Hello everyone, I am measuring wheat root anatomical traits (whole root diameter, stele diameter, etc.) using ImageJ. Initially, I used a compound microscope at 4x magnification and calibrated the scale using a physical stage micrometer (ladder). Due to a change in equipment availability, I switched to a dissecting microscope for a few remaining samples. This microscope automatically burns a 1 mm scale bar into the image. I used this built-in scale bar to set the scale in ImageJ, also at 4x magnification. However, the measurements from the dissecting microscope are consistently and noticeably higher than those from the compound microscope. I followed the standard “Set Scale” procedure in ImageJ for both sets of images. What could be causing this measurement discrepancy? Are images taken from two completely different microscope types fundamentally comparable for this type of anatomical data, even if both are at 4x? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Ishrat,
Both microscopes should measure length accurately. My guess is that the 1 mm burned into the image by the dissecting scope is off. Can you image a stage micrometer (or any good mm ruler) on that scope to check?
As ever,
Tobias Baskin