MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Excellent work, thanks for posting. I've yet to find one, someday

I have 2 Zeiss 40x Neofluar objectives, one Ph2 the other vanilla. I've noticed the phase contrast variant performs differently under both oblique and dark field illumination. Its is not severe, but observable when compared. Using bright field illumination I can't see any significant difference betw...

Footloose and trying hard.

Looks like Loxophyllum maleagris, but I'm no expert. Nice catch and video work. Is this using DIC?

Another welcome find in the critter tank.

Scraped some algae from the side of the critter tank and found this little fella. Closest match I could find was Cephalodella but not 100% sure.

Stunning, well done.

I also agree with apochronaut on this. The Apex China-scope below I bought used for £100, and can still be bought new under various brands in the £350-£450 bracket. All I can say is if I'd bought this new I'd have returned it. The plan achromatic objectives it came with were respectable, but the lig...

Some long-term acclimatization testing/analysis should have been included in this study. Without this it can't be considered conclusive IMO. Alas when the bottom of all our lakes and oceans reach 98°F, I doubt we'll be around to prove it.

Nice work sinabro.

A bit more info' on your setup and what remedial steps you've tried would be helpful. If infection is suspected my first step would be swapping out the containers and utensils used for culturing, sanitization methods can be ineffective.

Cheers mintakax. Yes I was lucky to find an occupied one. In all honesty, if it wasn't moving I'd likely have dismissed it as a clump of detritus and moved on. :D Thanks for the input cuxlander. The overlay scale was made using a calibration slide so should be accurate. I studied the footage further...

I'll add the simplest method. Float a cover slip on the surface of a pond water sample and leave for 8 hours. Place a drop of clean sample water on a slide then carefully lift the cover slip off the surface and place on the slide. The hard bit is lifting the floating cover slip off without contamina...

This sample came from a hollow rock in the critter tank. I scraped inside the hollow a little with the tip of a pipette then sucked up a sample. This was placed in a small vial and allowed to settle, then samples taken from the bottom of the vial for examination. I still get clumps of grit/detritus ...

There seems to be some uncertainty identifying Difflugia pyriformis but its the closest match I could find. Input welcome.

Thanks for the encouragement mintakax. Always fun watching rotifers

Is this a rotifer in the process of forming a cyst or something else? Any help appreciated.

If you do go the DSLR route and plan to use it's live view function on a monitor via HDMI, do your research on live view output resolution. They can vary considerably and some models reduce the resolution while recording video. That was something I wished I'd known beforehand, but is seldom mentioned.

A good population of these in my critter tank at the moment, but quite difficult to film. Took several slides to find one that wasn't spinning non-stop. Excuse the hot-spot in the centre, I'm trying a new photo eyepiece which needs some work. AUMB8RWAw-Q Semi oblique lighting and 25x apo objective.

If you know someone with a 3D printer they might be willing to design/print an adapter for you.

2012 date code, seem to be ok Bob but I'll keep an eye on them.

Fantastic result, well done.

Absolutely Bob. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking of others when I designed it. Having bought a batch of 300 BH slides + slips in a sale, I'm resigned to not needing any others. I prioritised access for grasping by 2 edges with clumsy fingers. Not a fan of using tweezers.

Designed this 3D printed slide workbox in an attempt to organise my limited deskspace. Holds 10 slides/cover slips and four vials. See description on Thingiverse if anyone wants to print one for themselves: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4091518

Hi mintakax. The slide used was a standard one with cover slip, though the detritus that invariably gets included in my pipette samples does tend to elevate the cover slip. I've tried well slides and find them awkward to work with, but I imagine they may work well with larger specimens such as this....

Having used only 25w halogen my preference for LED may be skewed in some aspects. The high power LED I currently use enables me to capture at faster shutter speeds/lower ISO via liveview, with less radiated heat, reducing sample drying. The main reason I prefer LED however is rendering and contrast....

Did you use a cover slip? You might get more detail without one.

Medusa aquaria Very nice Bob.

Personally I find my Chinese 60x Plan Achromat useful, but careful slide preparation is needed for best results.

I digitised 300 family 35mm slides with a DIY setup of diffused flash/DSLR/macro lens/and slide mount. The results were acceptable but the biggest hurdle was ensuring the slides were clean and dust free beforehand. If not stated in the eBay service listing (sorry don't speak German) I'd enquire abou...