I have been watching Oliver on YouTube for quite some time now and finally about one month ago I finally managed to buy my first microscope.
The first time I ever saw and viewed through a microscope was in '97, the teacher set the microscope in front of me and oriented the mirror towards the light (they were that old), then she said "Use this nob to focus and let me know when you finished" it was instant.
I was amazed at what I had seen, of course, it was a bright field and she explained that some specimens are so thin sometimes you need to use dye to be able to see them. She took an onion, peeled off the transparent layer between the layers of the onion and put a few drops of fountain pen ink on it, handed it over to use look.
That moment stayed with me for the rest of my life.
Moving to the present times
, I want to start exploring microscopy the reason I have chosen the Olympus BH2 is that there are so many options for accessories, you can find places where you can service it and they are very sturdy. Still, some objectives are very priced but still quality of quantity.I have been looking online for discounts on various accessories and found some good ones:
- The microscope is an Olympus BH2-BHS with DPlan objectives (50x and 100x oil) with a trinocular, NKF 2.5 LD phototube, and BH2-AAC condenser with flip top (photo above).
- I got the BH2-RFCA at a good price almost mint condition, one excitation cube (B) and one small slide with a darkfield anully under the viewing port. I want to explore this route at a later date because I have noticed that It requires a bit more knowledge than just brightfield or darkfield.
- I would like to explore the Phase Contrast option and I have bought a Phase Contrast Condenser, also I have found a turret with NIC prisms. I understand the NIC objectives have superior image quality and larger thread diameter objectives(correct me if I am wrong please). Are they different or it's worth investing in just one?
- Finally, I bought an Olympus BH2-KPA because I want to explore polarized light as well, but I missing the U-POC-2 condenser. Can't wait to view some crystalization.
See you soon.
Cheers,
Andrei