While I knew for a while that you could use the iPhone’s camera to take really close up pictures of stuff, this is the first time I’ve seen an app that’s designed to help you take high quality scientific images with your iPhone’s camera.
iMicroscope is a new app that helps you take precision pics of microscopic stuff. Unfortunately, you’ll need a microscope in order for it to work, but if you’re a lab geek you probably have one or two of those lying around. The software is designed to help optimize photos taken through the viewfinder of any desktop microscope. According to its creator, the iMicroscope “Works with any optical microscope which is compatible with human eyes,” which begs the question: what other sort of eyes would your microscope be designed for? Dogs? Cats? Chipmunks? Maybe laboratory produced zombies.
Below are a couple of extremely magnified pics taken with the app. Here’s a picture of fleas playing a game of tic-tac-toe, a 200 nanometer slice of a 70 nanometer epoxy bullet under a copper grid – I think.
It’s a little tricky to set up the camera lens in the exact location where your eye would normally go, but the results are pretty damned impressive once get the hang of it. All you need to know is the lens settings of your microscope in order for the app to optimize your images.
Here’s a little demo showing off how the app works, in case you really need more explanation. But if you’re smart enough to work in a lab with microscopes, epoxy bullets and copper grids, I’m pretty sure you can skip right to the download and install part.
Cool, no? If you want to take pictures of the teensy, tiny world of microscopic things, then head on over to the iTunes App Store now. iMicroscope sells for $2.99 (USD) – microscope not included.
