MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

This is the area for questions you are embarrassed to ask. Time for mine. I have an American Optical 10 series. I'd like to play with some filters, both color filters and the kind that you can use to do darkfield or oblique stop illumination. There are a bunch on ebay you can pick up that were 3D printed or stamped out of plastic in china (also videos on how to DIY filters from transparency and other materials), but it seems like people illustrating their use have some kind of a filter attachment on their condensers.

Take a look at the attached picture. Is the location indicated by the arrow made for sticking filters in? If so, why are filters round and without a handle? Seems like it would be hard to get them out once they are in there. Or is this slot for some other purpose?

There are some holes on the bottom of the condenser, presumably to mount a swing-in optic, or is it for a filter attachment?

By the way, I'm aware that AO has a dedicated darkfield condenser you can buy. I may get that some day, but it seems like the filter solution is more convenient and flexible.

Yes it is for filters. In order for a DF stop placed in that location to be acceptably centerable, your condenser mount must be of the centering type. Cutting a centered mask for a precentered condenser is not the easiest task.

with objectives up to 10X, it is probable but once up to 20X it goes to unlikely and at 40x improbable. at 63X it is unrealistic and for a 100X objective, it is a work in progress.