Frustrated beginner

[Jaguar2010]

I purchased an Olympus CX31 Binocular microscope with Plan CN objectives, which is in virtually new condition and provides superb images. However I think I have made a big mistake in buying this microscope as I am interested in photo-microscopy and have spent many hours trying to find the best way of combining my Canon DSLR with this microscope. Being a novice to both microscopy and photo-microscopy I find conflicting information and options. I have tried a USB camera with poor results and have also tried an Am-Scope camera adapter with similar results. I realize in hind site I should have purchased a Tri-nocular microscope, but the money has now been spent and I cannot justify or afford another £1000 + spend. Can anybody help me to find the best solution as I do enjoy the hobby but find myself frustrated not really understanding what I need to do to get decent results.

Thank you in advance for any help.

[BramHuntingNematodes]

There were a few options discussed:
viewtopic.php?t=8145

[PeteM]

Olympus makes a single tube head (to fit a camera) for its CX and BX series - and these are sometimes affordable on Ebay. There's one now for $140 and this one for $178:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OLYMPUS-U-TLU- ... SwTphd1utK

You'll need some other bits to attach your camera; but they're well documented in Olympus literature and on the Web.

For photo sessions you'd attach your camera and do your viewing and focusing through a live-view attached screen. You'd take a photo (or series of photos for focus stacking) whenever you see something you want to record.

You might also look for just a CX/BX trinocular head, but you would be lucky to find one of those under $400.

And, then, the various options to get good photos using one tube of your binocular head. A cell phone camera on an easily-detached holder might be one somewhat convenient way to get better results than a cheap USB eyepiece camera or trying to rig up a way to hold your DSLR.

[BramHuntingNematodes]

I am using an afocal setup with a USB camera with pretty good results. The camera is basically a circuit board with a sensor stuck on it (an Aptina Mi5100, I think, which works fine although it is an older sensor). The important part was switching the lens out. The board has an S-mount AKA M12 wide-angle lens which I removed and replaced with a 16mm focal length telephoto lens. This has done a good job eliminating vignetting and cropping only the very periphery of the total viewable area. The wide angle stock lens usually on webcams makes an image that is a tiny circle of image in a big field of black.

I also had to rig up a mount with some PVC pipe and a hose clamp, but it was a relatively simple process. The other part is having a way to manually adjust the exposure. I got a dedicated Raspberry Pi and an old TV to use as a viewer, and the VLC player on Debian is pretty flexible. Of course, the Camera app on Windows works fine too!