Typical gain (in e-/ADU) for an Andor EMCCD camera

[lechristophe]

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Hi,

I'd like to evaluate the localization precision for single molecule
experiments. I need to convert the acquired signal into a number of
photons, using knowledge of the camera gain. Anyone would know what is the
typical gain (I mean the e-/ADU gain before taking into account the EM
gain) for an Andor Ixon 897 camera, using the 10 MHz readout and the gain
set to 1?

I'll try to ask Andor for my specific camera but that would be great to
have a number to try and see if my calculation is not too far off.

Thanks,

Christophe

--
Christophe Leterrier
Researcher
Axonal Domains Architecture Team
CRN2M CNRS UMR 7286
Aix Marseille University, France

[David Baddeley]

you should have received a "System performance booklet"
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Hi Christophe,

you should have received a "System performance booklet" (2 pages in a clear file) with your camera which has the values in it. My one quotes 15.6 e-/ADU for the mode you specify, although they do vary a little from camera to camera (or at least between generations of cameras).

cheers,
David


________________________________
 From: Christophe Leterrier <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Sent: Tuesday, 3 September 2013 9:03 AM
Subject: Typical gain (in e-/ADU) for an Andor EMCCD camera
 

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Hi,

I'd like to evaluate the localization precision for single molecule
experiments. I need to convert the acquired signal into a number of
photons, using knowledge of the camera gain. Anyone would know what is the
typical gain (I mean the e-/ADU gain before taking into account the EM
gain) for an Andor Ixon 897 camera, using the 10 MHz readout and the gain
set to 1?

I'll try to ask Andor for my specific camera but that would be great to
have a number to try and see if my calculation is not too far off.

Thanks,

Christophe

--
Christophe Leterrier
Researcher
Axonal Domains Architecture Team
CRN2M CNRS UMR 7286
Aix Marseille University, France

[John Oreopoulos]

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Christophe,

I believe the Andor EMCCD cameras have a feature that allow you convert pixel counts directly to photoelectron counts (or photon counts if you indicate the emission wavelength). It's called count-convert mode, or something like that.

If you can't get that to work, Nico Stuurman has outlined a very simple procedure to directly measure the e-/ADU value of your camera using MicroManager (any image acquisition software can be setup to do the same thing):

http://valelab.ucsf.edu/~MM/MMwiki/index.php/Measuring_camera_specifications

With the EM gain set to 1, I suspect that you'll get something between 5-15 e-/ADU, depending on the pre-amp setting you've chosen. At least, those are the numbers indicated on the calibration sheet of the camera I'm using.

Cheers,

John Oreopoulos
Staff Scientist
Spectral Applied Research
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Canada
www.spectral.ca



On 2013-09-03, at 9:03 AM, Christophe Leterrier wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to evaluate the localization precision for single molecule
> experiments. I need to convert the acquired signal into a number of
> photons, using knowledge of the camera gain. Anyone would know what is the
> typical gain (I mean the e-/ADU gain before taking into account the EM
> gain) for an Andor Ixon 897 camera, using the 10 MHz readout and the gain
> set to 1?
>
> I'll try to ask Andor for my specific camera but that would be great to
> have a number to try and see if my calculation is not too far off.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Christophe
>
> --
> Christophe Leterrier
> Researcher
> Axonal Domains Architecture Team
> CRN2M CNRS UMR 7286
> Aix Marseille University, France

[Orla Hanrahan]

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Hi Christophe,

David is correct, you will need to get the performance sheet of the camera which would have been shipped with it when you purchased it.  If you cannot find this, just send me a mail with the serial number of the camera and I can get a copy of the performance sheet sent to you.

Best wishes,

Orla Hanrahan ([hidden email])

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orla Hanrahan, PhD
Application Specialist, Life Science Imaging

W: www.andor.com




-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Christophe Leterrier
Sent: 03 September 2013 14:04
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Typical gain (in e-/ADU) for an Andor EMCCD camera

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To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
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Hi,

I'd like to evaluate the localization precision for single molecule experiments. I need to convert the acquired signal into a number of photons, using knowledge of the camera gain. Anyone would know what is the typical gain (I mean the e-/ADU gain before taking into account the EM
gain) for an Andor Ixon 897 camera, using the 10 MHz readout and the gain set to 1?

I'll try to ask Andor for my specific camera but that would be great to have a number to try and see if my calculation is not too far off.

Thanks,

Christophe

--
Christophe Leterrier
Researcher
Axonal Domains Architecture Team
CRN2M CNRS UMR 7286
Aix Marseille University, France