Diane,

Images ideally should be archived in TIFF format as JPEG is 'lossy'
compression and discards detail to achieve the compression. Ordinarily this
loss is unimportant as the brain can interpolate detail and doesn't miss it.
However, if you are archiving image data that you may need to go back to for
image analysis etc. it needs to be uncompressed and TIFF is the standard as
it is understood by just about every computer system out there (Mac,
UNIX/Linux even Microsoft!).

For gross specimens you can get away with JPEG if it is just a record of the
specimen and no more is likely to be done with the image.

As regards cameras, I have used a number of systems including video cameras
hooked up to image grabbers, for this you do need someone with a degree of
clue to get the card installed and working. Also various digital cameras.
I'm a big fan of the Nikon Coolpix, the image quality is very good and the
high-end ones are very sturdy, always a good thing in the lab!

As regards image archiving we use a custom database, but there are a large
number of image archiving systems, some of which will act as image grabbers
off the cameras, but offhand I can't think of any names.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Nick Bullough BSc.(Hons) AIBMS

-----Original Message-----
From: diane g miller [mailto:millerd@coho.net]
Sent: 19 June 2002 09:22
To: Histonet
Subject: Image Archiving


Hello All,

I would appreciate information from any of you in reference to what software
you use to archive your images, whether they be for gross photography,
microslides, EM,  Confocal microscopy, or data.    Also what format are they
in TIFF, JPEG, etc.? Please include what cameras you are using and what kind
of interface problems you may have had to begin with. Please feel free to
email me direct, unless others on the histonet are interested in this topic
as well.

Thanks
Diane G. Miller
Miller Consultant Service
millerd@coho.net
503-784-6444



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