Need help to choose Objectives

Everything relating to microscopy hardware: Objectives, eyepieces, lamps and more.
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NawafQ8
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2021 11:53 pm

Need help to choose Objectives

#1 Post by NawafQ8 » Fri Nov 26, 2021 12:08 am

Hello..

I'm new to this hobby .. and I have the Swift SW380B with the basic achromatic objective of course..

my knowledge is limited .. as you know there are many types of objectives !!

I want to upgrade my Objectives and don't know what to get!

Plan?

Plan Infinity? model 195?

Plan Phase Contrast? with short working distance

i found this plan phase contrast for Motic .. is this gonna work with my microscope SW380B? (Attachment photo)
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dtsh
Posts: 977
Joined: Wed May 01, 2019 6:06 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Need help to choose Objectives

#2 Post by dtsh » Fri Nov 26, 2021 12:25 am

NawafQ8 wrote:
Fri Nov 26, 2021 12:08 am
Plan?

Plan Infinity? model 195?

Plan Phase Contrast? with short working distance
What do you feel is lacking from your existing setup?

Plan objectives are nice, but depending on how you use your microscope they might not deliver much improvement. If, for example, you tend to watch live specimens and chase them around the slide, a plan objective isn't going to deliver much.
Phase is also nice to have in the right use case, but may not add any real benefit otherwise. I tend to look at insect mounts a lot, for which my phase microscope doesn't get a lot of use. When I am viewing a wet mount or a smear, it's my go-to.

If it were my money, I would look to adding a second instrument instead of expanding the one you have now. Again, it depends on what you do with your microscope, but picking up a phase scope or perhaps a stereo might add more capability than you have now, but knowing what your usual subjects are will greatly assist others in advising you.

The objective you show is a finite, but you mention infinity earlier; these are typically non-interchangeable designs. A quick look at the manual doesn't tell me if it's a 160mm finite or an infinity system.

Javier
Posts: 806
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 11:19 am
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Re: Need help to choose Objectives

#3 Post by Javier » Fri Nov 26, 2021 1:11 am

Are you unhappy with the images of your current scope?

Dubious
Posts: 426
Joined: Sun May 09, 2021 7:55 pm

Re: Need help to choose Objectives

#4 Post by Dubious » Fri Nov 26, 2021 3:28 am

The Swift SW380B is a finite 160mm system, so you don't want to use infinity objectives. I don't think it can be upgraded to phase contrast. It usually comes standard with 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x-oil objectives. If that is what yours has and you want to buy more objectives, you might consider a 20x objective, which is a useful in-between power, preferably from the same Swift line so that it is parfocal with the others and properly corrected by the eyepiece. Otherwise, I would just use the microscope and become familiar with its abilities and limitations and, as suggested above, save the money toward a scope with phase contrast or a stereo scope.

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