Search found 79 matches
- Thu Apr 11, 2024 11:52 am
- Forum: Beginner's corner
- Topic: retrieve specific specimens
- Replies: 8
- Views: 575
Re: retrieve specific specimens
You might try a small syringe with a blunt-tip needle. A 1 ml. syringe with a 20Ga or 22Ga needle is a handy combination.
- Tue Mar 05, 2024 1:34 pm
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: Adding Fresh Nutrients
- Replies: 3
- Views: 233
Re: Adding Fresh Nutrients
Wow - that's an impressive result! How long did it take to get that density of creatures? For a non-vegetarian option, I've tried a few tiny pieces of raw chicken or even some of the juice from the raw chicken container - but not too much or it will get smelly. The results vary widely, apparently de...
- Thu Feb 15, 2024 11:01 am
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: Spirostomum in BF and DF
- Replies: 23
- Views: 4537
Re: Spirostomum in BF and DF
Lovely videos! The DIC is great, but I especially like the dark field lighting. On several occasions, I've had a 100x50mm dish of pond water with a mud layer on the bottom that during the day had a few Spirostomum in or just above the mud. However, when I looked into the dish at night, there were va...
- Thu Dec 21, 2023 2:15 pm
- Forum: Beginner's corner
- Topic: Tools for dissecting really tiny spiders and insects
- Replies: 6
- Views: 4178
Re: Tools for dissecting really tiny spiders and insects
A simple technique for making very fine tip needles: https://microwiki.org/wiki/index.php/Tutorial_on_etching_tungsten_probes A battery works fine as the DC source, but you don't have easy control of the voltage. You can easily get any tip size by varying the etching time and the depth the wire is d...
- Tue Dec 05, 2023 1:31 pm
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: Clitellate worm: Naididae
- Replies: 3
- Views: 917
Re: Clitellate worm: Naididae
Lovely ... It's especially nice to see all the details in the high magnification segments.
Do you know of any good references for identifying oligochaete worms?
Thanks, David
Do you know of any good references for identifying oligochaete worms?
Thanks, David
- Sun Nov 12, 2023 1:24 pm
- Forum: Specimens, samples and slides
- Topic: Water Sample Disposal
- Replies: 6
- Views: 3813
Re: Water Sample Disposal
As others have suggested, mine normally go down the drain or out in the garden. A different scenario, however: recently I enriched a couple of bowls of pond water with a little juice from some raw chicken meat. Often that works well to increase the numbers of protozoa. This time, however, I overdid ...
- Sat Nov 04, 2023 12:05 pm
- Forum: For forum members who want to buy and sell equipment
- Topic: FS: SOLD X-Y linear, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1409
Re: FS: (reduced price again) X-Y linear, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform
How about $200? I've put it up on eBay (at a higher price, of course), but would rather sell it here.
- Fri Oct 27, 2023 3:38 pm
- Forum: For forum members who want to buy and sell equipment
- Topic: FS: SOLD X-Y linear, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1409
Re: FS: (reduced price again) X-Y linear, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform
Anyone tempted at $210?
- Sun Oct 22, 2023 11:10 am
- Forum: For forum members who want to buy and sell equipment
- Topic: FS: SOLD X-Y linear, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1409
Re: FS: X-Y linear motion, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform
A bit of additional information: These were designed for precise positioning, so the excursions are relatively small. I'd guess 5-10 mm in both directions for each of the linear slides. It takes many turns of the knob to get to the full excursion. Adjustments are very smooth and easy, but without an...
- Sat Oct 14, 2023 11:55 am
- Forum: For forum members who want to buy and sell equipment
- Topic: FS: SOLD X-Y linear, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1409
FS: SOLD X-Y linear, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform
I believe this device was used for positioning samples in x-ray crystallography. The construction is very high-quality: the machining is excellent, I can't feel backlash in any of the adjustments, the movement is smooth in all directions, the engraving is precise. A lovely piece of work. It provides...
- Sun Aug 27, 2023 1:46 pm
- Forum: Specimens, samples and slides
- Topic: rain water vs. distilled water
- Replies: 9
- Views: 2968
Re: rain water vs. distilled water
I just found a methods paper from a lab that does research on Hydra. The solution they use to rear their Hydra is essentially identical to the artificial pond water we used for the crayfish. Another lab uses a somewhat different solution, but the same idea. https://openhydra.org/wp-content/uploads/2...
- Sun Aug 27, 2023 1:22 pm
- Forum: Specimens, samples and slides
- Topic: rain water vs. distilled water
- Replies: 9
- Views: 2968
Re: rain water vs. distilled water
For quite a few years, we have used 'artificial pond water' for keeping crayfish. The high death rates we were getting when we used tap water disappeared. We weren't specifically considering protozoa, but there were often healthy clusters of peritrichs on the crayfish. Artificial pond water might be...
- Wed Aug 23, 2023 11:44 am
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: Fly larva
- Replies: 1
- Views: 342
Re: Fly larva
Maciej - Interesting video. I believe the dark/shiny lines in the fans are air tubes (trachea; little ones are called tracheoles), some of which look so dark because of the lighting. Trachea have some of the functions of blood vessels in vertebrates, carrying oxygen-rich air to the cells and taking ...
- Fri Aug 18, 2023 1:12 pm
- Forum: For forum members who want to buy and sell equipment
- Topic: SOLD FS: Stereo microscopes - Nikon and Zeiss
- Replies: 2
- Views: 759
Re: FS: Stereo microscopes - Nikon and Zeiss
Thanks, Einman. These are 'Friends and Family' prices. If I do end up posting these scopes on eBay, the prices will be higher.
Cheers, David
Cheers, David
- Tue Aug 15, 2023 3:18 pm
- Forum: For forum members who want to buy and sell equipment
- Topic: SOLD FS: Stereo microscopes - Nikon and Zeiss
- Replies: 2
- Views: 759
SOLD FS: Stereo microscopes - Nikon and Zeiss
I have two very nice stereo microscopes to sell, a Nikon SMZ1500 and a Zeiss Stemi SV11 APO. You can see photos at: https://dy5.smugmug.com/Stereo-microscopes SMZ1500: - introduced around 2000 as their top-of-the-line stereo scope; PM me for PDFs of a sales brochure and instruction manual - this sco...
- Mon Aug 14, 2023 2:11 pm
- Forum: Camera systems and imaging
- Topic: Good software for Apple/Mac & microscope cam ?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3053
Re: Good software for Apple/Mac & microscope cam ?
Unfortunately, that lmscope list of software is outdated (2015). For instance: The current Sony software does now have live view. The current Nikon software (NX Tether) is free.
- Sun Aug 13, 2023 3:44 pm
- Forum: Camera systems and imaging
- Topic: Good software for Apple/Mac & microscope cam ?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3053
Re: Good software for Apple/Mac & microscope cam ?
It's true that going to DSLR or mirrorless cameras will significantly increase your options. For instance, Sony has free software for tethered shooting, Imaging Edge . I used it for a while with a Sony A7R4 and a Mac Mini, and it worked well. However, I like tethered capture with Capture One better....
- Thu Aug 10, 2023 1:27 pm
- Forum: Home-made microscope adaptations
- Topic: Not happy with Cree CXA1304, what is an alternative ?
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3313
Re: Not happy with Cree CXA1304, what is an alternative ?
Nikon scopes use what they call 'fly eye' illumination. In addition to a standard diffuser, there is a plastic element in the light path that has a pattern of bumps ('microlens array') that essentially breaks up the image of the filament/LED into hundreds of tiny images. Would something like that be...
- Sun Jul 23, 2023 10:32 pm
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: Tribonema. Something's moving there.
- Replies: 2
- Views: 380
Re: Tribonema. Something's moving there.
I know almost nothing about algae, but that looks like Brownian motion of the tiny particles. No single particle actually goes anyplace, it's just being jostled by random small movements of the molecules around it. The movements should be greater at higher temperatures than at lower ones.
- Fri Jul 21, 2023 4:49 pm
- Forum: For forum members who want to buy and sell equipment
- Topic: FS: Several good F-mount macro lenses (Voigtländer, Nikon, Kiron)
- Replies: 0
- Views: 419
FS: Several good F-mount macro lenses (Voigtländer, Nikon, Kiron)
I'm moving to the Sony mirrorless world, and must part with my Nikon equipment. It seems sensible to post the macro lenses here for a group dedicated to photographing small things. All of the lenses listed are in 'like new' condition unless otherwise noted. For each one: the glass is clear without s...
- Wed Jul 19, 2023 11:02 am
- Forum: Identification help
- Topic: Strange organism
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1876
Re: Strange organism
macnmotion -
Thanks for all the information on your indoor pond! It looks like you've been very successful at keeping the ecology stable - not an easy task.
Cheers, David
Thanks for all the information on your indoor pond! It looks like you've been very successful at keeping the ecology stable - not an easy task.
Cheers, David
- Mon Jul 17, 2023 1:44 pm
- Forum: Identification help
- Topic: Strange organism
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1876
Re: Strange organism
Fascinating video and impressive diversity of creatures. Could you say a bit more about the collection site?
- Sat Jul 15, 2023 2:28 pm
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: 1.67x Testing - Spitta Diatom Slide
- Replies: 12
- Views: 1447
Re: 1.67x Testing - Spitta Diatom Slide
Interesting ... looks like it probably is some sort of color effect that I'm picking up on. To my eye, the image emphasizing magenta is most affected and one emphasizing blue is least affected.
Cheers, David
Cheers, David
- Fri Jul 14, 2023 2:03 pm
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: 1.67x Testing - Spitta Diatom Slide
- Replies: 12
- Views: 1447
Re: 1.67x Testing - Spitta Diatom Slide
The diatom second from the left shows the effect most. It might be some sort of psychophysical effect arising from the adjacent, saturated colors.
In any event, it's not a big deal. Clearly not a flaw in your overall system because your video imagery is great.
Cheers, David
In any event, it's not a big deal. Clearly not a flaw in your overall system because your video imagery is great.
Cheers, David
- Thu Jul 13, 2023 12:12 pm
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: 1.67x Testing - Spitta Diatom Slide
- Replies: 12
- Views: 1447
Re: 1.67x Testing - Spitta Diatom Slide
Great find with the NFK 1.67 - not common, expensive, and, based on your successes, definitely valuable. I'm with Phill, however: something doesn't look quite right with your diatom images. I also thought it was motion blur at first, but your HiRes images don't support that. Maybe something about th...
- Tue Jun 27, 2023 2:53 pm
- Forum: For forum members who want to buy and sell equipment
- Topic: SOLD - THK KR2602A linear actuator rails
- Replies: 0
- Views: 417
SOLD - THK KR2602A linear actuator rails
I have two brand-new, still-in-plastic-bag THK KR2602A rails that I got a few years ago as part of a package deal. (I took one rail out of its plastic bag for the photographs.) This is an excellent rail for image stacking setups. I can provide a PDF of the full, 124-page specifications for these rai...
- Tue Jun 27, 2023 2:35 pm
- Forum: Identification help
- Topic: What a wonder! A new unknown critter!
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1642
Re: What a wonder! A new unknown critter!
I found an extensive paper on cercomonads that might help. A few of the species shown have at least a passing resemblance to the mystery creature. The paper is much too large to attach, so I trimmed it to just a few of the figures that seem promising. If anyone wants a pdf of the full paper, PM me w...
- Mon Jun 26, 2023 2:26 pm
- Forum: Identification help
- Topic: What a wonder! A new unknown critter!
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1642
Re: What a wonder! A new unknown critter!
That is bizarre. I've seen a few amoeba with what looked like flagella, but nothing like this. Although it doesn't really seem to apply here, I did find this quote from a research paper: "The amoeba, Naegleria gruberi, changes from the amoeboid form to a free-swimming flagellate form in about two ho...
- Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:44 pm
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: Loxophyllum meleagris
- Replies: 5
- Views: 725
Re: Loxophyllum meleagris
Wow - truly gorgeous video!
It's wonderful to see all the fine details of the anatomy so clearly.
It's wonderful to see all the fine details of the anatomy so clearly.
- Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:21 pm
- Forum: Pictures and Videos
- Topic: A few micro-abstracts
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1717
Re: A few micro-abstracts
Javier - check out https://www.microbehunter.com/microscop ... 28&t=17325
I've changed some details of the setup a bit since then, but the basic idea is the same.
I've changed some details of the setup a bit since then, but the basic idea is the same.