C. Charles Hahn
CCH Auto Appearance, LLC
So I was doing a bit of browsing the other day and came across a really interesting concept for creating a digital microscope out of a tablet or smartphone with a camera (in this case, an iPad):
Explain Everything + iPad Digital Microscope - Explain Everything
While looking at the video, I got to thinking this might prove to be useful for detailing as a way to inspect and document paint defects without breaking the bank on a unit like we've seen Paul Dalton and a few others use. I decided to build my own variation, and turned to Amazon for the necessary parts.
What you'll need
Any camera-equipped tablet or smartphone (in our case a 3rd-gen Apple iPad)
A compact 45x microscope such as this one from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002E0MU70/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?tag=amaz98-20
An inexpensive case/shell for your phone or tablet such as this one for the iPad:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JBN6NQ/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?tag=amaz98-20
A rubber grommet with an I.D. of 1/2" such as this one I sourced at Harbor Freight:
Common Super Glue:
Assembly
After coating one side of the grommet with super glue, stick it to the case/shell, being sure to center it over where the camera lens will be:
Allow the glue to set completely, then put the tablet/phone into the case, and finally seat the viewfinder of the microscope into the rubber grommet.
Testing Results
Here is a normal photograph I took of a small rock chip that has been filled with paint, but not yet leveled to the rest of the panel:
As you can see, there is a slight dark spot in the middle of the touch-up blob. Using our microscope and the 5MP camera on the iPad, let's take a closer look:
Now, we can clearly tell that there are actually two very small dark marks in the blob of paint. We can also see a slight "halo" effect around the edges of our microscope's optics. Using the digital zoom feature in the iPad camera app, we can crop this halo out and gain a bit more detail:
These appear to be anomalies in the distribution of the metallic flakes throughout the touch-up; if they do not simply go away during the sanding/leveling process, it may be necessary to apply a second coat of paint to eliminate the dark marks.
While this was just a quick demonstration based on one of the few defects I could find on this particular vehicle, it clearly demonstrates how useful a tool like this can be when dealing with other paint issues by revealing additional information the naked eye simply cannot see. That it displays on a large screen and is able to be captured for documentation purposes makes it an even better tool. For about 5 minutes worth of work and less than $20, you too can have your very own digital inspection scope.
I have a case on order for my iPhone 3GS as well (cost all of $2) so I will be adapting it to that more compact platform as well.
Enjoy!
Explain Everything + iPad Digital Microscope - Explain Everything
While looking at the video, I got to thinking this might prove to be useful for detailing as a way to inspect and document paint defects without breaking the bank on a unit like we've seen Paul Dalton and a few others use. I decided to build my own variation, and turned to Amazon for the necessary parts.
What you'll need
Any camera-equipped tablet or smartphone (in our case a 3rd-gen Apple iPad)
A compact 45x microscope such as this one from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002E0MU70/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?tag=amaz98-20
An inexpensive case/shell for your phone or tablet such as this one for the iPad:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JBN6NQ/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?tag=amaz98-20
A rubber grommet with an I.D. of 1/2" such as this one I sourced at Harbor Freight:
Common Super Glue:
Assembly
After coating one side of the grommet with super glue, stick it to the case/shell, being sure to center it over where the camera lens will be:
Allow the glue to set completely, then put the tablet/phone into the case, and finally seat the viewfinder of the microscope into the rubber grommet.
Testing Results
Here is a normal photograph I took of a small rock chip that has been filled with paint, but not yet leveled to the rest of the panel:
As you can see, there is a slight dark spot in the middle of the touch-up blob. Using our microscope and the 5MP camera on the iPad, let's take a closer look:
Now, we can clearly tell that there are actually two very small dark marks in the blob of paint. We can also see a slight "halo" effect around the edges of our microscope's optics. Using the digital zoom feature in the iPad camera app, we can crop this halo out and gain a bit more detail:
These appear to be anomalies in the distribution of the metallic flakes throughout the touch-up; if they do not simply go away during the sanding/leveling process, it may be necessary to apply a second coat of paint to eliminate the dark marks.
While this was just a quick demonstration based on one of the few defects I could find on this particular vehicle, it clearly demonstrates how useful a tool like this can be when dealing with other paint issues by revealing additional information the naked eye simply cannot see. That it displays on a large screen and is able to be captured for documentation purposes makes it an even better tool. For about 5 minutes worth of work and less than $20, you too can have your very own digital inspection scope.
I have a case on order for my iPhone 3GS as well (cost all of $2) so I will be adapting it to that more compact platform as well.
Enjoy!
