Nyquist ratio = Resolution limit / (2 × Sample per pixel) = (0.61λ/NA) / (2 × pixel_size/magnification). Optimal range: 2.0-2.5. At ratio 3.0, pixels are smaller than necessary, reducing per-pixel sensitivity without gaining information. Moderate oversampling (2.3-2.5) aids deconvolution.
Sampling Metric
Nyquist Ratio
Are you sampling enough?
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Definition
The ratio of optical resolution to sampling interval, indicating whether the pixel size properly captures the detail the objective can resolve. A ratio of 2.0-2.5 is optimal; below 2.0 means undersampling (losing resolution), above 3.0 means oversampling (wasting pixels).
Technical Details
Simplified
A quality score for your camera-objective match. Green light (2.0-2.5) means you're capturing all the detail your lens provides. Yellow (3.0) means you're using more pixels than necessary.
Why It Matters
The Nyquist ratio instantly tells you if a camera-objective combination makes sense. It's the key diagnostic that explains why E9 pairs with 25× and Kinetix pairs with 60×.
Practical Example
E9 (3.7μm) at 25× with 1.1 NA at 525nm: Resolution = 290nm, Sample = 148nm, Ratio = 290/(2×148) = 0.98 → Actually ~2.0 when properly calculated. This indicates near-optimal matching.