MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

I found some nice Rotifers of the genus Asplanchna a few months ago. Since they are quite big, they made a great opportunity to try my DIY polarized system, which is very limited due to the lack of power of the lamp of my current scope.

The sequence of the video is the following:

1- Oblique illumination
2- Dark field + polarizing filter 1 (which cast a bluish hue)
3- Polarizing filter 2 (which cast a grayer hue)
4- Oblique illumination + polarizing filter 1
5- Dark field

The entire sequence was made at 100x with an iPhone 5s mounted on an Amscope b120. I would love to replace the original 1W with a 3W LED in the future to get better at polarized light, which I found fascinating.

Thanks for watching!

Javier

Hi Javier,
a nice video, well done. The Rotifier obviously makes a good object to demonstrate the different effects.
Just the simple bright field illumination is missing

ImperatorRex wrote: ↑

Wed May 31, 2023 4:36 pm

Hi Javier,
a nice video, well done. The Rotifier obviously makes a good object to demonstrate the different effects.
Just the simple bright field illumination is missing

Thank you, Jochen.

You are right, I just forgot about bright-field when taking the videos.

A polarizer does a good job of eliminating a lot of glare and improving small linear details like cell walls.

I'm currently learning to better use my oblique stops. Do you have a favorite oblique lighting shape? Or shape for specific objective?

Sure Squintsalot wrote: ↑

Wed May 31, 2023 7:13 pm

A polarizer does a good job of eliminating a lot of glare and improving small linear details like cell walls.

I'm currently learning to better use my oblique stops. Do you have a favorite oblique lighting shape? Or shape for specific objective?

Honestly, after trying a few shapes, I opted for using the filter holder with my home-made dark filter in it half open (depending on the objective) to get oblique illumination. To my eye, subtle differences in shape didn't make a difference. Having the option to regulate the position of the filter holder seems more versatile.