Comparing the retinal cameras
Both of these are confocal cameras, not conventional flash cameras, and both image through a small pupil without drops. The difference between them is reach and price, not technology.
Side by side
Measured quantities only. What each instrument does and does not have is in the next section, because a table cannot tell the difference between a figure a manufacturer has not published and a feature an instrument does not have.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column. The row labels stay put.
| Specification | iCare EIDON UWF Retinal ImagingiCare | DRSplus Fundus CameraiCare | AFC-330 Automated Fundus CameraMarco |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | TrueColor confocal (SLO engine + white LED) | TrueColor confocal with white LED | Non-mydriatic Automated Fundus Camera |
| Field of view, single capture | 90° / up to 160° mosaic | 45° × 40° | 45º (33º in small-pupil photography mode) |
| Wider capture | 120° single-shot / up to 200° mosaic | 83° × 78°, up to 9 fields (optional) | Not published |
| Sensor resolution | 14 megapixels (4608 × 3288 px) / 60 pixels/degree | 10 megapixels at 77 pixels/degree | Built-in 12 megapixel CCD camera |
| Optical resolution | 15 µm on retina / 4.9 µm pixel pitch | Not published | Not published |
| Light sources | White LED (440–650 nm) / IR LED (825–870 nm) / Blue LED (440–475 nm, AF/FA models) | White LED (440–650 nm) / Infrared LED (825–870 nm) | Not published |
| Minimum pupil size | 2.5 mm (non-mydriatic) | 2.5 mm (non-mydriatic) | 4.0mm (3.3mm in small-pupil photography mode) |
| Focusing range | –15D to +15D | –15D to +15D | Infrared focus split alignment Adjustable range: -12 to +15 D |
| Working distance | 28 mm standard / 16 mm with the UWF Module | 25 mm | 45.7mm (from objective lens to cornea) |
| Weight | 25 kg (55 lbs) | 11 kg (24 lbs) | 29 kg |
| Export formats | JPEG, PDF, DICOM (optional) | JPEG and PDF; DICOM and Web API optional | Not published |
| Interfaces | USB × 2, Gigabit Ethernet × 1 | 3 × USB 2.0, 1 × Gigabit Ethernet | LAN, USB 2.0 |
What separates them
One paragraph per instrument, taken from its own product page. Each names a real alternative instead of listing features again.
iCare EIDON UWF Retinal Imaging
Ultra-widefield coverage requires the optional UWF Module, which changes both the configuration and the working distance in the lane. If you do not need widefield, the DRSplus shares the same confocal engine at a narrower field and a lower investment; the difference is field of view, not image quality.
DRSplus Fundus Camera
It is not a widefield platform. If your case mix wants peripheral retina, the EIDON UWF is the instrument and the DRSplus will not stretch to it. Stereo, mosaic, DICOM, Web API and the Remote Viewer are all optional on iCare's own specification, so compare configured prices rather than base prices.
AFC-330 Automated Fundus Camera
This is the conventional non-mydriatic camera I carry, and there are two others I carry built on different technology. The iCare DRSplus shares the EIDON's TrueColor confocal engine and images through smaller pupils and some media opacity that a conventional flash camera struggles with; the EIDON with the widefield module goes considerably further again. If your patients dilate poorly or you want widefield, compare those before this. The AFC-330's case is a well-automated conventional camera at a conventional camera's price.
Where these figures come from
Every figure below comes from the manufacturer’s own published materials, linked here so you can check any of them. Nothing is estimated or filled in to complete a row: where a manufacturer does not publish a number, the table says so. Configurations change, so I will confirm the current details before you order.
- iCare EIDON UWF Retinal Imaging: iCare, reviewed 2026-09-05
- DRSplus Fundus Camera: iCare, reviewed 2026-09-05
- AFC-330 Automated Fundus Camera: Marco, reviewed 2026-09-06
The AFC-330 is a conventional flash camera and the two iCare instruments are confocal, so the technology row is the one that matters most before the numbers. Marco does not publish an optical resolution or an export-format list, and those cells say so rather than guessing.
Where the labels differ
Manufacturers do not use one vocabulary across one product line, let alone across four. Every row above where two instruments publish the same quantity under different names is listed here with the reason, so the alignment can be checked, not taken on trust.
- Technology: Marco names this row Type and states the camera class in it; iCare names it Technology and states the same thing. One quantity, two labels.
- Field of view, single capture: Wording differs between the two iCare sheets; the quantity does not. Marco publishes angle of view rather than field of view, the same degrees of retina in one capture.
- Wider capture: These reach further by different means: a lens module on the EIDON, a multi-field montage on the DRSplus. The row compares how much retina you end up with, not how the instrument gets there.
- Sensor resolution: iCare labels the same figure differently on the two sheets. Both are quoted in megapixels with a pixels-per-degree figure alongside. Marco publishes its sensor figure inside a Camera row rather than as a resolution row, so that cell reads as a sentence where the iCare cells read as numbers. It is quoted as published rather than trimmed to match the column, because trimming it would be editing a manufacturer figure to fit a layout.
- Minimum pupil size: iCare abbreviates this on both sheets; the row heading spells it out. Listed even though nothing turns on it, because a list of label differences that quietly omits the ones somebody judged harmless is not a list you can check. Marco spells the word diameter.
- Focusing range: Hyphenated on one iCare sheet and not the other. Marco states its adjustable range inside the Focusing Method row rather than publishing a bare range, so that cell carries the method too.
- Weight: Marco publishes mass where iCare publishes weight, and marks its own figure approximate. Quoted as published.
- Interfaces: Singular on the Marco sheet, plural on the two iCare sheets.
Configurations and specifications change. Ask me to confirm before ordering.
Talk it through with me
Tell me how your practice handles this now and what you want it to do, and we can work through the options together. You do not need to have settled on a product first.