MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Excellent images !
May I ask:
1. Were the cuts fixed prior to staining ?
2. How much would such microtomes cost on eBay, order of magnitude ?

Thanks Hobbyst46, also suggested by carlh6902, tried the oil on condensor, but no effect. Funny, you know my condensor, the Universal Condensor, is nothing like a normal condensor... ...the final lense is on an arm and can move in and out of the light path. Not sure why, but one reason it is on an ...

Buoyed by the success with freeing the phase condenser I decided to try freeing the aperture on a Zeiss DIC/Phase/BF. But on this unit the iris leaves are fully open and any adjustment is impossible. It is almost as though the aperture was locked in the open, could this be the case? If so how can i...

They only get better!
Bob, please disclose the optics - is it a plan 100X oil and a darkfield oil condenser ?

Well, I could not put any only on my condenser, it will drip down on to the turret where my DIC prisms are, no? I meant, a single small drop on the top lens of the condenser. Once the condenser is raised to the proper position, the top lens is within a millimeter or less from the bottom of the slid...

OK so I think I answered my first question about the CT-5 telescope; simply by experimenting, I can see that as I shorten it I focus on things farther away, and as I lengthen it I move up the microscope (see things that are closer). So back to the issue of this thread, I was able to focus on the UD...

There were posts about maintenance of such condenser, even one by myself I think, but cannot find them. Anyway, it is very likely that the leaves of the aperture are frozen due to dried grease or oil. They should be clean and absolutely dry. Zeiss Phase contrast condenser catalogue number 465277: On...

Then there are immersion oils of different viscosities. There are two common types of immersion oil, named Type A and Type B respectively (Cargille nomenclature), of low and high viscosity respectively. The viscosity difference is large. I recommend Type A, but even with it, securing the coverslip ...

funny, here is a top google result for 40x darkfield. So am I correct that 40x darkfield generally will no be very sharp? https://images.app.goo.gl/SVneDBXNTwDzvvbH6 Trying to answer this question and the previous one. I regretfully do not own a BH2, yet with my little Zeiss I obtain very nice dark...

Sorry about being too brief. The trinocular head includes the photo-tube (the vertical tube) and the two viewing tubes that are inclined at an angle of 45 degrees. A 100/0 means that depending on the position of the push rod (the end of which is a small ball), 100% of the field of view (FOV) is dire...

Impressive, Bob!
Did the samples contain zooplankton as well ? if so, were they just burnt out in the oven ?

A nice-looking Zeiss standard with trinocular 100/0 0/100 head. Apparently without a light source and condenser. I do not recognize the part on the left, whereas the black vertical-horizontal clamp adapter on the right does not belong to this microscope. The value depends on the mechanics - focus me...

Interesting... ...I did look at the objective with eyepiece in reverse, and it looks horrible, very scratched concave lense. I did try to clean with Aethanolum 96% (Alkohol) and at least dark field is back to black background. But still no sharp focus. But at least close to focus with condenser up....

Hello friends, I am not sure if it was like this originally, or if it happened after, maybe, some oil got on my S Plan 40x, but now: 1) Dark field, although perfect in my 4x and 10x, shows some lighter shade of grey (background) in my 40x 2) In Brightfield, my 40x wont focus unless I drop the conde...

Yes it is working - the condenser has the following rotatable options - 0, DF, Ph1, Ph2,Ph3,Ph4 The dark field is just the best for viewing pond critters. It is wonderful at 4x, but at 10x, and especially 40x it looses a lot of contrast. Not sure if that is normal - the DF setting doesnt appear to ...

Hi Bob
What a superb display!

Since the purpose is trans-illumination, a mercury lamp is definitely inappropriate IMO. Further bits of information: 1. The 40x/1.3 objective is very valuable for fluorescence , since it combines a high light-gathering capacity with resolution. 2. Metallurgical (M) objectives have a different threa...

So the purpose is reflected bright field, not transmitted. Will check some more and be back in a couple of days.

Hi and welcome, I would strongly suggest that you modify your microscope for brightfield by adding a halogen illuminator (the original illuminator of the Optiphot is a halogen, a 12V 50W I think), or alternatively a LED illuminator, rather than use the mercury lamp . For several reasons, in order of...

Apochronaut, thanks for posting the comparison. Excellent display of methods, tailored to the audience.

Mirrorless is great, but just triple check that they have all the features you need. Some of the Canon ones won't connect with their EOS utility, for instance, which is problematic. In fact, none of the Canon EOS-M cameras can be controlled via the EOS utility (or any other software) except the EOS...

FWIW, the inner filter thread on Minolta (film cameras) MD lenses is 49mm.

May I add a general note here: I would not use acetone on nylon parts. Acetone is too powerful against many plastics. Grease usually softens and/or dissolves in less agresive liquids: Petroleum ether ("white benzin", "white gasoline", "ligroin" etc), cigarette lighter fluid, octane, even thin machin...

Thanks for sharing that ... But frankly, I think it looks like a lot of wasted effort. To my mind, a fundamental defining feature of a Microtome is that it provides controlled movement along a defined axis. ... This device fails to provide that. It may serve as a baseline for students to design som...

Ok, so now let's talk about whether I can fix it. :D I think it's doable I just wonder if it's worth the effort. Does anyone have any experience with UV Optical Adhesive or Canada Balsam? From my research, it seems I could separate the two pieces using warm water or soaking it in acetone for many d...

Hi Marco and welcome, 1. For photomicrography, the best microscope (whatever brand) is a trinocular, not binocular. The camera can then be installed on the photo tube and not interfere with viewing through the eyepieces. 2. Please note, microscope brochures - especially for beginners - seldom presen...

Hi, Apologies for the photo quality. This bugs were taken from a wild fermented beer @1000x (oil has not arrived yet!) There are some oval shaped cells floating around which I presume are brettanomices and the group on top which I also presume is brettanomices given the size of the cells. I am not ...

The mere fact that an organism, however small and whatever it does, exists, justifies its existence. I sometimes have the same feelings as the topic starter. We place micro organisms between two pieces of glass - where they certainly die - just for fun, no other reason. Same as fishing for fun and ...

Beautiful photo, magnificent and elegant microscope.

Radazz, I like very much this comparison ! thanks for posting !
Was the LED white (6500K) ? was the LED light filtered ?
On my microscope, equipped with a retroDiode white LED, I use a KR12 warming filter to reduce the bluish-violet tint somewhat.