‘Miniature Landscapes’ - Fungal art at its best (Borescope Pictures)

On the way home from work today, I stopped by the new gallery in Mann Library for the opening of Miniature Landscapes, an extraordinary exhibit by Kent Loeffler, one of three photographers who have served the Department of Plant Pathology at Cornell over the last century, and Kathie Hodge, a faculty member in that department who blogs at the Cornell Mushroom Blog.
Kent is a treasure and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He toils all day shooting diseased leaves and other mundane subjects. But he’s a great artist and photographer who is as quick to share his expertise as he is to share his smile. If you’re in the neighborhood, you owe it to yourself to view these photos.
Kent used a borescope to get right down into the the world of fungi. He describes it as “a bit like having a fisheye lens on the end of a stick.” You can see more examples of this technique and some of the technical details at his photo lab website. Kathie’s equally fascinating videos of growing fungi and decaying fruit are running on continuous loops on retro Macs in the center of the exhibit.
Some of my favorite work of Kent’s, though, are at the other end of the spectrum — his panoramas. (You can drag yourself around Minns Garden outside my office 360 degrees.) Many have graced the cornell.edu homepage and some 6-foot-long prints of his decorate the halls of the office where my wife works in Collegetown.
Many of Kent’s works are online, but scattered all over like the spores he’s often called on to shoot. Check out these:

• Plant Path Photo Lab website with linke to still, panoramas, time-lapse movies and some other very interesting techniques. (Check out his digital photography and PhotoShop tips.)
• Plant Pathology Photos rescued from the old ExploreCornell site. Interesting historical stuff along with Kent’s work.
• Ithaca 360 features more of Kent’s 360-degree panoramas from the Ithaca area.

Interesting note: If you google image search Kent’s name, you don’t get his great art. But you do get a great image we comissioned Kent to do of viburnum leaf beetle larva for our viburnum leaf beetle website.
Now what excuse can I think up to borrow Kent’s borescope?

Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa borescope photo by Kent Loeffler

You can find a wide selection of borescope for science researches at Fiberscope.net industrial store.

Portable Monitor Type Flexible Borescope

Medit Inc. presents a new revolutionary unit, which offers operators a video image of the inspection area.

Often we need portable devices for inspection needs. With the help of a new Portable Monitor Type Flexible Borescope you can discover new possibilities to inspect areas. This Borescope is equipped with a powerful LED Light Source, 3.5” TFT display screen, internal CMOS camera chip in the tip. It is able to capture images and video. Though it is quite compact, this Borescope can perform all types of remote visual inspections, similar to any traditional industrial Borescope. Its working length 1 - 30 m, diameter of probe 5.5 mm. You can change videoprobes. A bright TFT monitor allows better communicating and understanding when discussing with your clients about the inspections.

The unit’s 5.5mm outer diameter can easily access small spaces including the spark plug holes of gasoline or diesel engines. The extra-wide angle camera takes pictures up to 640x480 resolution. You can save pictures and video of your inspection areas to SD card.

Discover the World of Medit Borescopes, Fiberscopes and Videoscopes!

Link to this Portable Monitor Type Borescope

Borescope, Connectable to PC – Nice Solution

Medit, Inc. continues to offer the best solutions for your inspection needs. Today Medit presents a new Portable USB Video Borescope.

This new industrial Flexible USB Inspection Camera is a whole new innovation. Instead of transferring analog image via optical fiber this device utilizes digital image transfer. This new USB Video Borescope provides higher image resolution than normal fiberscope. This Video Borescope can take still pictures and record video. You can easily connect this Borescope to your PC and watch an enlarged view of the inspected area.

The sphere of its application is giant. This Flexible USB Video Borescope suits perfectly to Aircraft, Marine, Locksmiths, Auto-Repair or any other industries that would require storing individual database for clients. It is very convenient to inspect whatever you need with the help of this Inspection Camera. It is the total solution for replacing traditional industrial fiberscope.

Among its characteristics we only mention its insertion tube length 36" (91 mm) and only 10 mm in outer diameter. The resolution is 400,000 pixel, which is enough for any kind of inspection needs. Each unit is packed in an aluminum case, including USB cable and CD driver.

Discover the World of Medit Borescopes, Fiberscopes and Videoscopes!

Link to this Portable USB Inspection Camera

Borescopes - all you need to know

Have you ever heard of a borescope? Chances are you've seen them, even if you didn't know what they were called. For example, have you ever seen an engine mechanic using a small-diameter tube, with an eyepiece on the end? In any position the thin, sometimes flexible tube, in strategic locations helps them to get a good look at what is going on inside. These are borescopes.

As you might have guessed, borescopes are commonly used when inspecting machinery. For example, HVAC professionals use rigid borescopes, which have a straight-line barrel, to inspect air conditioning and heat pump components. The advantage of using a borescope is that it often eliminates the need to completely disassemble a machine in order inspect it.

How do borescopes work? Rigid borescopes, which do not bend, utilize a series of positioned optical lenses to transmit light. There are video borescopes as well, which incorporate the latest video display technology.

On the other hand, borescopes which flex, or bend, utilize a different type of technology -- fiber optics. The fiber-optic filaments used in flexible borescopes allow these models to be bent and moved -- and this is really helpful when various obstacles in the way would prevent the use of rigid borescopes. ProVision borescopes are relatively inexpensive, flexible borescopes which are widely used by mechanics in the automotive field, as well as in other fields.

It is also possible to purchase various types of borescope accessories -- for example, if you will need to use your borescope in the field, you can purchase a battery operated light source for it. You can also purchase specially-designed carrying cases, changeable diameter shafts, couplers for the connection of a camera, etc. At the Fiberscope.net specialized online store you can find a wide range of borescopes to choose from.

And since borescopes can cost thousands of dollars to purchase new, it is also possible to rent them. Borescope rental companies have sprung up, and they provide a very important service for businesses who could not otherwise afford to purchase a borescope -- or for businesses or industries who only have an occasional need to use one. Borescope rental fees are extremely reasonable, and most borescope rental companies have a wide variety of models to choose from. You can rent a borescope from the Fiberscope.net too.

An important borescope advance is the development of specialized, PC-based software applications. These specialized programs will allow you to do things like digitally record images, to document your inspections, operate your borescope from a remote location -- some of them will even help you to do your paperwork! Some companies will offer these computerized applications along with your equipment purchase, eliminating the need for an additional, expensive purchase.