to me!
 
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Abarnswell

New Member
I think it started out even higher, and the price has started to come down. Maybe over time, it will come down even more and become more affordable. I think it was just released recently, as some MACNA event.

They are supposedly working on getting a camera attachment for it so that you can get photos from what you see. They must have something in the works, because look at the awesome photos they have on their website. I wonder how they took those photos??
 
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drty811

New Member
its awsome.....just what i need. JK i stare at my tank to much as it is, if i had that i wouldnt go to work...lol :mrgreen:
 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
That must be the thing that Anthony Calfo was walking around with (at MACNA), I didn't get to see it then. It is pretty interesting but not in the average reefers budget unfortunately.
 
ripcurrent

ripcurrent

New Member
Would you rather spend $500 on the mesoscope or setup a nice little 10 gallon with a 150 watt ocean light?

I'd go for the tank. $500 seems a bit crazy... maybe cause I'm broke :mrgreen:
 
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Abarnswell

New Member
skipm said:
That must be the thing that Anthony Calfo was walking around with (at MACNA), I didn't get to see it then. It is pretty interesting but not in the average reefers budget unfortunately.
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Yes, exactly. That's what Anthony was walking around with at MACNA. My friend Dan Underwood -- the one who told me about the mesoscope -- talked with Anthony at MACNA. That's how Dan knew about it. He told me about it because I was about to buy a microscope for around $300, but Dan knew what I really wanted/needed was this mesoscope so I can see right into the natural setting of the tank and have the magnification to see fine details. The money on the microscope would have been pretty much wasted, as what i really wanted was magnification into the reef tank. The mesoscope offers 12X magnification, plus the eye piece is removeable and there are accessories you can get, which presumably (hopefully) would lead to even higher magnification.

I'm going to buy one after the New Year, once Christmas is over. I really am interested in what's going on at a detailed level. The critters that I am most interested in are the little tiny things wondering around in there, and the little tiny things growing on rock/corals, etc...
 
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incysor

New Member
I'd consider it if and only if they figure out a universal camera adapter for it.

I agree that some of the small stuff is incredibly interesting. I just can't see spending that much on it. That's a sizable chunk towards a dSLR camera, or if you already have a dSLR, that's a very nice macro lens.

B
 
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Abarnswell

New Member
I know next to nothing about cameras. I have a cheapie 35 mm camera, and a somewhat cheapie Sony digital camera. Is there a camera I could get that would take good quality pics inside an aquarium, with some kind of magnification? Maybe not 12x, but some magnification? What does a macro lens do?
 
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incysor

New Member
With higher end digital SLR cameras you have to have macro lens that will allow you to get close to a subject and stay in focus. The great thing about dSLRs is that you have a lot of flexibility to shoot different things by changing lenses. But the camera body isn't cheap, and the lenses are usually more expensive. They're pretty much a waste of money unless you're already into photography.

Many of the point and shoot cameras have a built in macro function that will allow you to focus on close objects. Some are obviously better than others. There aren't that many point and shoot cameras that have higher than a 4x optical zoom.

But there are a few 7x, 10x, and even a couple 12x. You're telephoto zoom is more for distance shots, where your macro ability, is how close you can get to something and still focus on it.
You have to balance that long zoom, with your macro functions though.
Digital zoom, is a gimick. The first thing you should do with a new digital camera is disable this feature. If you use the digital zoom it'll end up blurring otherwise great shots.

This is a older relatively cheap 3mp point and shoot camera that has a decent macro range, a 10x telephoto zoom.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001G ... s&v=glance

Here's how it stacks up against some newer models.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare ... s&show=all

For aquarium shots personally I'd go wth the a520 over the S1. It has a closer macro range. But the 10x telephoto zoom of the S1, would make it easier to get shots at sports events, or birds, or other wildlife that won't let you get real close.

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Abarnswell

New Member
incysor, on the A520, the chart says that the "Macro focus range" is 5 cm. What does this mean? That you can shoot as close as 5 cm away from the object?
 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
Thats what it means April, you can take pics from 5cm or further away. One option you also may want to look into is an underwater camera for diving. I know that Sealife has a couple of models and they also have macro lenses available. When my reefclub went on a trip to an on-line retailers place a couple of years ago one of the younger members brought his fathers dive camera and he had some ofthe neatest pics I have seen. The thing that made all of the pics great was he could place the camera underwater (or at least the lense) so that none of the pics had any kind of reflection from the surface or the glass on them. You may even be able to get an underwater housing for your camera depending on the model. You can get one made for any camera but the cost isn't worth it (starts around $1000 for a custom housing) but if a mass produced housing is available that may be an option. If you get the mesoscope please post, I would be kinda interested in what you think about it.
 
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Abarnswell

New Member
Thanks for the camera info, guys. I've been needing to get a new digital camera that can take good quality close up shots. Mine doesn't do that.

I am still interested in the Mesoscope, for watching action and just generally looking at what's going on in the tank. I think the Mesoscope people are working on having a camera attachment, which would be the best of both worlds: getting to watch action and be able to take pics, too.

I will post about the Mesoscope when I get it, but that probably won't be until February or so.
 
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