Abstract
This book is the second edition of Video Microscopy. The new title reflects the fact that true video detectors have largely been replaced by new digital cameras. The book consists of three parts: chapters discussing how to provide a high quality image to the digital camera, chapters dealing with digital and video fundamentals, and chapters discussing specialized areas of microscopy. In the first set of chapters, contributors address microscope optics, digital camera characteristics, matching microscopes with appropriate cameras, and fundamentals of fluorescence microscopy. The second section of the book provides information about digital image processing and manipulation. The third section begins with a discussion of quantitative microscopy, then moves into descriptions of quantitative fluorescence microscopy, ratio imaging, fluorescence resonance energy transfer, and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. It is important to note that the book deals primarily with CCD cameras. Moreover, coverage is restricted to wide-field microscopy; confocal microscopy is specifically excluded.
This book is targeted to researchers in the biomedical sciences who rely on state-of-the-art digital microscopy for visualization and quantitation. I was able to identify no other books so carefully focused on acquiring, manipulating, and quantifying images obtained using CCD cameras. For those who use such specialized techniques, the book would be a very valuable resource. However, much of the book is considerably more theoretical than is suitable for the average veterinary pathologist. However, even for those of us who shudder at the sight of a differential equation, valuable information is provided by several of the chapters, including “Proper Alignment of the Microscope,” “Fundamentals of Fluorescence and Fluorescence Microscopy,” “Techniques for Optimizing Microscopy and Analysis through Digital Image Processing,” and “The Use and Manipulation of Digital Image Files in Light Microscopy.” Overall, the book is well-written and well-illustrated. Unusually for such a compilation, the chapters seem to be of uniformly high quality and the index is useful and comprehensive.