It's so funny that this thread came up, I was about to post a question regarding taking pictures on a microscope. Since it's related to this topic I'll ask it here or a mod can edit and move it for me.

I've been looking for something to capture pictures on my microscope that's relatively inexpensive but I want something with enough quality to identify microscopic cells or organisms or look at fish scales for aging.

I found these and I can't decide which to get:

I like this one because the software is capable of measuring, has a scale ruler ($77.99):
http://www.microscopenet.com/electronic-...to7sh3ap61g79f0

SkyLight: This one just snaps a picture of the field of view through one of the microscope eyepieces with a smartphone, might be capable of taking a video (I have to find out), it's a camera stabilizer ($65):
http://www.skylightscope.com/purchase/product/skylight/

Comparison study of a SkyLight/iPhone 4s and Olympus DP70:
http://www.jascyto.org/article/S2213-2945(12)00269-4/fulltext
(might have to copy and paste this in your browser)

And this one is cheap ($34.70):
http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Digital-Microscope-Imager-44421/dp/B003DVP7CE

I like the simplicity of the stabilizer for my iPhone, no computer connection needed, probably good enough for my purpose, pictures can be easily enlarged and my pictures will be portable instead of printing them but, will I miss the ability to measure? Keep in mind that I will have to look up plankton to identify them because this isn't a field that I know much about. There has been another occasion when I was trying to identify a parasite where I wished I had a way to measure. Also, the software included with the USB camera is only good for PC's, if I ever get a MAC I will only be able to live preview and capture images.

Bill, or anybody else with knowledge, can you help me decide or suggest something else?

[Linked Image from i108.photobucket.com]