Omax

Everything relating to microscopy hardware: Objectives, eyepieces, lamps and more.
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The QCC
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Re: Omax

#1 Post by The QCC » Wed Jan 28, 2015 9:05 pm

What is wrong with a LED light source?
I use a 10w LED on my monocular Bausch & Lomb to view mineral slides with two polarizers and a 40x objective.
A big advantage of LED lighting is it does not vary in colour temperature with brightness.

I believe you will find little difference in brightness between the eyepiece and photo tube on most quality microscopes.

If that is a real concern, get a good quality binocular microscope and use one eye tube as a camera port.

All of the biological monocular microscopes on microscopenet.ca are basic entry level scopes and would not be suitable for blood work.

If you look at the binocular scopes you will find several Amscope models on microscopenet.ca.
They are in reality one and the same.

The Darkfield scopes on Microscopenet start at $380.00CDN and go up (fast) from there.

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Crater Eddie
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Re: Omax

#2 Post by Crater Eddie » Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:08 pm

Microscopes with built-in LED lighting must include sufficient filtering to prevent harmful UV exposure. Otherwise the company could be sued for damages. I would not worry about this.
Also, an LED has a predicted lifetime of about 100,000 hours. It is not likely to fail.
Just my thoughts.
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

The QCC
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Re: Omax

#3 Post by The QCC » Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:18 pm

First. Any reputable dealer who sells microscopes with a LED light will also sell replacement LED's. Keep in mind, a LED light typically has more than a 30,000 hour working life. That is seven years at 100% power, 12 hours a day.
Second. If you wear glasses with polycarbonate lenses, you already have UV protection. Clear prescription eyeglasses with UV coating also provide protection against UV rays.
Third. UV filters are dirt cheap. Buy a photographic filter that can be placed over the LED light.

The 20w halogen lamp is pretty much standard in microscopes that have the light source immediately below the condenser.

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75RR
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Re: Omax

#4 Post by 75RR » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:11 am

The thing is, I noticed that all microscopes have 20W bulbs, the monoculars, the binoculars, the trinoculars. There is no compensation for the loss of light caused by the splitting of the light.
All these microscopes have built in dimmers. What that means is that with low objectives in brightfield one turns the dimmer down as less light is needed. With darkfield and or high objective one turns the dimmer up because more light is needed. The max available light is enough for darkfield with high objectives if the microscope comes with this setup.
Omax and Amscope are not High End microscopes but they do know what they are doing.
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

The QCC
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Re: Omax

#5 Post by The QCC » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:23 am

Lymia:
Have you checked out the microscope on Microscopenet that sells for $380.00CDN.
It is a Darkfield scope with 100x oil obj., halogen lighting and is the functional equivalent of the Amscope B490-DK for the same price.
I could not find a monocular Darkfield scope on the Amscope site.

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Re: Omax

#6 Post by lorez » Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:43 am

" It seems no one is doing oil darkfield with Amscope and Omax...is it because the result is not good"

The simple answer is YES. Neither of these companies have a product that is capable of yielding good results with what you are asking for.

It takes more than a designation of type (dark field condenser, for example) to produce good results and these features are not found in microscopes that are selling for $400.

If you want good video results using 100X dark field you are going to have to invest $$$$$.

Best wishes,
lorez

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Re: Omax

#7 Post by 75RR » Thu Jan 29, 2015 11:36 am

If you want good video results using 100X dark field you are going to have to invest $$$$$.
There are of course good reasons why people/institutions invest thousands in some microscopes.

I think Lymia knows that and is just looking for the best bang for her Buck (canadian!).

If she can see well enough to distinguish some elements sufficiently, that will probably be enough for her purposes.
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

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Re: Omax

#8 Post by 75RR » Thu Jan 29, 2015 3:25 pm

75RR Why are you saying"she"? I'm still here...
I know, only I was talking to Lorez about his comment. I referred to you in the third person. No offense meant.

"best bang for her buck" is another way to say value for your money. Again no offense meant.
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

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Re: Omax

#9 Post by Peter » Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:04 pm

Hi Lymia,
I do not know these microscopes at all however I fell sure that a trinocular head would allow you to direct all the available light to the camera (which I think is one of your main concerns from your first post). It seems a pity you can not try these systems before you buy.
Best of luck.
Peter.

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Crater Eddie
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Re: Omax

#10 Post by Crater Eddie » Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:22 pm

Putting caps on the eyepieces would not somehow "save" all the light for the camera port, optics don't work that way.
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

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Re: Omax

#11 Post by Crater Eddie » Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:05 pm

If you go to the AmScope website it has a "live chat" feature which works very well.
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

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lorez
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Re: Omax

#12 Post by lorez » Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:27 pm

Hello all,

This is certainly a fascinating discussion and the thread is beginning to look more like a spider web. Some of the distinct topics I see are: illumination, light pathways, dark field, cameras, the specimen, the understanding of terminology, and last, but not least, the budget.

My guide line for purchasing microscopes is to get the best the budget will allow that will adequately do the job. Herein lies the dilemma (in my mind). The purpose of the microscope is to take a photo of blood cells (presumably live) using dark field illumination at 100X with a microscope that costs $400. Sadly, I do not see these as compatible parameters. There is nothing wrong with any of the goals, they just do not fit under the same heading. So, what is the solution ?

Here is what I would do. Get the best microscope you can within your budget. Disregard the camera, the blood cells, the dark field 100X for the time and become familiar with the microscope so that terms like resolution and magnification are in your vocabulary.

Where do you find the best microscope for the budget ? If you were in the US it would be easier, but it sounds like Canada is more difficult. I'm afraid I can't be of much assistance there. Move to the US.

Best wishes,

lorez

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Re: Omax

#13 Post by lorez » Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:33 pm

Lymia,

CE is right about the light path. There are triocular bodies that will direct all the light to the photo port. I recently built a microscope that had only a vertical tube that was intended to be used solely with a camera. If you are interested in such a scope let me know.

lorez

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Re: Omax

#14 Post by gekko » Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:22 pm


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Re: Omax

#15 Post by gekko » Thu Jan 29, 2015 11:53 pm

Hi Lymia,
I'm glad that you took my post in the spirit it was offered. I know that you are aware of the problems of live blood cell analysis, but I wanted to reinforce that. I am sure once you get your microscope, you will have no trouble adjusting it. If I were you, I would not start with the oil-immersion objective, but get used first to the dry objectives (I still hardly know how to get acceptable results from my oil-immersion). Best of luck!

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Re: Omax

#16 Post by Crater Eddie » Fri Jan 30, 2015 1:31 am

To expand on what has been said, "Live blood" slides can be interesting to look at, but really will reveal very little actual information. Indeed, any parasites or bacteria found in a blood sample is cause for concern if legitimate, but most often such things are actually contamination or artifacts introduced by handling of the sample or making the slide. You might see something that looks like bacteria, but is it really? The only way to know for sure is to do a culture.
Generally speaking, Red Blood Cells show almost no effect from most diseases. They can show many different morphologies, but these effects cannot be seen in a wet sample, proper staining techniques must be used, and it takes a trained expert to recognize what is significant and what is not. Even then, the RBC morphology is only an indication, not a determination, that something might not be as it should. White Blood Cells can be more significant, but again proper staining is the only way to visualize them, in a wet sample they are just blobs.
I am sorry for the lecture, but I know you are trying to gather as much correct information as you can in order to make your purchasing decisions.
We all really are trying to help.
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

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Re: Omax

#17 Post by lorez » Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:56 am

Excellent explanation of "live blood" viewing, CE. I agree 100%. The best way to study blood is to learn microscope techniques, staining techniques, and all about how the presence of various cells indicate potentially significant situations.

lorez

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Re: Omax

#18 Post by gekko » Sun Feb 01, 2015 2:23 pm

Well, it looks like once you get your new microscope you will be quite busy with all those interesting projects. I for one will be looking forward to what you will find. One last point of caution, if I may: in investigating bacteria (which appears to be one of your main aims), you might be tempted to culture them. Since you won't necessarily know what you are culturing and the culture can contain high concentrations of dangerous bacteria, I would advise you to avoid doing cultures. Here are some relevant links (by Oliver Kim) from the Microbe Hunter main website:
http://www.microbehunter.com/safety-iss ... icroscopy/
http://www.microbehunter.com/some-safety-issues/
http://www.microbehunter.com/microscopi ... n-of-ehec/
Best of luck!

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Re: Omax

#19 Post by 75RR » Sun Feb 01, 2015 2:54 pm

Thanks gekko. Informative and interesting information for all home microscopists!
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

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Re: Omax

#20 Post by gekko » Sun Feb 01, 2015 3:11 pm

I keep finding useful and interesting (and searchable) information by Kim (there is a wealth of it, and also, in the Magazine, by other contributors) on the Microbe Hunter website :) .

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Re: Omax

#21 Post by shirahsparkles » Thu Jun 25, 2020 2:37 pm

Crater Eddie wrote:
Fri Jan 30, 2015 1:31 am
To expand on what has been said, "Live blood" slides can be interesting to look at, but really will reveal very little actual information. Indeed, any parasites or bacteria found in a blood sample is cause for concern if legitimate, but most often such things are actually contamination or artifacts introduced by handling of the sample or making the slide. You might see something that looks like bacteria, but is it really? The only way to know for sure is to do a culture.
Generally speaking, Red Blood Cells show almost no effect from most diseases. They can show many different morphologies, but these effects cannot be seen in a wet sample, proper staining techniques must be used, and it takes a trained expert to recognize what is significant and what is not. Even then, the RBC morphology is only an indication, not a determination, that something might not be as it should. White Blood Cells can be more significant, but again proper staining is the only way to visualize them, in a wet sample they are just blobs.
I am sorry for the lecture, but I know you are trying to gather as much correct information as you can in order to make your purchasing decisions.
We all really are trying to help.
CE
Actually you can differentiate really clearly in a live blood sample between the different white blood cells - and you can clearly distinguish between normal and abnormal. Additionally - red blood cell abnormalities can be seen- microcytes, macrocytes etc - and you can use a drop of blood analysed properly to determine percentages of the cells. You definitely cannot diagnose. They are only indications. But it is a method that is still used in laboratories to distinguish and confirm certain issues as it superior to stained and fixed blood smears. It is very time consuming and requires proper training - hence it is not a preferred commercial or statistical method. I have seen a lot of misinformation about live blood analysis which I believe is because it has not been taught rigorously enough, uses word of mouth training with no scientific theory behind it and so non-medical practitioners extrapolate and some just abuse the technique in order to sell products. But as a valid screening method by a trained professional eye - it can be very useful in guiding further analysis/tests etc. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater, eh?

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Re: Omax

#22 Post by 75RR » Thu Jun 25, 2020 2:40 pm

Lets not bump a thread from 2015!
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Re: Omax

#23 Post by Scarodactyl » Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:41 pm

It is, bluntly put, a method widely used by scam artists to sell supplements. It's a good topic for discussion groups to ban outright as it rarely leads anywhere good.

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Crater Eddie
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Re: Omax

#24 Post by Crater Eddie » Sun Jun 28, 2020 4:29 pm

Holy necroposting Batman!
It looks like the OP removed her posts from the thread making it rather confusing.
Let's not start up the LBA bit again.
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

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