My New Amscope T490!

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natedoggraymond
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 7:30 am

My New Amscope T490!

#1 Post by natedoggraymond » Mon Mar 08, 2021 12:59 pm

Hello everyone,

I'm a college biology student and a lifelong science enthusiast. I had a toy microscope growing up and had some limited experience with real microscopes in high school and college. A while ago, I caught the microscopy virus afresh and I got the stronger strain this time. My fellow biology nerd showed me some of his developing fish embryos under his microscope and it blew me away as I watched their little hearts pump. Journey to the Microcosmos was another one of the many inspiring influences for me. I was mainly interested in pond protists and taking videos and pictures of them. I had little knowledge of microscopes and their features and hardware, but began to research it, making prolific use of the Microbehunter YouTube channel.

I determined that I had to buy a microscope for myself! I pestered some staff at my university to see if there were funding possibilities and went to the university surplus store, but found no good options. After exhausting the educational route, I knew I didn't want to buy used and knew that my budget was limited. This left a surprising myriad of options. After MUCH research, I determined that I wanted a trinocular microscope because I was interested in taking pictures and videos. I then determined that I wanted the future capability of phase contrast, darkfield illumination, a Siedentopf head, 20x eyepieces (I know they are apparently empty magnification, but I was curious about it), and LED illumination. This narrowed my options. From what I had researched and was able to find, this left the Amscope T490B-LED and the Amscope T340B-LED. I really didn't like the overall look of the T340, so I finally decided on the Amscope T490B-LED (https://www.amscope.com/40x-2000x-led-t ... scope.html).

I ordered the scope directly from Amscope and have been quite pleased. The scope looks professional and is quite large, modular, and feature rich. The mechanical stage is a must, the included dust cover is a lifesaver, the focusing works great, and observing pond protists has been a blast! The optics are a little better than I expected! The eyepieces and objectives feel like they could be on a much more expensive microscope (and seeing as the objectives are manufactured outside of Amscope, they might be). Having two eyepieces to peer into (like on binocular and trinocular scopes) has been very nice! It creates this immersive image that is very fun to see and is impossible to capture with a camera. A couple of concerns did arise. The scope's overall build quality was a bit lower than I was expecting, and I was missing the 100x objective lens and immersion oil. Additionally, to my surprise, it had an internal battery and could thus be used away from outlets. The included cord is a typical, compact AC adapter that charges the battery. Initially, this bothered me as I question the integrity of this system, but it is growing on me. I usually use it plugged in. I contacted Amscope (with whom I have had some good, but more bad experiences with) and they sent me a 100x plan objective and no immersion oil. Hopefully they will let me keep the plan objective (as the scope originally comes with achromatics) and will send me some oil. They seem to only have the battery versions of the T490 LEDs. The build quality has so far yielded no problems or concerns of great influence and has grown on me. The very bottom plastic part of the base feels a bit cheap, the stage top has some small scratches that I have caused (it's possible this would happen on any microscope), the condenser feels a bit cheap, and the Siedentopf head has some plastic parts. The scope's frame is mostly metal and all of the important mechanics and optics seem to be of quite good quality. The only operational bother is rather small. If you move the condenser all the way to the bottom of its travel and do so with some speed or force, it will force the stage up just a bit. If you are using a higher powered objective, this will crash the stage into the objective. I have not caused any noticeable damage to anything as far as I know. This may be due to the spring objectives. It is almost never necessary to move the condenser to the bottom of the travel, but I have done it out of curiosity. The LED bulbs are accessible through a door in the bottom of the base and there is no fuse, probably because of the battery (but there is a hole for a fuse). The slide out filter holder is great and the scope came with yellow, green, and blue filters. They appear to be made of glass. It also came with a cap for the phototube port and for the eyepiece holes. I have installed the phototube using the included Allen Key and have placed one of the eyepiece covers in it to keep the dust out. The light is unchangeably distributed between the head and the phototube. The phototube is adjustable, which I think is a great feature. The 3W LED system is evenly illuminating (despite not having Kohler) and is decently bright (although I have yet to do anything at 1000x due to the missing objective). I would certainly recommend this microscope to anyone who has a similar budget (I got the scope for about $350) and a similar set of interests. I only point out its flaws to make others aware. They are manageable. The microscope is, overall, fulfilling my dreams!

I am still learning how to balance the use of the aperture diaphragm for optimal contrast and resolution. Overall, I have learned so so much from my experiences with slide preparation, sample collection, and observation. Moving the mechanical stage and fine focusing are becoming very natural. One thing that has been proven true to me is how, generally, beginners like me overemphasize the importance of microscope components and features and underemphasize the importance of slide preparation and sample quality. Other important skills are lighting, framing, patience (waiting for microbes to hold still), choosing a filter, and coordinating focusing and stage movement (especially for video). I didn't buy a camera, but planned on buying one later. However, upon using my phone (Google Pixel 3a) by just holding it up to the eyepieces, I was able to get some great pictures. Videos, on the other hand, were impossible because you can't hold the phone still enough. I purchased a phone adapter (https://www.amazon.com/Vankey-Cellphone ... s9dHJ1ZQ==). I put one of the 20x objectives in the phototube and attach the phone adapter to this (it grasps the objective and the phototube as they have the same outer diameter). If the 10x objective is used, it only grips the objective. I then zoom the phone camera to about 2x to eliminate the dark part of the image. This whole setup has worked great! Unfortunately, I have not yet figured out how to make this setup parfocal with the eyepieces at any more than one magnification. I will continue to experiment with the phototube height and diopters, but if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

I have made several filters to include Rheinberg, darkfield, oblique and polarizing. Most are out of black paper, clear plastic from food containers, and Sharpie. They were all free with exception of the inexpensive polarizing filter. The polarizing filter was inspired by a few of Microbehunter's vidoes as well as this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knb8LzGmh6E&t). I purchased a sheet of linear polarizing filter on Amazon and cut out a larger circle and another smaller circle with a protruding band (this latter circle is the same diameter as the filters). The larger circle is placed underneath the entire removable head. The smaller circle's protruding band is bent twice such that the protruding band goes through the circle of the sliding filter holder towards the light source and the circle sits in the filter holder. This allows me to twist the filter to adjust the polarization until it is cross polarized. I am still working to find the ideal center circle diameter for both darkfield and Rheinberg filters, especially for higher magnifications. An interesting effect was observed with a large, crescent oblique filter that blocked all direct light and thus had a darkfield effect with the added benefits of oblique illumination. Pictures of all of the filters are included.

I have collected samples and prepared slides from a nearby pond or two, a small stream, the Great Salt Lake, and a little ecosystem in some friends' dorm window sill. This has allowed for the following attached pictures and videos and for further observation of ciliates, algae, diatoms, bacteria, my own blood and cheek cells, a ciliate eating another cell from the Great Salt Lake sample, and some rotifers. It has been wonderful!

In summary, I would recommend the T490B-LED to people with similar interests and budgets. It is a great microscope! I would also recommend the setups I have described for photos and videos as well as filters.


Pictures of the microscope, filters, etc.:

https://imgur.com/a/G4dzcOT

Pictures and videos from the microscope (some of the videos were filmed previous to the phone adapter and are thus, a little shaky and vignetted):

https://imgur.com/a/w01GlyE


-Nate
Attachments
PXL_20210308_090831932.jpg
PXL_20210308_090831932.jpg (82.42 KiB) Viewed 8786 times
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PXL_20210222_065807459.jpg (147.27 KiB) Viewed 8786 times
PXL_20210220_103359735.jpg
PXL_20210220_103359735.jpg (208.06 KiB) Viewed 8786 times
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PXL_20210219_103434547.jpg (82.46 KiB) Viewed 8786 times
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blackandwhite.jpg (141.73 KiB) Viewed 8786 times

natedoggraymond
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 7:30 am

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#2 Post by natedoggraymond » Mon Mar 08, 2021 1:23 pm

More pictures as attachments. All pictures and videos are available in the imgur links.
Attachments
PXL_20210308_093416127.jpg
PXL_20210308_093416127.jpg (152.83 KiB) Viewed 8786 times
PXL_20210218_090306248.jpg
PXL_20210218_090306248.jpg (109.02 KiB) Viewed 8786 times

Red_Green
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:38 pm

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#3 Post by Red_Green » Mon Mar 08, 2021 3:26 pm

I also got the t490B. (darkfield and halogen). It's a truly amazing microscope for the price and I would also recommend this microscope to everybody. It's even better than the leica scope's I used in college in my opinion.

I upgraded the eyepieces to a reticle eye piece, added a 20x objective and swapped out the 100x. I am planning on upgraded to all plan objectives. Perhaps phase contrast, if it ever goes down in price as I feel the $1000 price tag isn't worth it.

Also waiting on some 3d printed darkfield filters in the mail. I made all sorts of filters the same way you did.

As for photo taking, I would strongly recommend going with a dslr camera and adapter. It's just really simple and easy. If you have a dslr.

The t490 is a truly righteous, groovy, awesome and rad instrument.
sfsf.jpg
sfsf.jpg (166.24 KiB) Viewed 8769 times
t490b & SM-1TZ

natedoggraymond
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 7:30 am

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#4 Post by natedoggraymond » Mon Mar 08, 2021 7:53 pm

Red_Green wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 3:26 pm
I also got the t490B. (darkfield and halogen). It's a truly amazing microscope for the price and I would also recommend this microscope to everybody. It's even better than the leica scope's I used in college in my opinion.

I upgraded the eyepieces to a reticle eye piece, added a 20x objective and swapped out the 100x. I am planning on upgraded to all plan objectives. Perhaps phase contrast, if it ever goes down in price as I feel the $1000 price tag isn't worth it.

Also waiting on some 3d printed darkfield filters in the mail. I made all sorts of filters the same way you did.

As for photo taking, I would strongly recommend going with a dslr camera and adapter. It's just really simple and easy. If you have a dslr.

The t490 is a truly righteous, groovy, awesome and rad instrument.

sfsf.jpg

t490b & SM-1TZ
Red_Green,

I agree! It is a great microscope!

I might swap out my 100x objective for a 60x. Dealing with oil really does just seem like a pain. And ya, upgrading to all plan objectives could be awesome!

Ooooo, exciting. Where did you order those 3D printed darkfield filters from? Have you enjoyed the darkfield condenser that came with your microscope? Is it better than the filters?

Unfortunately, I don't have a DSLR, so upgrading to that system is currently way out of my budget, but we will see what the future holds. Thank you for the advice!

Phase contrast can be had for $389.99 if you're fine with not having the turret style and only having three objectives (10x, 40x, and 100x)(https://www.amscope.com/accessories/con ... copes.html). But even if you do go to turret and four objectives (10x, 20x, 40x, and 100x) it is $699.99 (https://www.amscope.com/accessories/con ... copes.html). Still all very pricey indeed, but luckily not $1000. There are some more expensive phase contrast kits on Amscope.com, but they are infinity corrected or seemingly otherwise incompatible with the T490.

-Nate

Red_Green
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:38 pm

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#5 Post by Red_Green » Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:22 pm

I agree! It is a great microscope!

I might swap out my 100x objective for a 60x. Dealing with oil really does just seem like a pain. And ya, upgrading to all plan objectives could be awesome!

Ooooo, exciting. Where did you order those 3D printed darkfield filters from? Have you enjoyed the darkfield condenser that came with your microscope? Is it better than the filters?

Unfortunately, I don't have a DSLR, so upgrading to that system is currently way out of my budget, but we will see what the future holds. Thank you for the advice!

Phase contrast can be had for $389.99 if you're fine with not having the turret style and only having three objectives (10x, 40x, and 100x)(https://www.amscope.com/accessories/con ... copes.html). But even if you do go to turret and four objectives (10x, 20x, 40x, and 100x) it is $699.99 (https://www.amscope.com/accessories/con ... copes.html). Still all very pricey indeed, but luckily not $1000. There are some more expensive phase contrast kits on Amscope.com, but they are infinity corrected or seemingly otherwise incompatible with the T490.
Ya, I don't care for oil. When I get plan objectives I am going to get a 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x and 60x. I think the 60x might be a good idea.

A forum member on here offered to make them for me. If your interested you could ask him to make you some. Here's the thread;

https://www.microbehunter.com/microscop ... 12&t=12086

There's nothing wrong with the darkfield condenser it came with, it's just that you can only do darkfield with it and I like to switch between bright field and darkfield so patch stops made more sense as you can flip out the holder on the normal abbe condenser as needed. For example you can't see amoeba in darkfield and I view a lot of amoeba. So I decided not to use the condenser and use patch stops instead. Had I of known that at the time I would of saved some money and just bought the regular t490 without darkfield. It's an awesome condenser for what it is though.

When it comes to the phase contrast I would only get the turret version. Unfortunately, I am in Canada. So when you factor in currency conversion, taxes, shipping and then custom fees it comes to over a grand. Us Canadians pay double than everyone else in the world it seems lol.

Happy to see someone else enjoying the t490 as much as I am.

natedoggraymond
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 7:30 am

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#6 Post by natedoggraymond » Mon Mar 08, 2021 9:10 pm

Red_Green wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:22 pm
Ya, I don't care for oil. When I get plan objectives I am going to get a 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x and 60x. I think the 60x might be a good idea.
I think that would be awesome to have all of those plan objectives!
Red_Green wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:22 pm
A forum member on here offered to make them for me. If your interested you could ask him to make you some. Here's the thread;

https://www.microbehunter.com/microscop ... 12&t=12086
Interesting, thank you for the info!
Red_Green wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:22 pm
There's nothing wrong with the darkfield condenser it came with, it's just that you can only do darkfield with it and I like to switch between bright field and darkfield so patch stops made more sense as you can flip out the holder on the normal abbe condenser as needed. For example you can't see amoeba in darkfield and I view a lot of amoeba. So I decided not to use the condenser and use patch stops instead. Had I of known that at the time I would of saved some money and just bought the regular t490 without darkfield. It's an awesome condenser for what it is though.
Ahaaa, I see. I also enjoy the ability to quickly change between the two and never thought about that being a disadvantage for the condenser. Thank you!
Red_Green wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:22 pm
When it comes to the phase contrast I would only get the turret version. Unfortunately, I am in Canada. So when you factor in currency conversion, taxes, shipping and then custom fees it comes to over a grand. Us Canadians pay double than everyone else in the world it seems lol.
Oooo, that is very unfortunate :/
Red_Green wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:22 pm
Happy to see someone else enjoying the t490 as much as I am.
Ya! I'm enjoying mine greatly!

Greg Howald
Posts: 1185
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:44 am

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#7 Post by Greg Howald » Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:21 am

I opened the dark field condenser, removed the patch stop, and made Rheinberg and other stops to mount in it. That works well for me, even at 40x.
Greg

natedoggraymond
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 7:30 am

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#8 Post by natedoggraymond » Tue Mar 09, 2021 7:22 am

Greg Howald wrote:
Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:21 am
I opened the dark field condenser, removed the patch stop, and made Rheinberg and other stops to mount in it. That works well for me, even at 40x.
Thanks Greg! That's great info! You can remove the patch stop from the Amscope darkfield condenser?

-Nate

Red_Green
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:38 pm

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#9 Post by Red_Green » Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:43 pm

Red_Green wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:22 pm



When it comes to the phase contrast I would only get the turret version. Unfortunately, I am in Canada. So when you factor in currency conversion, taxes, shipping and then custom fees it comes to over a grand. Us Canadians pay double than everyone else in the world it seems lol.
I was right. I ended up ordering the phase contrast kit and it cost me $1,181.64. $1,045.09 for the phase kit and $136.55 customs and import fee.

I did also order the 60x plan objective with it which is only an extra $90. But still all those fees and junk is insane. I'm surprised they haven't come up with some sort of covid tax yet.

Greg Howald
Posts: 1185
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:44 am

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#10 Post by Greg Howald » Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:17 am

Feel fortunate my friend. The state of Oregon has a covid tax bill waiting in The back room.

Red_Green
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:38 pm

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#11 Post by Red_Green » Sat Mar 20, 2021 5:16 am

Greg Howald wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:17 am
Feel fortunate my friend. The state of Oregon has a covid tax bill waiting in The back room.
Seriously though?

That's almost as asinine as the "carbon tax" here in Canada. We all know it the taxes and fees go to the Politicians pockets.

Want2see
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 6:40 pm

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#12 Post by Want2see » Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:03 pm

Thanks for the t490 review, the pictures and videos look great especially for that price...... and no dust anywhere!

jeffery163
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:47 pm

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#13 Post by jeffery163 » Thu Apr 01, 2021 5:32 pm

Great pictures, thanks for the review

InstantMochiii
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2021 4:59 pm

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#14 Post by InstantMochiii » Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:23 am

natedoggraymond wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 12:59 pm
Hello everyone,

I'm a college biology student and a lifelong science enthusiast. I had a toy microscope growing up and had some limited experience with real microscopes in high school and college. A while ago, I caught the microscopy virus afresh and I got the stronger strain this time. My fellow biology nerd showed me some of his developing fish embryos under his microscope and it blew me away as I watched their little hearts pump. Journey to the Microcosmos was another one of the many inspiring influences for me. I was mainly interested in pond protists and taking videos and pictures of them. I had little knowledge of microscopes and their features and hardware, but began to research it, making prolific use of the Microbehunter YouTube channel.

I determined that I had to buy a microscope for myself! I pestered some staff at my university to see if there were funding possibilities and went to the university surplus store, but found no good options. After exhausting the educational route, I knew I didn't want to buy used and knew that my budget was limited. This left a surprising myriad of options. After MUCH research, I determined that I wanted a trinocular microscope because I was interested in taking pictures and videos. I then determined that I wanted the future capability of phase contrast, darkfield illumination, a Siedentopf head, 20x eyepieces (I know they are apparently empty magnification, but I was curious about it), and LED illumination. This narrowed my options. From what I had researched and was able to find, this left the Amscope T490B-LED and the Amscope T340B-LED. I really didn't like the overall look of the T340, so I finally decided on the Amscope T490B-LED (https://www.amscope.com/40x-2000x-led-t ... scope.html).

I ordered the scope directly from Amscope and have been quite pleased. The scope looks professional and is quite large, modular, and feature rich. The mechanical stage is a must, the included dust cover is a lifesaver, the focusing works great, and observing pond protists has been a blast! The optics are a little better than I expected! The eyepieces and objectives feel like they could be on a much more expensive microscope (and seeing as the objectives are manufactured outside of Amscope, they might be). Having two eyepieces to peer into (like on binocular and trinocular scopes) has been very nice! It creates this immersive image that is very fun to see and is impossible to capture with a camera. A couple of concerns did arise. The scope's overall build quality was a bit lower than I was expecting, and I was missing the 100x objective lens and immersion oil. Additionally, to my surprise, it had an internal battery and could thus be used away from outlets. The included cord is a typical, compact AC adapter that charges the battery. Initially, this bothered me as I question the integrity of this system, but it is growing on me. I usually use it plugged in. I contacted Amscope (with whom I have had some good, but more bad experiences with) and they sent me a 100x plan objective and no immersion oil. Hopefully they will let me keep the plan objective (as the scope originally comes with achromatics) and will send me some oil. They seem to only have the battery versions of the T490 LEDs. The build quality has so far yielded no problems or concerns of great influence and has grown on me. The very bottom plastic part of the base feels a bit cheap, the stage top has some small scratches that I have caused (it's possible this would happen on any microscope), the condenser feels a bit cheap, and the Siedentopf head has some plastic parts. The scope's frame is mostly metal and all of the important mechanics and optics seem to be of quite good quality. The only operational bother is rather small. If you move the condenser all the way to the bottom of its travel and do so with some speed or force, it will force the stage up just a bit. If you are using a higher powered objective, this will crash the stage into the objective. I have not caused any noticeable damage to anything as far as I know. This may be due to the spring objectives. It is almost never necessary to move the condenser to the bottom of the travel, but I have done it out of curiosity. The LED bulbs are accessible through a door in the bottom of the base and there is no fuse, probably because of the battery (but there is a hole for a fuse). The slide out filter holder is great and the scope came with yellow, green, and blue filters. They appear to be made of glass. It also came with a cap for the phototube port and for the eyepiece holes. I have installed the phototube using the included Allen Key and have placed one of the eyepiece covers in it to keep the dust out. The light is unchangeably distributed between the head and the phototube. The phototube is adjustable, which I think is a great feature. The 3W LED system is evenly illuminating (despite not having Kohler) and is decently bright (although I have yet to do anything at 1000x due to the missing objective). I would certainly recommend this microscope to anyone who has a similar budget (I got the scope for about $350) and a similar set of interests. I only point out its flaws to make others aware. They are manageable. The microscope is, overall, fulfilling my dreams!

I am still learning how to balance the use of the aperture diaphragm for optimal contrast and resolution. Overall, I have learned so so much from my experiences with slide preparation, sample collection, and observation. Moving the mechanical stage and fine focusing are becoming very natural. One thing that has been proven true to me is how, generally, beginners like me overemphasize the importance of microscope components and features and underemphasize the importance of slide preparation and sample quality. Other important skills are lighting, framing, patience (waiting for microbes to hold still), choosing a filter, and coordinating focusing and stage movement (especially for video). I didn't buy a camera, but planned on buying one later. However, upon using my phone (Google Pixel 3a) by just holding it up to the eyepieces, I was able to get some great pictures. Videos, on the other hand, were impossible because you can't hold the phone still enough. I purchased a phone adapter (https://www.amazon.com/Vankey-Cellphone ... s9dHJ1ZQ==). I put one of the 20x objectives in the phototube and attach the phone adapter to this (it grasps the objective and the phototube as they have the same outer diameter). If the 10x objective is used, it only grips the objective. I then zoom the phone camera to about 2x to eliminate the dark part of the image. This whole setup has worked great! Unfortunately, I have not yet figured out how to make this setup parfocal with the eyepieces at any more than one magnification. I will continue to experiment with the phototube height and diopters, but if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

I have made several filters to include Rheinberg, darkfield, oblique and polarizing. Most are out of black paper, clear plastic from food containers, and Sharpie. They were all free with exception of the inexpensive polarizing filter. The polarizing filter was inspired by a few of Microbehunter's vidoes as well as this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knb8LzGmh6E&t). I purchased a sheet of linear polarizing filter on Amazon and cut out a larger circle and another smaller circle with a protruding band (this latter circle is the same diameter as the filters). The larger circle is placed underneath the entire removable head. The smaller circle's protruding band is bent twice such that the protruding band goes through the circle of the sliding filter holder towards the light source and the circle sits in the filter holder. This allows me to twist the filter to adjust the polarization until it is cross polarized. I am still working to find the ideal center circle diameter for both darkfield and Rheinberg filters, especially for higher magnifications. An interesting effect was observed with a large, crescent oblique filter that blocked all direct light and thus had a darkfield effect with the added benefits of oblique illumination. Pictures of all of the filters are included.

I have collected samples and prepared slides from a nearby pond or two, a small stream, the Great Salt Lake, and a little ecosystem in some friends' dorm window sill. This has allowed for the following attached pictures and videos and for further observation of ciliates, algae, diatoms, bacteria, my own blood and cheek cells, a ciliate eating another cell from the Great Salt Lake sample, and some rotifers. It has been wonderful!

In summary, I would recommend the T490B-LED to people with similar interests and budgets. It is a great microscope! I would also recommend the setups I have described for photos and videos as well as filters.


Pictures of the microscope, filters, etc.:

https://imgur.com/a/G4dzcOT

Pictures and videos from the microscope (some of the videos were filmed previous to the phone adapter and are thus, a little shaky and vignetted):

https://imgur.com/a/w01GlyE


-Nate
Hi, so this is kind of an old thread, but would you be willing to post more pictures with darkfield with this microscope? 👉👈 I'm looking at getting this one, but I was worried that the darkfield might not work if the wattage isn't high enough. Thankfully, that one picture with the darkfield is convincing me more, hehe-

GeekyWife
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2020 9:19 pm

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#15 Post by GeekyWife » Thu May 20, 2021 2:42 pm

I am not set up to take pictures yet, but I do a lot of darkfield with the T490B and the supplied Amscope dry darkfield condenser. Both work extremely well.

I find the halogen light more than bright enough for dark field or Rheinberg illumination, and rarely run it at full output.

However, while the dry darkfield condenser is great with 4X and 10X objectives, it starts to get fussy at 20X and some glare begins to show at 40X. You need to have the darkfield stop perfectly centered in the condenser to use at 40X, and I find that even with it centered, I have to lower the condenser just a bit to keep the background dark. This doesn't change the contrast, and the specimen also gets a bit darker when the condenser is lowered, but the appearance is improved.

Most of my darkfield is done with 4X and 10X objectives. IMHO, using the 20X eyepieces with the 10X objective can provide better darkfield views than 10X eyepieces with a 20X objective. Giving up some resoluion for better contrast is worth it to me. However, I'm glad I got the 20X objective, and it gets a lot of use.

I may get the Amscope high-aperture oil-immersion darkfield condenser someday, even though I don't use oil-immersion eyepieces. I suspect it may improve darkfield views with the 40X objective, using oil only under the slide, not above it. If anyone has any experience with it, please let me know.

UniSwaN
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2022 9:19 pm

Re: My New Amscope T490!

#16 Post by UniSwaN » Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:40 pm

Hello, can we turn a T490-PC into a T490-DK if i buy a Darkfiel kit separatly and vis versa ?

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