This guide was made specifically for Leica programs and microscopes. The microscope we used to create this how-to guide is the Leica M205 C, consisting of z-stacking capabilities and a motorized column for effortless imaging.
Creating new Camera Profiles
This enables you to select and create profiles in which all settings for image acquisition parameters, such as contrast, exposure time, and saturation, are predefined and stored. If you acquire similar specimens with identical settings, you can use the camera profiles to load the desired settings quickly and easily and begin the acquisition immediately.
Once you have determined what settings work best for a certain species or type of specimen, click on the Camera Profile drop-down menu.
Type the name you would like to use for this camera profile. Then right-click on the tab and save.
Once you save a new camera profile, you can find it in the drop-down menu.
In the Advanced settings tab, the user can manipulate High Dynamic Range (HDR), Averaging, Sharpening, and Color Temperature. This guide will focus on HDR and Sharpening, which were most often used for our project.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) is most useful when imaging shiny, transparent, or dark specimens. It captures images at different levels of exposure and those frames are combined to create one image. You will not be able to see the effects of HDR mode until you start a Z-stack. Be aware that taking images using HDR mode will take longer and use up more storage space. It can produce a higher-quality image depending on the seeds’ characteristics. Note that hairy seeds tend to come out better in standard mode.
In Automatic mode, Brightness is set to 50 %, and Range is set automatically using an average number of frames. This function is enabled automatically when you switch HDR on. If you want to manually adjust those settings, deselect Automatic mode and pick your preferred Brightness levels and range.
Sharpening enhances edges and affects how crisp and sharp an image looks. This is useful when imaging smaller specimens, as it helps the camera pick up on the smallest details.