A system for determining a parameter of interest of at least one particle in a sample of a fluid obtained from a formation, comprises a view cell containing at least a portion of the sample and at least one window for viewing the sample. A light source illuminates the sample. An imaging system captures at least one image of the illuminated sample. A program executing a set of instructions on a computer analyzes the at least one image and generates an output related to at least one parameter of interest of the at least one particle in said sample.