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uScope GX Tips for Scanning Petrographic Slides
uScope GX

Information in this article applies to:

  • uScopeGX (All Models)
  • uScope Navigator V4.0 and Later

Article ID: GXA2381 — Created: 5 Apr 2021 — Reviewed: 29 Apr 2021

Summary

Following are several tips we have found valuable in helping to get the best scans of petrographic or geological slides from a uScopeGX with a 10x or 20x objective. These tips are separated into various categories where software settings can help to improve your scans.

Focus Methods

At 10x and 20x, Exhaustive Focus produces great results but takes a long time to scan. Initial Only and Predictive focus methods are your best choices for scanning relatively thick (30 µm) rock sections quickly and with very good results.

Camera Modes

The camera in the uScope provides a Standard Definition (SD) and a High Definition (HD) image mode. For best image resolution and quality, use the High Definition (HD) camera mode. The SD camera mode does scan faster but at a reduced resolution. Due to the dark nature of petrographic slide scans and the bayer encoding used by our cameras, SD scans have a slightly green color cast when scanning dark specimens. HD scans have a more natural color cast.

Illumination Setting

The illuminator on the uScopeGX is calibrated for a nominal setting of 15%. This leaves a great deal of additional illumination you can apply to geological scans. We have found that illuminator values of 25-35 are not uncommon.

When setting the analyzer to angles above 45°, the illuminator level must often be raised to expose the expected color/luminance from the scanned specimen.

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