I found what I think will do the job, but don't know how to hook up my camera. Or should just get one of those 640 x 480 USB thingamabob cameras for the scope.
Here's the scope
http://store.amscope.com/d120-a.html
Let the berating begin......
New Guy
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
New Guy
I'm thinking of getting a Chinese scope to use with my Nikon d50 dslr. Need something to do during the daylight or on cloudy nights.
I found what I think will do the job, but don't know how to hook up my camera. Or should just get one of those 640 x 480 USB thingamabob cameras for the scope.
Here's the scope
http://store.amscope.com/d120-a.html
Let the berating begin......
I found what I think will do the job, but don't know how to hook up my camera. Or should just get one of those 640 x 480 USB thingamabob cameras for the scope.
Here's the scope
http://store.amscope.com/d120-a.html
Let the berating begin......
Don't know how serious you are about microscopy or microphotography but this scope you have linked to, seems to me a very bad choice. Regardless of what camera you attach to it. 
I do not say this to be a discouragment to you or to belittle your choice. I have been down the road you are about to embark on and it has cost me $$$. 
The adapters required for a dSLR are probably going to cost you much more than the scope itself and even the Motic or other eyepiece attached digital cameras are going to cost well over that of the scope also.
However if this is the scope of your choice, might I suggest searching "OrionTelescopes.com" website and ordering their Orion SteadyPix camera adapter for about $34.95 less shipping and then buying a small consumer type digital camera such as Nikon, Canon, Fuji, etc. and attach it to the photo tube of the scope with the Orion SteadyPix adapter. It will not give you great photographs but it will give you acceptable ones. As a matter of fact I use an Orion SteadyPix myself with a Sony DSC-P200 attached to the photo tube of a Zeiss Axiostar.
Getting back to your choice of scopes, I realize that you may not want to make a large investment in something that you will have as a casual pastime. I can't blame you there but you might want to look at National Microscopes, they are chinese manufactured, well built, and have reasonably good optics, all for the cost of what you have linked here; maybe a little bit more. Above all remember you are going to get what you pay for.
If you have anymore questions, please by all means ask. There maybe some others on here that can assist you also. Thanks for the post PeglegOS!
By the way, I had not noticed that this is your first post! Welcome to the Forums. This is a good place to find information and get good advice from photographers who are much more in the know than I, when it comes to photography be it macro or micro. So browse around, read some of our articles and posts and above all enjoy!
I do not say this to be a discouragment to you or to belittle your choice. I have been down the road you are about to embark on and it has cost me $$$. The adapters required for a dSLR are probably going to cost you much more than the scope itself and even the Motic or other eyepiece attached digital cameras are going to cost well over that of the scope also.However if this is the scope of your choice, might I suggest searching "OrionTelescopes.com" website and ordering their Orion SteadyPix camera adapter for about $34.95 less shipping and then buying a small consumer type digital camera such as Nikon, Canon, Fuji, etc. and attach it to the photo tube of the scope with the Orion SteadyPix adapter. It will not give you great photographs but it will give you acceptable ones. As a matter of fact I use an Orion SteadyPix myself with a Sony DSC-P200 attached to the photo tube of a Zeiss Axiostar.
Getting back to your choice of scopes, I realize that you may not want to make a large investment in something that you will have as a casual pastime. I can't blame you there but you might want to look at National Microscopes, they are chinese manufactured, well built, and have reasonably good optics, all for the cost of what you have linked here; maybe a little bit more. Above all remember you are going to get what you pay for.
If you have anymore questions, please by all means ask. There maybe some others on here that can assist you also. Thanks for the post PeglegOS! By the way, I had not noticed that this is your first post! Welcome to the Forums. This is a good place to find information and get good advice from photographers who are much more in the know than I, when it comes to photography be it macro or micro. So browse around, read some of our articles and posts and above all enjoy!
PeglegOS asks:
Okay you might ask yourself, well there are so many out there on the market, how would I know which would be the best for my money and budget? Part of that depends on your budget PeglegOS. Once again, National Microscopes have good stereoscopes as does Meiji, Nikon, Olympus and Zeiss, the latter four being top end scopes. Beware scopes with built in cameras, not that they are bad but most of them will give you a fit with MS Windows programs, as that they do not have the MS signed digital drivers. LW Scientifics offers a good stereoscope with a photo tube also. You might want to search "Great Scopes" to view some of their scopes. You might want to browse eBay also but I am not a big fan of second hand stuff unless I can personally check it out first before buying it. 
So, I hope I have helped you out some here and not confused you any about the scope(s) that you may be wanting. There are others here whose opinions on things like this I value quite highly, so you may want to read what they may have to say too. Thanks PeglegOS
Well it all depends on what you want to do. For study of micro organisms a compound microscope is a necessity, however, if you want a scope for general nature study; say insects, rocks and minerals, or what ever captures your interest, I would say yes that a stereomicroscope would be an excellent choice. Quality optics here is a big consideration also and can lead to an expensive scope but if you are not overly serious about the photographs to be taken through one, most any good (note that I said good) stereomicroscope will do. Magnifications from 7 to 35X in the zoom range, I think are pefect. Any higher magnifications and you will run into extreme depth of field problems which will definitley make stacking software a must!Do you think I would be better off with a stereo microscop, say in the 7-35 zoom range?
Okay you might ask yourself, well there are so many out there on the market, how would I know which would be the best for my money and budget? Part of that depends on your budget PeglegOS.
Once again, National Microscopes have good stereoscopes as does Meiji, Nikon, Olympus and Zeiss, the latter four being top end scopes. Beware scopes with built in cameras, not that they are bad but most of them will give you a fit with MS Windows programs, as that they do not have the MS signed digital drivers. LW Scientifics offers a good stereoscope with a photo tube also. You might want to search "Great Scopes" to view some of their scopes. You might want to browse eBay also but I am not a big fan of second hand stuff unless I can personally check it out first before buying it. So, I hope I have helped you out some here and not confused you any about the scope(s) that you may be wanting. There are others here whose opinions on things like this I value quite highly, so you may want to read what they may have to say too. Thanks PeglegOS Most stereomicroscopes have fixed objectives, there may be some out there that do have interchangables but I am not aware of any. Stereomicroscopes do have auxilary screw on lenses which can change say a 7X to 30X to a 14X to 60X. There are also some that magnify as much as 275X but those are specialized industrial inspection scopes used mainly for IC or chip work.
For most scientific applications 7X to 40X is practical and as far as photography goes I personally would not suggest anything higher in a stereomicroscope unless you want to spend hours in front of a computer stacking images due to extreme changes in depth of field. As a matter of fact when you leave 10X you will notice extreme changes in DOF.
Stereomicroscopes do have auxilary screw on lenses which can change say a 7X to 30X to a 14X to 60X. There are also some that magnify as much as 275X but those are specialized industrial inspection scopes used mainly for IC or chip work.For most scientific applications 7X to 40X is practical and as far as photography goes I personally would not suggest anything higher in a stereomicroscope unless you want to spend hours in front of a computer stacking images due to extreme changes in depth of field. As a matter of fact when you leave 10X you will notice extreme changes in DOF.
I thank you for your help. I'm a rank begginer on this and I'm disabled and on fixed income.
I think I'll probably get both kind over time. I just can't decide which one to get first.
I looked at the LW Scientific Observer III, and it doesn't look bad. I assume that is the one you were speaking of.
Also looking at these:
http://www.bargainmicroscopes.com/index ... 3f9b3501d0
http://microscopesupply.com/showdetail. ... odname=BS8
This is harder than finding a wife...
I think I'll probably get both kind over time. I just can't decide which one to get first.
I looked at the LW Scientific Observer III, and it doesn't look bad. I assume that is the one you were speaking of.
Also looking at these:
http://www.bargainmicroscopes.com/index ... 3f9b3501d0
http://microscopesupply.com/showdetail. ... odname=BS8
This is harder than finding a wife...
http://www.greatscopes.com/rev3.htm#features
This is a high power compound from LWS, I have used some of LWS Scientifics optics in the past and they are pretty good for amateur work. The Revelation is a good microscope for the money to get you started at $499.00 US. This scope can be upgraded to an extent, as your needs grow, which is not available in most scopes in that price range. However this link does not show it with a trinocular head, which will be needed for photography. If you look farther down the link it references a trinocular head for another $199.00US, which comes to about $698.00 US. You could purchase the scope and then get the trinoc head later on, when you can reasonably afford to do so. That is what I did with my Zeiss Axiostar. Call the toll free number or email them and talk to their representative about what you need in the scope. I understand that you are on a fixed income and that you must stay within a reasonable budget. For a good microscope I think this is about the best I can come up with new. Good scopes are going to cost good money, unfortunately. The only thing I can suggest is the eBay route if you find one that you feel comfortable in buying. As I said before I do not like second hand unless I can physically examine and use the scope prior to purchase. Some folks have gotten excellent deals on eBay and some have been burned badly, so eBay is a 50/50 chance in my opinion.
This is a high power compound from LWS, I have used some of LWS Scientifics optics in the past and they are pretty good for amateur work. The Revelation is a good microscope for the money to get you started at $499.00 US. This scope can be upgraded to an extent, as your needs grow, which is not available in most scopes in that price range. However this link does not show it with a trinocular head, which will be needed for photography. If you look farther down the link it references a trinocular head for another $199.00US, which comes to about $698.00 US. You could purchase the scope and then get the trinoc head later on, when you can reasonably afford to do so. That is what I did with my Zeiss Axiostar. Call the toll free number or email them and talk to their representative about what you need in the scope. I understand that you are on a fixed income and that you must stay within a reasonable budget. For a good microscope I think this is about the best I can come up with new. Good scopes are going to cost good money, unfortunately. The only thing I can suggest is the eBay route if you find one that you feel comfortable in buying. As I said before I do not like second hand unless I can physically examine and use the scope prior to purchase. Some folks have gotten excellent deals on eBay and some have been burned badly, so eBay is a 50/50 chance in my opinion.
Ken Ramos wrote:http://www.greatscopes.com/rev3.htm#features
This is a high power compound from LWS, I have used some of LWS Scientifics optics in the past and they are pretty good for amateur work. The Revelation is a good microscope for the money to get you started at $499.00 US. This scope can be upgraded to an extent, as your needs grow, which is not available in most scopes in that price range. However this link does not show it with a trinocular head, which will be needed for photography. If you look farther down the link it references a trinocular head for another $199.00US, which comes to about $698.00 US. You could purchase the scope and then get the trinoc head later on, when you can reasonably afford to do so. That is what I did with my Zeiss Axiostar. Call the toll free number or email them and talk to their representative about what you need in the scope. I understand that you are on a fixed income and that you must stay within a reasonable budget. For a good microscope I think this is about the best I can come up with new. Good scopes are going to cost good money, unfortunately. The only thing I can suggest is the eBay route if you find one that you feel comfortable in buying. As I said before I do not like second hand unless I can physically examine and use the scope prior to purchase. Some folks have gotten excellent deals on eBay and some have been burned badly, so eBay is a 50/50 chance in my opinion.
Looks real good.. I think I'll get one.... Thanks
Okay, I notice that it has an eyepiece in the photo tube, that's good. Now remember the Orion SteadyPix camera adapter that I mentioned 
Order one of those from OrionTelescopes.com and then get yourself a consumer type small digital camera such as a Sony or anyother brand name digital. Mega pixels does not matter as long as they are above 1 mgp or higher, no VGA images (email). Some digital cameras have software that allow some measure of image manipulation such as, croping, resizing, color balance, etc. I would recommend that as soon as possible to get yourself some imaging software such as, PhotoShop or Photo Impact, and I believe but am not sure PrintShop may be good but I know the first two are.
Once you get your new scope, place a prepared slide or a test slide on the stage and focus at the lowest power setting. Look through the eyepiece of the photo tube and make sure that it too is in focus. If not there should be an adjustment on the photo tube to bring that eyepiece into focus, adjust it accordingly.
Install the Orion SteadyPix adapter securely to the photo tube and then attach the camera. Turn the camera on being sure that the camera is high enough up from the eyepiece that the camera lens does not deploy and strike the photo tube eyepiece and with the sliding mechanism on the adapter, move the camera up and down until you get the proper field of view. It should look exactly like what you see when you look through the eypeice and the image is in focus. The round field of view can be removed by cropping with software.
Here is an image of my Orion SteadyPix with a Sony DSC-P200 on a Zeiss Axiostar Plus microscope photo tube.
And here is the whole fully loaded baked potato!
And that is it, I hope that you enjoy that Revelation III. One day you may want to move up in microscopy and want more professional equipment, so start saving your pennies. It can get a little expensive depending on your "I wants!"
Order one of those from OrionTelescopes.com and then get yourself a consumer type small digital camera such as a Sony or anyother brand name digital. Mega pixels does not matter as long as they are above 1 mgp or higher, no VGA images (email). Some digital cameras have software that allow some measure of image manipulation such as, croping, resizing, color balance, etc. I would recommend that as soon as possible to get yourself some imaging software such as, PhotoShop or Photo Impact, and I believe but am not sure PrintShop may be good but I know the first two are.Once you get your new scope, place a prepared slide or a test slide on the stage and focus at the lowest power setting. Look through the eyepiece of the photo tube and make sure that it too is in focus. If not there should be an adjustment on the photo tube to bring that eyepiece into focus, adjust it accordingly.
Install the Orion SteadyPix adapter securely to the photo tube and then attach the camera. Turn the camera on being sure that the camera is high enough up from the eyepiece that the camera lens does not deploy and strike the photo tube eyepiece and with the sliding mechanism on the adapter, move the camera up and down until you get the proper field of view. It should look exactly like what you see when you look through the eypeice and the image is in focus. The round field of view can be removed by cropping with software.
Here is an image of my Orion SteadyPix with a Sony DSC-P200 on a Zeiss Axiostar Plus microscope photo tube.
And here is the whole fully loaded baked potato!
And that is it, I hope that you enjoy that Revelation III. One day you may want to move up in microscopy and want more professional equipment, so start saving your pennies. It can get a little expensive depending on your "I wants!"
And if you think my set up is something, look at Charlie Krebs' Now here is a set up for microphotography for sure!
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... c.php?t=12
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... c.php?t=12