Microscope suggestions

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tevans9129
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Microscope suggestions

Post by tevans9129 »

I am entertaining the idea of a microscope for the purpose of inspecting/cleaning subjects and for cleaning camera sensors. Knowing absolutely nothing about microscopes, I would appreciate your comments and suggestions. The one at,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055AHWWY/re ... UTF8&psc=1

seems to be appropriate but is at the extreme price point for me. Is there a better option for less money or even a better option for the same money?

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

For that much, I would suggest a used Bausch & Lomb StereoZoom 7, from a reputable dealer. On boom stand (more expensive) or regular stand; it would be up to you. Add 0.5x and/or 2x ancillary objectives, depending on your need. I like mine a lot. That rig provides total useful magnification from 5x up to 210x visually (15x eyepieces with zoom objective set to max at 7x + ancillary 2x objective), or about 0.5x to 21x on-sensor (depending on camera lens set-up).

If you want even higher magnification or higher resolution/larger aperture for focus stacking, then you want a compound toolmaker's /measuring scope. I have a partial one for $150 shipped within USA, but it is not complete (please see my thread in Equipment Exchange). I can sell you my own parts to make it complete, but you are much better off waiting on eBay for better deals on those missing parts.
Selling my Canon FD 200mm F/2.8 lens

tevans9129
Posts: 129
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2017 8:03 am
Location: TN

Post by tevans9129 »

zzffnn wrote:For that much, I would suggest a used Bausch & Lomb StereoZoom 7, from a reputable dealer. On boom stand (more expensive) or regular stand; it would be up to you. Add 0.5x and/or 2x ancillary objectives, depending on your need. I like mine a lot. That rig provides total useful magnification from 5x up to 210x visually (15x eyepieces with zoom objective set to max at 7x + ancillary 2x objective), or about 0.5x to 21x on-sensor (depending on camera lens set-up).

If you want even higher magnification or higher resolution/larger aperture for focus stacking, then you want a compound toolmaker's /measuring scope. I have a partial one for $150 shipped within USA, but it is not complete (please see my thread in Equipment Exchange). I can sell you my own parts to make it complete, but you are much better off waiting on eBay for better deals on those missing parts.
Thanks for the suggestions ZZ. I only want a microscope for checking and cleaning subjects making them ready to photograph and, for cleaning my camera sensors. Therefore, I cannot see any need beyond the 45x of the ones that I have looked at. I am watching ebay in case something comes up there.

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

Bausch & Lomb StereoZoom 4 is a bit cheaper and should fit your needs then.
Selling my Canon FD 200mm F/2.8 lens

phil m
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Post by phil m »

Actually, any of the older microscopes from either Bausch & Lomb or American Optical would do fine. Care does need to be excercised in their selection because one of their principle uses was in the semi-conductor industry, so some may have been exposed to flux vapor. All of them should have had a protective window over the front optics but many didn't , so they could sustained some surface corrosion on the exposed optical surfaces. A lot were sold, so there are many good ones.

Just make sure that the instrument has been tested and the seller verifies it's function. If they do that, then you are safe. Nowadays, ebay does support buyers. Sellers can't even override ebay's buyer protection guarantees, in their listings, with such phrases as " buyer pays return shipping". the seller pays return shipping, if there is a problem.

A Cycloptic , AO Stereostar 580, 569, Stereozoom 4, or 7 are all excellent and often way cheaper than they should be. The Cycloptic is an apochromat but has a narrower f.o.v. ( about 19mm) than the later zooms, which can be up to a 25mm apparent field.
There are UWF 15X eyepieces around that work perfectly on the Stereozooms and Stereostars that are about 25mm apparent field and give stunning fields of view. Those eyepieces were originally for military use in aerial surveillance microscopes but at 2000.00/pr. had little market otherwise. I have seen them sell for 75.00 ea. recently. They were made by Bausch & Lomb but FJW Industries also had them branded for their product line and later they were branded Reichert and even Leica.

tevans9129
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Location: TN

Post by tevans9129 »

Many thanks to those who offered suggestions and information. My decision was to go with a new one that I could afford and for the following reasons. My ignorance of microscopes and with no experience, in the event something was wrong or became a problem. For my purpose, I wanted one with extended work distance with a highly adjustable stand. It was purchased from Amazon so have 30 days right of return if it proves to be unsatisfactory and a three-year warranty which offers some peace of mind.

This is the unit that best addresses my purpose within limited funds. AmScope SM-4TX-144A

Image

What I am satisfied with, keeping in mind that I have no experience with microscopes.

1. the FOV and DOF both surpass my expectation, I assumed it would be much less.

2. The quality of the image, it is much better than what I have been able to get with a camera at 3x and above.

3. The working distance and easy access to the subject.

4. The versatility of the stand.

5. The adjustable LED light has proven to be beneficial.

6. The scope controls seem to be quite smooth but then I have nothing to compare it with.

7. It seems to remain in focus as the power is altered.

Things that could be improved but then cost comes into play.

1. Although everything works well with the stand it is not one of high precision.

2. The finish on the chrome plating is quite rough in places although it does not seem to adversely impact functionality.

3. It came with rubber eyecups for glasses, the regular eyecups should be provided or at least an option.

Perhaps it will prove to be wanting at some point in the future but for now, I am very please with the unit.

ohdeeremee
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Location: Colorado

Me Too

Post by ohdeeremee »

Like tevans, I am thinking about getting a starter microscope.

I have figured out most of the stuff about this AMScope microscope ( I am not a microscope guy, never having worked with one), but still have some questions.

With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 10x eyepiece that gives the 3.5-45x power.
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 20x eyepiece that gives the 7-90x power.
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 5x eyepiece that gives the 1.75-22.5x power.

Now add in a 0.5 x Barlow on the bottom:
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 10x eyepiece that gives the 1.75-22.5x power.
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 20x eyepiece that gives the 3.5-45x power.
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 5x eyepiece that gives the 0.875-11.25x power.

The same (but with a different multiplier) would apply to the different Barlow's available by AmScope (0.3x, 0.5x, 0.7x, 1.5x, 2.0x)

The Barlow's will effect the camera port also by the appropriate power (0.3x, 0.5x, 0.7x, 1.5x, 2.0x).

The Camera Adapters for Nikon DSLR come in two flavors: 1x and 2x.

Now here comes the questions:
1) Am I good so far, or am I all wet?
2) If I put a Nikon D90 (DX, not full frame) on the camera port, what size image will I see? Assume the 1x or 2x adapter.
3) I assume that what I see in the 10x eyepiece and what the camera sees will be different. How do you match them up? Or do you?
4) Will the camera image be greater than the sensor or smaller, (I would guess the equivalent of 1x eyepiece)
5) How much vignette should I expect, if any?
6) Has any one done a similar setup?
7) How good is the picture quality?
8) Any guess on the color temperature of the LEDs?

For the last several years, I have been doing bugs and stuff, using Nikon objective (10x or 4x) on a tube lens (70-300mm) that will take me up to 15x optical, or a bellows with a reversed (or not) lens. I can cover the power range I need from less than 1 to 15x, depending on the setup.

Any comments, additions, suggestions, etc would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance
George

tevans9129
Posts: 129
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2017 8:03 am
Location: TN

Re: Me Too

Post by tevans9129 »

ohdeeremee wrote:Like tevans, I am thinking about getting a starter microscope.

I have figured out most of the stuff about this AMScope microscope ( I am not a microscope guy, never having worked with one), but still have some questions.

With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 10x eyepiece that gives the 3.5-45x power.
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 20x eyepiece that gives the 7-90x power.
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 5x eyepiece that gives the 1.75-22.5x power.

Now add in a 0.5 x Barlow on the bottom:
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 10x eyepiece that gives the 1.75-22.5x power.
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 20x eyepiece that gives the 3.5-45x power.
With a zoomable objective of 0.35-4.5x and the 5x eyepiece that gives the 0.875-11.25x power.

The same (but with a different multiplier) would apply to the different Barlow's available by AmScope (0.3x, 0.5x, 0.7x, 1.5x, 2.0x)

The Barlow's will effect the camera port also by the appropriate power (0.3x, 0.5x, 0.7x, 1.5x, 2.0x).

The Camera Adapters for Nikon DSLR come in two flavors: 1x and 2x.

Now here comes the questions:
1) Am I good so far, or am I all wet?
2) If I put a Nikon D90 (DX, not full frame) on the camera port, what size image will I see? Assume the 1x or 2x adapter.
3) I assume that what I see in the 10x eyepiece and what the camera sees will be different. How do you match them up? Or do you?
4) Will the camera image be greater than the sensor or smaller, (I would guess the equivalent of 1x eyepiece)
5) How much vignette should I expect, if any?
6) Has any one done a similar setup?
7) How good is the picture quality?
8) Any guess on the color temperature of the LEDs?

For the last several years, I have been doing bugs and stuff, using Nikon objective (10x or 4x) on a tube lens (70-300mm) that will take me up to 15x optical, or a bellows with a reversed (or not) lens. I can cover the power range I need from less than 1 to 15x, depending on the setup.

Any comments, additions, suggestions, etc would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance
George
Some good questions George, I am interested in the answers you receive. I had not planned on using my scope for photographs but the image is so sharp looking through the eyepieces that it made me curious. I made an adapter to connect my D7100 to the trinocular port but have not had time to experiment a great deal. It does have full view on the D7100 at 7x but the image is rather "cloudy" for lack of a better word. I am wondering if the Amscope Nikon adapter would correct that or if there is another issue which I am not aware of. There is some slight vignetting but not enough to bother what I am interested in.

Looking forward to your experiences.

Ted

ohdeeremee
Posts: 36
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Location: Colorado

Post by ohdeeremee »

Ted,
On your 'cloudy' issue:
Would not think it is the camera adapter unless you have a light leak. Light entering the camera viewfinder can do it. Maybe light entering the microscope eyepieces could do it ( I assume it is a prism in there) and if you are using the LED ring, light reflecting off something bright or shiny back up into the microscope objective, even if it is out of view, could do it.

Good to know that it seems to work OK, once the cloudy goes away. Is the image sharp (ignoring the cloudy)? Is what you see in the eyepieces the same magnification as the camera image?

Thanks,
George

Alan Wood
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Post by Alan Wood »

Amscope says continuous zoom from 3.5x to 45x, but their definition of "continuous" is unusual.

I suspect that the real continuous zoom is 7x to 45x, with 100mm working distance and 32.5mm field of view.

When you attach the supplied 0.5x Barlow lens you get a magnification range of 3.5x to 22.5x, 200mm working distance and 65mm field of view.

These magnifications are with 10x eyepieces. Double them if you use 20x eyepieces. Halve them if you use 5x eyepieces. Some people find 20x eyepieces difficult to use because you have to get your eyes in exactly the right position.

Check the reviews on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5X-45X-Trino ... B004UDFFSU

Alan Wood

rjlittlefield
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Re: Me Too

Post by rjlittlefield »

tevans9129 wrote:It does have full view on the D7100 at 7x but the image is rather "cloudy" for lack of a better word
Suggestion: remove the camera, place your eye at the end of the tube and look around for reflections from the sides of tubes, coupling rings, and so on.

If you see anything very bright, you'll have to figure out how to kill that reflection or the reflection will kill your image contrast.

See http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=35350 for discussion and illustrations of this issue (albeit in a setup with different optics).

--Rik

tevans9129
Posts: 129
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Location: TN

Re: Me Too

Post by tevans9129 »

rjlittlefield wrote:
tevans9129 wrote:It does have full view on the D7100 at 7x but the image is rather "cloudy" for lack of a better word
Suggestion: remove the camera, place your eye at the end of the tube and look around for reflections from the sides of tubes, coupling rings, and so on.

If you see anything very bright, you'll have to figure out how to kill that reflection or the reflection will kill your image contrast.

See http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=35350 for discussion and illustrations of this issue (albeit in a setup with different optics).

--Rik
Thanks much Rik...I was so anxious to try it out that I forgot all about flocking the aluminum adapter that I had turned and sure enough, there appears to be a "cloud" in the tubes. I will try to address that issue and try again. Thanks for the suggestion as I had decided not to waste time with the scope for photographing but if this resolves my issue, there will be more experiments. BTW, great info on the link that you provided, I had read it before but the mind does not work as it once did.

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