MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

I am considering the addition of an inverted scope to my collection. I already have several wonderful microscopes..
Is inverted microscopy worth the investment?

Useful for lower magnification ( up to 400X and maybe 600X) for thicker specimens. Pricey for advanced optical choices. Challenging for illumination techniques other than BF and potentially expensive. Unless you were heavily involved in thick aqueous samples a lot, probably not worth the outlay, unless you got a real deal on a used one.

Thanks. Your comments have made me reconsider.
Greg

Hi, Greg,...if you are located con-US I can send you a total Oympus/Tokyo CKa inverted scope ready to use out of the box...for $170 USD +plus shipping.

Either 'PM' me...or ask that I plop pics in this thread. But only if you are con-US, all the best, charlie g/finger lakes/US

The biggest difference is the cleaning of samples.
Residues will quickly settle Infront of the subjects.
Settling and rinsing may or may not be interesting.
DF is more challenging but what is life without taking some on.
You should get a lot for the equivalent budget.
I don't use mine much but wouldn't sell it.

There's gotta be something to that configuration for Nikon to build their entire super-resolution line around it, in addition to their line-up of conventional inverted scopes.


I've made my own shallow deep-well slides to look at squishy things under my conventional scope, and yet everything I want to look at always ends up on the bottom of the well and under debris forcing me to look through millimeters of water. An inverted scope would eliminate that problem. If looking at live swimmers were my thing, I'd totally have a (finite) inverted scope.

InDear Charlie. For 170 bucks plus shipping I would be interested . Go ahead and send some pics. I'd pm you but I don't really know what that means. Greg

An inverted scope makes sense if you want access to your specimens. Examples would be electrophysiology experiments, plucking critters up with a pipette, and most anything you'd want to mess with in a Petri dish. Because the stage is at a fixed height, it's also ideal for adding micro-manipulators, probes, and the like.

Inverted scopes with phase contrast or Hoffman Modulation Contrast sometimes show up affordably. HMC provides contrast, even with plastic containers (DIC and polarization won't like that), that is somewhat DIC-like. The HMC objectives are often comparably inexpensive if an inverted scope is found with the HMC condenser.

apochronaut wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 05, 2024 2:06 am

Useful for lower magnification ( up to 400X and maybe 600X) for thicker specimens. Pricey for advanced optical choices. Challenging for illumination techniques other than BF and potentially expensive. Unless you were heavily involved in thick aqueous samples a lot, probably not worth the outlay, unless you got a real deal on a used one.

I found one with phase contrast relatively easily, though I guess that's sorta a subset of BF, for a good deal too, 150 dollars for a diaphot TMD. And using the phase annuli I can do darkfeild on lower mags, That said, its probably not likely that most people will find similar deals.

Best avoid anything that looks like it's already lived in marine biology labs.
Good luck with finding a bargain, they are available.

Hi again, greg, are you located: con-US? charlie g

Yes. Oregon

Sure Squintsalot wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 07, 2024 1:49 am

There's gotta be something to that configuration for Nikon to build their entire super-resolution line around it, in addition to their line-up of conventional inverted scopes.

All of these techniques are available for upright as well.
Nikon like the other 3 are selling their top-line inverted microscope (Ti2) as a platform. This is not a lineup, but rather a list of imaging modalities one can add to a Ti2.
These methods are found on inverted systems generally because an incubator, heated stages, micromanipulation and focus compensation for timelapses are required. That does not mean it suits every application.

Sure Squintsalot wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 07, 2024 1:49 am

I've made my own shallow deep-well slides to look at squishy things under my conventional scope, and yet everything I want to look at always ends up on the bottom of the well and under debris forcing me to look through millimeters of water. An inverted scope would eliminate that problem. If looking at live swimmers were my thing, I'd totally have a (finite) inverted scope.

It will not.

"Do I need inverted" is a good example of "if you are asking, you do not need it". Save some money.

Hi again, greg. I'll plop some pics in this thread. A finite inverted microscope: "Olympus Tokyo Cka", ready to use...out of the box, $170+ shipping. I'm central NY. charlie g

Topcode wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 07, 2024 6:57 am

apochronaut wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 05, 2024 2:06 am

Useful for lower magnification ( up to 400X and maybe 600X) for thicker specimens. Pricey for advanced optical choices. Challenging for illumination techniques other than BF and potentially expensive. Unless you were heavily involved in thick aqueous samples a lot, probably not worth the outlay, unless you got a real deal on a used one.

I found one with phase contrast relatively easily, though I guess that's sorta a subset of BF, for a good deal too, 150 dollars for a diaphot TMD. And using the phase annuli I can do darkfeild on lower mags, That said, its probably not likely that most people will find similar deals.

I got my TMD Diaphot for free The inverted isn't always the most convenient scope for my purposes, but I can't complain about the price!!