What type of camera setup is required to take photos of luciferase?

Question

I'm working with luciferase which has a wavelength of blue 480 nm and I want to be able to take a photo of it. The trouble is, I can see the luciferase glowing in all of its glory in front of me but no matter how hard I try, I can't take a photo of the luciferase with my DSLR (Nikon D80) using a Nikon 50 mm lens and a Nikon 35 mm lens. I've tried removing the filters (Nikon L37 and Hoya UV).

I'm curious if I'm missing a certain lens/filter or if I should be shooting using a different lighting setup. I'm already exposing for 30" at f/22 on ISO 1600. Perhaps longer?

Asked by bobthejoe

Answer

That wavelength is certainly within the spectrum you can capture with any lens, with or without filters. Digital sensors capture between 350-1000nm If it is glowing, then you'd want that to be your main light source. Any additional light you throw onto it is going to dilute the glow from your subject and make it harder to see.

What aperture are you using? Unless this is incredibly dim, I can't imagine 30" not capturing something unless you're using a very small aperture.

Are you doing this in a dark room with a dark background? What do you see in your 30" exposures?

Through trial and error, you could do a range of shutter speeds (and ISO) to try to hone in on a good exposure value. If you can see it with your eyes, you should be able to photograph it without special equipment.

Answered by MikeW

Check more discussion of this question.