zenCELL owl is the most affordable live-cell imager for routine and research cell culture applications. 24-channel brightfield imaging inside your existing CO₂ incubator. No subscriptions. No annual licence fees. From €14,000.
A live cell imager — also written as live-cell imager or live-cell imaging system — is a microscope designed to observe living cells in real time over hours, days or weeks. Unlike conventional microscopy which requires removing cells from the incubator, a live cell imager captures images automatically and continuously inside the incubator. The result: undisturbed cells, reproducible data, and hours of manual work saved every week.
zenCELL owl uses transmitted light brightfield microscopy — no fluorescent labels required. Cells are imaged in their natural state, without any sample preparation or phototoxicity.
Monitor your cell cultures from any device, anywhere in the world. The software runs on any Windows PC — no cloud subscription, no internet required after installation.
Automated confluency measurement at every time point. Growth curves, migration rates and cell counts are calculated automatically — no manual counting, no subjectivity.
zenCELL owl fits on any standard CO₂ incubator shelf — 18×18×10 cm, 1.5 kg, one USB-C cable. Ready in minutes.
Choose your interval (minimum 1 minute) and select wells. The system starts imaging automatically — 24 wells simultaneously.
Confluency, cell count, growth curves and timelapse videos are generated without any manual input.
PNG, JPG, AVI video, CSV data — all publication-ready. Free ImageJ integration included.
All key specifications of the zenCELL owl live cell imager at a glance.
Monitor 24 positions in parallel — no additional hardware required.
1.2 × 0.9 mm field of view. 3× higher resolution than Incucyte S3.
Fits any standard CO₂ incubator shelf without modification.
20 seconds per vessel scan. Continuous 24/7 monitoring up to 2 weeks.
Fully automatic. One-time setup per plate type. No manual adjustment.
Purchase from €14,000 or rent from €290/month. No subscriptions.
Upgrade for 96 & 384-well plates. Full 96-well scan in under 90 seconds.
Single cable connection. Plug & play on any Windows 10/11 PC.
Validated in 50+ peer-reviewed publications across cell biology, pharmacology, oncology and reproductive science.
Both are live cell imagers — but only one fits on an incubator shelf and costs less than €14,000.
| Feature | zenCELL owl | Incucyte S3 | live-cell-imager.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | from €14,000 | ~€220,000+ | not published |
| Annual licence fee | None | Yes | unknown |
| Camera resolution | 5MP | 1.7MP | not published |
| In-incubator use | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rental option | ✓ from €290/month | ✗ No | unknown |
| ImageJ integration | ✓ Free | ✗ Proprietary | unknown |
| Publications | >50 | >5,000 | unknown |
A live cell imager — also called a live-cell imager or live-cell imaging system — is used to observe living cells in real time without fixation or labelling. Furthermore, it allows researchers to study dynamic biological processes such as cell migration, proliferation, drug response and morphology changes over hours or days. Additionally, modern live cell imagers like zenCELL owl work directly inside the incubator — eliminating the need to remove cells for imaging.
Conventional microscopy requires removing cell cultures from the incubator, placing them on a microscope stage, and manually capturing images. As a result, cells experience temperature and CO₂ fluctuations at every observation. In contrast, a live cell imager captures images automatically inside the incubator — continuously, reproducibly, and without any hands-on time.
When choosing a live-cell imager, consider the following factors: imaging modality (brightfield vs. fluorescence), number of simultaneous channels, compatibility with your vessel formats, software openness (ImageJ vs. proprietary), and total cost of ownership including annual fees. zenCELL owl specifically excels at brightfield live cell imaging with 24 simultaneous channels, free ImageJ integration and no annual fees — at over 90% lower cost than Incucyte S3.
The zenCELL owl SCAN add-on enables high-throughput live cell imaging in 96-well and 384-well plates. With the motorized XYZ stage, a full 96-well plate is scanned in under 90 seconds — making it one of the fastest live cell imagers for HTS applications at this price point. Moreover, automated plate change is possible via open API integration with Hamilton and Beckman Coulter liquid handlers.
30 minutes via MS Teams. Real cells, real incubator, full software demonstration. No commitment required. Available twice a week.
English English
Deutsch
Français
Español
简体中文
Watch zenCELL owl image live inside an incubator. Available.