MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Focus plane (Z axis) of those photos are different, so I don’t think they are comparable. You would want to centrally focus onto the exact same dot on the exact same diatom for a fair comparison. The same diatom has many layers of Z axis focus planes, when some dots are defocused, they will not look...

Very nice work!

You can use tiny rubbber bands too.

I wonder why many infinity scopes don’t offer an iris immediately before the tube lens, so that all the objectives in the same system can share and controlled by that single iris? I understand many ideas are theoretically possible, but difficult or expensive to implement, if that is the reason behin...

You probably already read Robert Otoole’s review on the scanner lens inside the 5400? https://www.closeuphotography.com/minol ... -5400-lens

It is one of the best for around 1x.

Thanks, your current implementation does look more diffused . Have you thought about shinning light sideways around the horizontal perimeter of those glassy spherical micro meteorites, through 3D printed diffusion balls of different sizes placed on stage, instead of diffusion light from above? This ...

I am guessing that design allows condenser top lens to be adjustable and stay tight at specific heights (when the lock ring is not used, the other two parts may be loose and wiggle at highest height).

heyitsmedusty, I am interested in learning more about your lighting techniques. You have posted two micro meteorite photos. You indicated that the second photo was taken with vertical illuminator, which you do not prefer for photography. The first photo seems to he produced by your DIY LED ring ligh...

I would like to ask whether there are major cons in mixing phaco objectives with regular transmitted light objectives in the same turret? As long as they are all the same tube length (170) and from the same manufacturer. I may be wrong here but I am guessing that having phase capabilities on the lo...

o.k. as it is. DF is a bit tricky for the uninitiated so I feel it necessary to nail down the specifications and dispel assumptions. Specs. are quite specific, assumptions not. New microscopists can end up in a sandwich between the the two. I've been doing DF since 1972. A little while. When I comm...

Phil Brown, I would be very interested to see what your condenser is and how you set up condenser + sample + scope in one photo. Since yours is an infinity scope, is it possible that you restricted aperture after the objective (before the tube lens / somewhere inside your scope), without knowing it?...

Phil Brown, NA 0.85 with a dry (not immersed in oil) condenser is theoretically impossible and against laws of physics. Are you sure you did not make a typographical error there? Or was the numerical aperture of your “NA 0.85” restricted without you knowing it? Apochronaut was being polite and subtl...

DIY circular oblique lighting or offset oblique lighting techniques are very useful for diatom identification too, and cost almost nothing. Phase contrast and oblique are not difficult to find from European microscopes. You just need some patience and research to find a suitable darkfield condenser....

Hello, Lizzy. Have you researched the cost of a phase contrast microscope system with trinocular head? I have such a trinocular American Optical Spencer series 4 system, built by myself for phase contrast and DIY oblique and darkfield. I may sell it, because I have too many microscopes in the house ...

You can surely do it just for fun and it should work in theory. Though otherwise I don’t see a point of using DIY “microscope” and a smartphone, when you have a real microscope (and objectives) and a real camera (whose noise tolerance is much higher than a phone camera). Image quality in that manusc...

I think Scarodactyl is correct. Parfocal height of old Nikon or EPOI is 33mm or 34mm, while your Swift may be default at 36mm or more. That may be why you cannot focus.

Thank you, apo. If I find that Spencer RMS condenser without microscope, is there a way to tell if it is the right one (and not a series 15/35 one)? Any identifying feature? I mainly want to adapt it for other microscopes, such as Nikon S inverted or Nikon Optiphot. If the Spencer RMS condenser is n...

J_WISC, I can put that 1.3 N.A. RMS condenser and the 60x (3mm) NA 1.15 water immersion objective to good use, if you don’t want them anymore. I am happy to pay for what you paid for them. apochronaut, Are there different versions of that 1.3 NA condenser that do not have RMS thread, or do they all ...

Nikon CFUWN 10x FN26.5 works perfectly on my Wild M450, with or without 0.5x or 2x aux lens. Parfocality is almost perfect. I did not have time to “pixel peep” photos at at field peripherals, but visually the view field is flat, resolution is very good and CA is minimal. With 1x stock zoom objective...

Air 60x objective is not easy to use on water mounts. Sand particles or plant debris may prevent it from producing any image. It would work if you can isolate a protist using micro pipette; but not easy for amateur beginners. I personally love using 40-60x oil or water immersion objectives on water ...

Thank you very much, Phil. When you said: Quote 2) Chinese made generic eyepiece. Convertible in both bore size and with limitations the field too. Supposedly has a field over 25mm when a 30mm insert tube is used. Focusable. This eye piece is more neutral than either the #146 or the Wild 10X. Unquot...

Thank you very much, gents. Apochronaut’s measurements are especially helpful to me. I will do some additional test and measurements. Scarodactyl has lots of experience with Wild M4X0 scopes and has been kindly helping me on this project. Interestingly, I thought about removing the back diaphragm of...

What is a good 3rd party 10x eyepiece for Wild M400 or M420, please? I prefer good parfocality (doesn’t have to be perfect) on M400/M420 and field number of close to 25mm. Would most focusable finite eyepieces work? Thank you.

Xylene is more effective in dissolving solidified grease. If you only buy one solvent, buy xylene. It is a bit toxic though, so try not to breath it in.

My Wild M450 has arrived and works really well. Image quality is so much better than my Bausch & Lomb Stereozoom 7 at all magnification levels, especially at high mag. Range magnification is about 16-80x with 10x eyepieces, 2x aux lens and stock zoom objective. NA is about 0.2 at max, more or less. ...

I will likely take delivery of a Wild M450 Epizoom tomorrow and wonder how I should adapt it for lower magnification. With 10x eyepieces, Wild M450 Epizoom goes from about 16x to 80x in total magnification (1.6x -8x from objective magnification and M450 Epizoom has a non-detachable 2x aux objective ...

After some trials, I found that in my hands, two tools will work for almost everything: for subjects of around 1mm and less, a 20/0 or 10/0 synthetic paint brush works well; for subjects of around 2mm and more, a set of super fine tweezers dipped in water will pick up easily (though they are too sti...

Maybe for hard subjects, also try a sharp pencil with its sharp tip carefully dipped into E6000 glue. Then let the tiny amount of glue cure on the pencil tip (this may be done in less than 10 minutes on a good day).

So I tried a modified method based on Phil Brown’s method last night, it worked quite well. For micro shells / foraminifera of around 1mm or less, I used a very fine tweezer to push them aside. Then a 000 synthetic paint brush could pick them up with electrostatic force, and dropped them off after a...

Phil, please elaborate: why not use 20/0, or 10/0 paint brush as pick up tool (say for foraminifera)? I happen to be think about the same application for micro paint brushes, but don’t know which one to get due to lack of experience. Thank you.