First image from new setup

[McConkey]

Hello all!
As usual work has kept me fairly busy these last few months and I havn't had many opportunities to post anything! I also recently upgraded to DIC which i havn't been able to play around with so finally i managed to put some time aside to start to figure things out!

I'm still getting used to my new camera too and imaging DIC is a whole new beast but overall I am very happy with the new setup and can't wait to start exploring! I'm open ears to any tips and tricks!
Image is a stack of about 10images, stacked in Zerene stacker and quickly sharped in PS. I think one or two images may have effected the stack but again, overall i am very happy!

The sample was taken from my aquarium i setup a few months ago over Christmas break, it's growing very nicely!

All the best! Karl

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Tankday1.jpg (419.07 KiB) Viewed 7222 times

TankNow.jpg (416.52 KiB) Viewed 7222 times

[zzffnn]

Very nice!

I had a gut feeling you would upgrade to DIC eventually, which was why I recommended it to you when you first asked.

Which DIC system are you using?

[apochronaut]

so that is the 40 .80 planapo?

[Francisco]

Very nice!

[Crater Eddie]

Great image! And I like the tank, plenty of algae.
CE

[JimT]

Very nice Cyclops and neat aquarium.

[McConkey]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! Yeaaaaaaaah I knew I would eventually be going DIC. I had the very fortunate opportunity to get an AO21 DIC setup and knew it would be my only real chance to upgrade!

Phil - This was actually the 20x Advance Planachro! I do have a 2 panel stitch of the same guy from the 60 plan apo but the stacking didn’t turn out as smooth!

The aquarium is giving a really some really nice samples! It’s perfect for these winter months!

[KurtM]

A lovely image, hope to see many more! Mighty fine looking aquarium too, and very good to hear it's living up to its billing.

Karl, I sent you a PM.

[billbillt]

Once again DIC shows it's worth to dedicated hobbyists.. Great work!!...

BillT

[charlie g]

Beautiful DIC image, Karl, thanks for sharing. Is your AO DIC system 'finiky' to setup with 40X, 60X and greater magnifications? Any idea the work history of this DIC system you obtained? Is the DIC image more stunning visually than with stacked image captures? Or is the DIC contrast method so rich that it's best for image captures which may then be absorbed in static format...time to digest all the subtle content of DIC images. You can tell I don't have a DIC system! We'd love pics of your DIC stand! thanks, Karl, Charlie guevara

[billbillt]

Ditto the above..

BillT

[McConkey]

Thank you all for the very kind comments!

Charlie - I havn't had any issues setting up with the 40x or 100x, I always setup kohler illumination as i switch back and forth between objectives, once kohler is established, i turn the condenser to the corresponding prism for the objective and i have a pretty solid image. Some fine tuning with the upper prism and i'm ready to view! After a day or so of doing this routine it becomes a fairly natural process, one thing i have noticed is that the 40x has a very slight diffused "glow" about it, it lessen's if i close down the field or condenser iris but then i loose the DIC effect too much. I'm not too sure what causes it but it doesn't really effect the image that much! Unfortunately I do not know the work history of the scope, all i know is that it was kept in excellent condition and was clearly well taken care of!

I do 100% absolutely find the DIC image more stunning visually than when being photographed and stacked...now that could be due to my poor photography skills but i also believe it's incredibly difficult to replicate exactly what you see when viewing through the eyepieces! The stacked images are nothing compared to the visual (in my specific situation! Others may have a different opinion!)

Here is a picture of the stand. You'll notice it looks identical to the AO20 stand with the only noticeable difference being the upper prism located above the objectives.

It's a long weekend up here in the great white north and i get the next 5 days off work so no doubt by Tuesday you'll all be sick of seeing me post!!

Thanks again!
Karl

[Pat Thielen]

I think that's a really great image! I really do like the DIC images; I can't do them myself so I'll live vicariously through you and others! I also like your aquarium -- I'm in the process of setting one up but when I say a process it really means months of thinking about it before I actually do anything!

[McConkey]

aha thanks Pat! Have you tried any GUF (filters)? They can create some really unique and stunning images very very close to DIC! $10, a trip to staples and an afternoon spent cutting out shapes and you all set! They're super fun to play around with! The aquarium was a great little project! The tank was about $30 i think? I went to my local pet store and asked them for a few bags of water from their fish tanks so i could fill it. I found this to be way more effective at growing algae than using water from my local frozen stream and adding tap water. The pet store fish tanks are swimming with all the right types of bacteria's and chemicals for algae to grow! I also grabbed a bottle of "healthy bacteria" for when your topping up fish tanks with tap water and a bottle of aquarium plant feeder. Within 2 weeks the tank was glowing green! I do a few drops from each bottle once a week and as the water evaporates over time i go to the pet store and ask for another bag of fish tank water! Its currently summer time here as it went up to -16 today and it'll be going up to -8 for the weekend so i'm hoping things will start to thaw soon and i can get some fresh water samples to add to the tank!

[Pat Thielen]

aha thanks Pat! Have you tried any GUF (filters)? They can create some really unique and stunning images very very close to DIC! $10, a trip to staples and an afternoon spent cutting out shapes and you all set! They're super fun to play around with! The aquarium was a great little project! The tank was about $30 i think? I went to my local pet store and asked them for a few bags of water from their fish tanks so i could fill it. I found this to be way more effective at growing algae than using water from my local frozen stream and adding tap water. The pet store fish tanks are swimming with all the right types of bacteria's and chemicals for algae to grow! I also grabbed a bottle of "healthy bacteria" for when your topping up fish tanks with tap water and a bottle of aquarium plant feeder. Within 2 weeks the tank was glowing green! I do a few drops from each bottle once a week and as the water evaporates over time i go to the pet store and ask for another bag of fish tank water! Its currently summer time here as it went up to -16 today and it'll be going up to -8 for the weekend so i'm hoping things will start to thaw soon and i can get some fresh water samples to add to the tank!

Thanks for the suggestion -- I'm going to have to try making some of those filters. Is that the same (more or less) as oblique lighting? DIC would be quite nice but I don't think my microscope supports it and I think the cost would be a bit prohibitive. But I do like trying different lighting techniques. I think that's the photographer in me.

Also, thanks for the tips on the aquarium! I don't think I'll be able to get aquarium water but I can get pond water once the pond thaws out. It's been really warm here -- 35 degrees Fahrenheit! Summer at last!

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your DIC photography. I'll try to keep the drooling to an absolute minimum.

edit: I forgot to ask you: What size aquarium do you have; is it ten gallons? And... Do you use a filter with it and a heater? I did by an aquarium and it came with a filter. I'm not sure if using it would be good for algae and other protists; I don't think I want to filter out that which I want to see. I'm a bit concerned it might get too "dirty" without filtration, though.

[McConkey]

Pat,
I believe the GUF is considered a form of oblique lighting yeah! They are really easy to make!

The first post i saw, which gives great instructions on how to make them is here viewtopic.php?f=28&t=5449
I had to make mine a little bit bigger but the concept is still the same! I also found that using a blue gradient gave some really nice effects too.

I think overall pond water will be much better than pet store aquarium water as it has a more diverse biological community! When i originally made the aquarium i used "water" from the still frozen stream, it was muddy as mud and beyond dirty! After about a week it settled down a little bit but still wasn't 100% clear. I think maybe for the first day or so a filter might be a good idea just to rid the tank of any big pieces of debris that might be floating around. The tank is 5.5g with no heater and I havn't used a filter in mine and to the best of my knowledge it isn't going bad! There is no odour and other than the algae, the water is still clear! The water level drops about an inch every week due to evaporation (my house is extremely dry) so perhaps because i top it off with fresh water every few weeks it's keeping it a bit fresher?

Oh man!! 35f?? Lucky! Sounds like perfect beach weather to me! Get your swimsuit ready!!

EDIT** As a reference, here is a single image taken from the stack. There is detail here that is missing in the final stack...still figuring out the best way to bring out as much as possible when stacking!

single image.jpg (264.26 KiB) Viewed 7076 times

[Pat Thielen]

Again, thanks for all the info! I think I was planning on doing something similar actually. However, originally I was going to have cherry shrimp, which would require a heater and filtration. If I make it solely for algae and protists then I'll forego the heater and filter. This is all part of the debate that is raging in my head!

Your new image looks absolutely great. Granted, it doesn't have the same depth of field but that doesn't bother me. Stacking can be a bit tricky; with me Photoshop gets it and other times it doesn't. There are quite a few members here who know many different makes of stacking software. Maybe ask about it in the photography forum and they will quite happily help you out.

[vasselle]

Bonjour
Très belle image et très belle instrument que vous avez .

[einman]

Some great shots! Beautiful scope! Looking forward to more..

[McConkey]

Thank you Seb and Einman! I really appreciate the kind words!

Pat - I had actually considered throwing a couple of algae eating crustaceans in the tank to add a little bit more diversity into the water but my work schedule is too unpredictable for me to look after any living creature other than myself!!

You mentioned a heater! From what I've read, some algae grow much better in warmer waters so that might still be worth considering! I almost bought one when i initially setup the tank but decided to keep things as simple as possible as this was my first attempt!

I used to use photoshop for staking but I found it was a little bit unpredictable and i wanted something purposly built just for stacking! I ended up buying Zerene over the Christmas break and i am more than happy with it! For some reason i never thought to ask in the forum for advice on stacking software but i will go ahead and maybe get a topic started for people to share their stacking tips and what gives them the best results!

Thanks again!

[Jonnyvine]

WOW - Nice image!