Polaroid Documents DNA Separation

When most of us think of Polaroid, we think of products like the trendy i-Zone camera for kiddies. However, the company also produces professional products that serve fields ranging from construction to law enforcement. Here's an example. Polaroid's new Digital GelCam is a high-resolution digital camera for scientists and medical professionals who use gel electrophoresis to study and document DNA separation and protein analysis. The digital GelCam system includes a 2.3 megapixel Polaroid PhotoMAX PDC 2300Z digital camera with 1792 X 1200 image resolution and is available with a seven" or 11" hood. The camera lets scientists preview images in the camera and re-shoot as necessary, download images to a computer and work with and analyze them digitally. The PDC 2300Z produces images with CCD resolution of 2.3 million pixels (1816 x 1208) and has a 1.8" LCD monitor, 2.3X optical glass zoom lens, 2X digital zoom, self-timer, 64 MB CompactFlash memory, and a USB interface. Customizable packages let you choose the size of the hood, and either a 52mm 590nm EtBr filter or optional 52mm 535nm SYBR green filter. Both seven" and 11" hoods have footprints small enough to let them sit on a light box. System requirements include a Pentium class PC, Windows 98/ME/2000, 32 MB RAM, 85 MB available hard-drive space, 16-bit display adapter (24-bit recommended), an available serial or USB port, and a 2X or faster CD-ROM drive - not too demanding for scientific apps. Prices, depending on your choice of options, range from $1,799 to $3,699.