Choosing the most appropriate camera for your experiment

Introduction

In this guide you will learn how to identify what kind of detector is appropriate for your experiment, how to understand the main specifications of the two types of cameras you will encounter the most in biological imaging and relate them to your needs.

Nowadays, both sCMOS (scientific Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and EMCCD (Electron Multiplying Charge Coupled Device) cameras can be used for biological imaging and give excellent results (Figure 1). However, depending on the nature of your sample, one camera might perform better than the other. At the BioFrontiers Advanced Light Microscopy Core, you have access to sCMOS and EMCCD cameras. They are listed for each microscope on the equipment page of the facility website (advancedimaging.colorado.edu).

Figure 1: Left: sCMOS Hamamatsu Orca Fusion. Right: EMCCD Andor iXon Ultra.

 

sCMOS and EMCCD cameras each have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, CMOS cameras are faster than EMCCD cameras and allow for greater spatial resolution. However, EMCCD cameras are more sensitive and can detect very low signals. They can both be used for most fluorescence microscopy experiments. This document is designed to help you understand which one will give you the best results depending on your sample.