Gradient Universal Filter - 'DIC', DF, OL effects

[Litonotus]

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the quality is 'so so', but this is all I'm able to do now. All are taken using my Gradient Universal Filter that allows me to adjust both contrast and background brightness.


water flea (4 image 'hand made' stack)


water fleas (put together in PS)


rotifer - 4 images put together in PS

[Jan l'Amie]

Great pictures. Very nice detail.

[RogelioMoreno]

Very nice!

Rogelio

[Pau]

Very good!
Please show us your magical DIC like filter and how to use it.

[Chris_M]

Very nice set!

[Litonotus]

thank you (:

it is not magical, it only required months of experiments.

it looks like this:

it is made of a grey gradient printed on a trasnparent foil, all fixed with black masking sticky foil.

and how it is seen through the eyepiece:

It is placed under the condenser between its bottom and the filter tray, and this placement allows the XY movement.

I have no possibility to take better images, but this filter provides a big number of effects: obligue light, 'DIC like' effect and even darkfield which I can't show here because my 'technique' of taking images makes it impossible for the camera. It works great with 5x, 10x and 20x objectives, on higher magnifications it gives only obligue light.

[Wim van Egmond]

Very nice results. I wonder if this technique works better than the one described in Jan's posting.

Wim

[Pau]

Many thanks, Linotus

It's a very interesting device.

[Jan l'Amie]

Thanks, a very nice idea for a new filter experiment to me.

Greetings
Jan

[Litonotus]

thank you all (:

Very nice results. I wonder if this technique works better than the one described in Jan's posting.

I think it works better because it is universal - there is only one filter that gives many effects on at least 3 different magnifications (: I'm sure it is possible to modify this idea to be much better.

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I added a filter comparison below. I like better the grey one, but the blue gives visually more attractive images.

10x plan PZO objective


20x PZO achromat objective

[Jacek]

My friend, very interesting and innovative solution, very nice photos

[Wim van Egmond]

The result is very nice. The nice thing about your design is that it is simple to make. Only that gradient is a bit of work.

I wonder what would happen if you would use a polarised filter instead of the gradient. The polar filter where the gradient area is, leaving an open space above it for the direct light. With another polar filter you can make the filter darker (by rotating it) I think it will act like the gradient. I 'll try to find time to try it. Thanks for posting this Litonotus. It is a long time since I used these techniques and I am curious how your method works.

Wim

[Litonotus]

thank you Jacek (:

Only that gradient is a bit of work.

just print it on a transparent foil, that's all. every basic graphic program makes gradients. I use illustrator for that.

write about your trials.

[Mitch640]

And just where on your microscope does the filter go?

[Litonotus]

And just where on your microscope does the filter go?

It is placed under the condenser between its bottom and the filter tray