Zeiss Smartzoom 5

The ZEISS Smartzoom 5 digital light microscope is a turnkey automated microscopy platform with embedded software solutions that helps address some classic limitations of light microscopy.

Depth of field is inherently limited in light microscopy. Smartzoom 5 overcomes this with the ability to acquire a series of images at different focus settings, then processing and reconstructing a final extended depth of field or 3D image. Thanks to telecentric objectives, distortions in the Z direction are minimized. The images with extended depth of field, or 3D surface projection can be saved directly, measured in a 2D profile, or imported into ConfoMap for subsequent 3D surface analysis.

Another challenge for light microscopy is the suppression of reflections from highly reflective surfaces. To combat this, all of the Smartzoom 5 objectives feature integrated segmented LED ring lighting, the alternative to using a polarization filter to suppress glare from reflective surfaces. Images illuminated by different sectors of the segmented ring light are automatically combined by the software to filter out glare that occurs differently for each ring light sector. And, segmented ring light illumination can be combined with co-axial lighting for all objectives. The advantage to digital glare removal is in its consistent application, unlike a polarization filter that may be applied in different directions. Digital glare removal is a true repeatable alternative to the classical polarization filter.

The Smartzoom 5 is also part of Zeiss' correlative workflow which spans from XRM to light microscopy to electron microscopy. Zeiss' 'Shuttle & Find' software allows for the seamless relocation of identified regions of interest between multiple scale ranges to best take advantage of the advantages of each instrument. While integrating this with the 'Connect' add-on for Zen Core, it allows for the data to be visualised in a much more logical manner with several images from different scale-lengths/techniques allowed to be placed over each other.

The Smartzooms objectives 0.5x, 1.6x and 5x have a sufficiently long working distance to enable tilting of the arm throughout the -45 to +45 degree tilt range, without risk of crashing the edge of the objective into large components.

_{Image Courtesy of Zeiss}