Insect examination/posing/microscope stages

A forum to ask questions, post setups, and generally discuss anything having to do with photomacrography and photomicroscopy.

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JH
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Insect examination/posing/microscope stages

Post by JH »

At the tread “Budget stacking setup”

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=21188

Graham shows a really interesting setup. His picture of The Flatters & Garnett Insect Stage caught my interest. It seems to be a really nice thing to have when posing the subject. It actually looks much more convenient than stacking goniometers and rotation stages.

g4lab mentions the EuCentric Stage which was designed and posted by Ted Clarke on the McCrone Journals.

http://www.modernmicroscopy.com/article ... cstage.pdf

Alan Wood mentions that Bioquip have a 6188 Microscope Stage
http://www.bioquip.com/search/DispProduct.asp?pid=6188
and that
Watkins & Doncaster have an E741 Insect Examination Stage
http://www.watdon.co.uk/the-naturalists ... ories.html

Craig Gerard links to the Dino-Lite MS-16C
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6dG4frNH5w

At this point I thought that it might be a good idea to start a new thread.

This is my contribution, I hope that this thread will be filled with a lot more examples and ideas.

I do not know who first came up with this versatile, flexible and sturdy idea. It is a large steel bearing ball on top of a ring bearing and some plastic clay that you use to hold the needle. I “stole” the idea from a setup at the Swedish Museum of Natural History when I was helping a friend with some photos. At least up to 10x there is no problems to place a subject on a needle in the desired position. One problem that I have encountered is that you sometimes have a very reflective piece of steel as a background.

Image

For my own setup I added some neodyn magnets with a hole in them. The magnets can be stacked to alter the length/height of the setup according to my needs. It is possible to place a needle in the hole but the problem is that the needle tends to rotate. It is also possible to place the needle between two magnets. The magnets can also be used to hold a piece of black velvet in place over the steel ball if the ball is in the background.

With the magnets I have been able to use a lot of different clamps. The magnets can also hold a piece of foam.

Image

The setup I use just now is a pair of tweezers. Sliding the tweezers between the magnets alters the tension used.

Image

Regards
Jörgen

g4lab
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Post by g4lab »


myxomop
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Post by myxomop »

this setup really appeals to me. Could you describe the size/make/source of the objects you're using here? Featherweight forceps and neodymium magnets are simple enough to source, but is there a particular ball bearing and metal ball combination that is ideal? I guess the size of the bearing and ball are the most important missing pieces of information.
MACRO:
Olympus OM-D E-M1X, Olympus M.Zuiko 30mm f/3.5 ED, OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO, Gitzo GT2540EX Tripod, Acratech GV2 Ballhead, 2x Ulanzi VL49 Rechargeable Mini LED Lights, Ulanzi LED Full-Color Photography Light Wand

MICRO:
Trinocular Olympus BHS, SPlan 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x (1.25 N.A.), SPlanApo 100x Oil (1.4 N.A.), BH2-AAC Aplanatic-Achromatic 1.4 N.A Brightfield Condenser, WHK 10x 20 L Eyepieces, NFK 2.5× LD 125 Photo Eyepiece, Diagnostic Instruments PA1-10A SLR Camera Adapter, Canon 6D

Yawns
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Re: Insect examination/posing/microscope stages

Post by Yawns »

I'm using something similar long ago .. just a crocodile buried in a ping-pong ball filled with with clay and a spray of matte back ... and glued an enlarging lens retaining ring to the stage for a base

Image

and the ball in the pin allows me to do fine rotation adjustments without having to move the ping-pong ball
Image
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Yawns
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Re: Insect examination/posing/microscope stages

Post by Yawns »

and if you are really on a tight budget or if you're just a curious beginner, get a zoom for an elevator .. the zoom doesn't rotates when going up and down and doesn't move down with the ping-pong ball weight .. works fine for up to 10X objectives.. never tested with 20X as I don't have any lens...
for XY movement you have the table top ...

Image
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Len Willan
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Post by Len Willan »

Another simple solution
The articulated ball jointed specimen rack can been turned to an upright position for safe mounting of the specimen, and then locked when returned to the Horizontal position
Refer to the series of images here
PHOTOGRAPHING PINNED INSECT SPECIMENS
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... highlight=
.

JH
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Post by JH »

myxomop wrote:this setup really appeals to me. Could you describe the size/make/source of the objects you're using here? Featherweight forceps and neodymium magnets are simple enough to source, but is there a particular ball bearing and metal ball combination that is ideal? I guess the size of the bearing and ball are the most important missing pieces of information.
Hi myxomop

Thanks for asking. I am very pleased with this setup.

The metal ball was the largest one I could find in a toy-store. The diameter is 4 centimeters. The hole in the ball bearing is 2.5 centimeters in diameter. The magnets are 1 centimeter in diameter. The magnets stay put but the friction between the metal ball and the ball bearing is not so high so with some load the setup can turn. This is usually not a problem but for a longer pile of magnets at 90 degrees have used one magnet as a sliding stop attached to the metal ball touching the ball bearing. A ball bearing with a little larger hole might have more friction.

Hope this helps

Best regards
Jörgen Hellberg
Jörgen Hellberg, my webbsite www.hellberg.photo

JH
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Post by JH »

Hi Yawns and Len Willan

Thanks for the input!


Neodym magnets are quite strong. On my microscope I use a smaler metal ball and magnets instead of the ball bearing.

Image

Picture with this setup in this thread:
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 671#191671

Best regards
Jörgen Hellberg
Jörgen Hellberg, my webbsite www.hellberg.photo

myxomop
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Post by myxomop »

Hey Jörgen,

Thanks for the prompt and informative reply. Safe to say, then, that a larger ball and bearing might be able to handle a higher load? There is a metal shop here that sells all sizes of steel balls, and any auto-body store will have wheel bearings, which come in a range of sizes, and one of them is sure to be large enough. It also seems like the bearing isn't 100% necessary, since it's just acting as a base for the ball, which could sit inside of a lot of different objects, such as a hole in a piece of wood or a large-enough metal washer. Would you agree?

-Danny
MACRO:
Olympus OM-D E-M1X, Olympus M.Zuiko 30mm f/3.5 ED, OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO, Gitzo GT2540EX Tripod, Acratech GV2 Ballhead, 2x Ulanzi VL49 Rechargeable Mini LED Lights, Ulanzi LED Full-Color Photography Light Wand

MICRO:
Trinocular Olympus BHS, SPlan 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x (1.25 N.A.), SPlanApo 100x Oil (1.4 N.A.), BH2-AAC Aplanatic-Achromatic 1.4 N.A Brightfield Condenser, WHK 10x 20 L Eyepieces, NFK 2.5× LD 125 Photo Eyepiece, Diagnostic Instruments PA1-10A SLR Camera Adapter, Canon 6D

Yawns
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Location: Benavente, Portugal

Post by Yawns »

What's the size of your ball bearing ?... I would like to give it a try, but I don't have a clue about where I am going to get one with a decent size ...

had a look on eBay Europe and the biggest size I could find is 25mm diameter (a ping pong ball is 40mm), .. and I have to buy a box of 10, plus shipping gets here for about 50 euros :roll: .. mmm . Quite expensive for just an experiment ..
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ChrisR
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Post by ChrisR »

Chris R

mawyatt
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Post by mawyatt »

Not magnetic but here's a small ball head and a Wemacro holder with an alligator clip. These are not expensive items. The ball head has a standard 1/4-20 thread the Wemacro mounts to, the bottom has a 1/4-20 thread and you can use a male to male adapter to make a male 1/4-20 if needed. Shown mounted to a X & Y stage.

Best,

Image
Image
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
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Yawns
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Post by Yawns »

ah, that's so much better thank you ... a couple on the way. :D
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NikonUser
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goniometers

Post by NikonUser »

I guess all the above work, but if you wish to get better control over your bugs then a pair of goniometers is essential (see AnrewC comment)
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... goniometer
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.

Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives

Yawns
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Re: goniometers

Post by Yawns »

NikonUser wrote:I guess all the above work, but if you wish to get better control over your bugs then a pair of goniometers is essential (see AnrewC comment)
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... goniometer
not everybody can afford them ... it's not a question of lack of knowledge .. it's a question of budget and income... when you don't have the resources gotta be creative and turn around the situations ...
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