System, apparatus, and method for continuous digital image calibration

A method for acquiring a calibrated digital image of a drill cuttings sample, the method comprising:

• placing a drill cuttings sample in a calibration sample holder in an image acquisition device, the calibration sample holder including a sample area and a calibration area disposed in a field of view of a digital camera in the in the image acquisition device, the drill cuttings sample placed in the sample area;
• taking a digital image of the calibration sample holder with the digital camera;
• extracting a plurality of image segments from a portion of the digital image including the calibration area;
• evaluating the extracted segments to compute a plurality of calibration parameters;
• comparing the plurality of calibration parameters with corresponding quality control calibration specifications;
• and
• certifying that the digital image meets or exceeds the predetermined calibration standards when the plurality of calibration parameters are within threshold limits of the corresponding quality control calibration specifications.

A sample holder for a drill cuttings sample, the sample holder comprising:

• a sample area configured to receive the drill cuttings sample;
• and
• a calibration area having a color calibration region including a plurality of color features and a spatial resolution calibration region including a least one spatial resolution calibration feature;
• wherein the sample holder is configured for deployment in an image acquisition device below a digital camera such that both the sample area and the calibration area are within a field of view of the digital camera.