Hi, I've watched several of your microscope tutorials and must commend you for your humility, excellent advice and enthusiasm. I have been a specialist imaging professional for nearly 40 years now, so a few observations from my side of the business, where we have studios, expensive kit and paying clients! Firstly, an enthusiastic amateur will often thrash people who call themselves 'Professionals'; you are right to encourage people to have a go. Most manufacturers (like Canon/Nikon) will typically only produce a couple of sensors in any product cycle (year or two...) for their professional and amateur ranges. Don't be drawn in to all the BS about camera features: imaging quality is about lenses, sensors and lighting - cameras are still just boxes that let in aliquots of light. All the buttons do nothing. One of our current working rigs has an older Canon 750D (from memory) and the current update is IMHO worse, so we never upgraded. You may have covered this, but the physically smaller APC sensors actually have an advantage over 'full frame' sensors (canon 5DIV or 5Ds for example) as you get a higher level of magnification with any given optic, at the expense of slightly higher levels of noise. Both noise reduction programs and the latest AI sharpening software on the market is likely to be a welcome eye opener to anyone who has not sampled it. This has become very impressive over the last few years. You make correct observations about LED lights, but there are better and worse samples. If you shoot a controlled subject with a poor LED source it may not show a full light spectrum even if it is broadly 5000K-ish. Examining a histogram from different light sources shows some have very even distribution through the light spectrum, others are patchy. This used to be really obvious, nowadays less so. That said, like cameras and microscopes you will need to try hard to buy a really bad one. Just avoid the very cheapest stuff. Powerful bright, even, LED lights are inexpensive. Older tungsten lights changed colour temperate when dimmed; LEDs miraculously, do not. Very bright waterproof 'diving lights' are sold to be used with GoPros. These are great and are available from Amazon or AliExpess, very inexpensively. We also use many of the well made LED linear pocket/inspection torches that are sold for both professional and home use - along with adapters especially made for, us but often made up in studio (see below). Ref image brightness, there is an often overlooked issue in terms of balancing shutter speed to aperture (or total exposure based on physical factors, such as magnification and light levels in the world of microscopy). Broadly, you want to avoid - like the plague - shutter speeds of 1 second of faster when doing critical work. Amateurs often assume that 1/4 second might be OK but this will allow any mechanical shutter or mirror movement to create movement and blur in your image, but not enough time to let it settle down - so the worst of all worlds. Unless you can get shutter speed high - challenging in microscopy, unless pushing ISO or using Flash - longer exposures for stills can be better. High quality camera sensors with lower digital noise and mirror lock up etc are ideal. Otherwise, try inexpensive RingFlash - or other super high speed flash. The cheap amateur units frim China/Japan typically have very much faster discharge speeds than bigger professional units. No use for video, obviously, but incredible and inexpensive for stills, flash has a very clean and constant full spectrum 5500K light output. Lighting is a dark art but professionally we use all sorts of systems made from plastic coffee cups and cut up things from IKEA for imaging work even for blue chip companies. Ideally use lighting which is appropriate to the size of the object being shot. Light can be too soft/flat and lack visual contrast, or be too hard and harsh. It is no accident that cars are shot with lights that sit above them and are about the size of a car. Small product shots are done with proportionally smaller soft boxes. Ring lights or single bright light sources put through a diffuser will generally give a better result that 2 lights. It is a myth that a second light gets rid of shadows caused by main key lighting, it just reduces it but causes another shadow - a chair shot with 4 lights has 4 shadows, just lighter ones! In microscopy you have very little room to light. Stereo microscopes can have some room to experiment, so don't be afraid to reverse the stand if possible (you may need a sophisticated brick as a counterweight...) and rig flat or ring lighting from below and above. You do not have to stick with what is in the box - experiment with light rather than keep buying kit. There is no if the shelf solution for lighting, after a lifetime of lighting products we still often rebuild lighting rigs, job to job. Finally, I agree with your findings about stereo microscope trinocular adapters. I have discovered the exact same issue with disappointing loss of resolution, chromatic aberration etc with a number of adapters. Images look sharp through eyepiece lenses but fail to stay that way in trinocular camera. I would love to tell you that I knew the cause, but having done loads of tests and even taken my trinocular prism assembly apart and rebuilt it - like you, I have decided that there is some optical physics going on here that are beyond me. Thanks for some great content. I hope some of the above feeds into your advice to the community. Best regards, John Matchett
Another option if photography is the main goal is to skip the stereomicroscope and get a lens/adapter for your camera instead. There are quite a few options ranging from dedicated lenses for higher than 1:1 magnification to more DIY options such as using a microscope objective coupled to a dslr.
Nikon E400 and is a workhorse and has many aftermarket parts and upgrades. It’s not for beginners but in my opinion it’s the best bang for your buck. I got an old fluorescent E400 with illuminator, 4 lenses, and 3 filters and it came out to 1500.00. I just bought a phase contrast condenser that comes with dark field and it was 300 dollars. 1800 dollars for a good quality laboratory grade microscope. It may be old but it’s a work horse. Mine came with halogen light but I will be upgrading to LED which is 500.00.
Hello! Are there any stereo microscopes that are able to look at slides full of very small specimens as well as being able to look at the insect world? I definitely want to start with insects, but if I can get a microscope that does both I'd prefer to just get one unless you recommend buying separate for the two different applications. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
best video yet. would like a video on what 2k US will get in stereo and compound. With the idea of high quality britefield for 2k, and good for later add of kohler/phase-c, and dic(yes, some of your audience willing to get this.) Same idea for stereo scope.
What happens to the magnification / zoom with the camera, either in the third dedicated hole or in an eyepiece hole? If you are taking out the 10x eyepiece, isn't the camera now trying to take a 1x picture? is the magnification of the third hole 1x? I gather that you never use a 20x eyepiece. Why? Is it hard to use? Does it work well with a 0.5x Barlow lens to have both working distance and magnification?
no. 80x is way too much. image is dark, if lamp is not strong. moving objects will disappear quickly from the field of view. maximum 40 is enough and for kids it might be easier to observe at 20x. insects etc. do not need much magnification.
Did the questioner mean a fluorescent bulb as a light source? With these the coating on the bulb fluoresces, not the sample being viewed. I dont know if these are common, or even exist (obviously a fluorescent lamp could be used) or what the results (color, brightness) would be. I am curious myself actually. Have you seen these Oliver?.
hello, I've watched many of your interesting videos, I have two questions : is Levenhuk D400 LCD a good purchase for quality pictures aquisition? it has a built in 2 MP camera that cannot be changed. With a budget of aproximately 600 $ , which microscope is optimal for capturing the highest quality pictures ? Thank you!
Hey i am in Situation of buying a Stereo microscope i can get an Amscope for 685€ as well as a Vevor with Same specs only Little Bit More Equipment is included but the Price is 385€ thats a big differente is Amscope worth paying 300€ More??
Quality control is an issue to,think about. Often the same product is rebranded. That does t mean they’re the same. One may be better than the other. The actual manufacturer may sell different levels of the same product. Often, the products price will reflect that, as well as the service given and parts availability.
All microscopes these days are compound. All it means is that lenses have more than one element, rather than a tiny glass ball as the first ones were, centuries ago. Seriously though. The big manufacturers are VERY expensive. You’re not going to get anything from them for $1,000, or €1,000.
Hi,
I've watched several of your microscope tutorials and must commend you for your humility, excellent advice and enthusiasm.
I have been a specialist imaging professional for nearly 40 years now, so a few observations from my side of the business, where we have studios, expensive kit and paying clients!
Firstly, an enthusiastic amateur will often thrash people who call themselves 'Professionals'; you are right to encourage people to have a go.
Most manufacturers (like Canon/Nikon) will typically only produce a couple of sensors in any product cycle (year or two...) for their professional and amateur ranges. Don't be drawn in to all the BS about camera features: imaging quality is about lenses, sensors and lighting - cameras are still just boxes that let in aliquots of light. All the buttons do nothing. One of our current working rigs has an older Canon 750D (from memory) and the current update is IMHO worse, so we never upgraded. You may have covered this, but the physically smaller APC sensors actually have an advantage over 'full frame' sensors (canon 5DIV or 5Ds for example) as you get a higher level of magnification with any given optic, at the expense of slightly higher levels of noise. Both noise reduction programs and the latest AI sharpening software on the market is likely to be a welcome eye opener to anyone who has not sampled it. This has become very impressive over the last few years.
You make correct observations about LED lights, but there are better and worse samples. If you shoot a controlled subject with a poor LED source it may not show a full light spectrum even if it is broadly 5000K-ish. Examining a histogram from different light sources shows some have very even distribution through the light spectrum, others are patchy. This used to be really obvious, nowadays less so. That said, like cameras and microscopes you will need to try hard to buy a really bad one. Just avoid the very cheapest stuff. Powerful bright, even, LED lights are inexpensive. Older tungsten lights changed colour temperate when dimmed; LEDs miraculously, do not. Very bright waterproof 'diving lights' are sold to be used with GoPros. These are great and are available from Amazon or AliExpess, very inexpensively. We also use many of the well made LED linear pocket/inspection torches that are sold for both professional and home use - along with adapters especially made for, us but often made up in studio (see below).
Ref image brightness, there is an often overlooked issue in terms of balancing shutter speed to aperture (or total exposure based on physical factors, such as magnification and light levels in the world of microscopy). Broadly, you want to avoid - like the plague - shutter speeds of 1 second of faster when doing critical work. Amateurs often assume that 1/4 second might be OK but this will allow any mechanical shutter or mirror movement to create movement and blur in your image, but not enough time to let it settle down - so the worst of all worlds. Unless you can get shutter speed high - challenging in microscopy, unless pushing ISO or using Flash - longer exposures for stills can be better. High quality camera sensors with lower digital noise and mirror lock up etc are ideal. Otherwise, try inexpensive RingFlash - or other super high speed flash. The cheap amateur units frim China/Japan typically have very much faster discharge speeds than bigger professional units. No use for video, obviously, but incredible and inexpensive for stills, flash has a very clean and constant full spectrum 5500K light output.
Lighting is a dark art but professionally we use all sorts of systems made from plastic coffee cups and cut up things from IKEA for imaging work even for blue chip companies. Ideally use lighting which is appropriate to the size of the object being shot. Light can be too soft/flat and lack visual contrast, or be too hard and harsh. It is no accident that cars are shot with lights that sit above them and are about the size of a car. Small product shots are done with proportionally smaller soft boxes. Ring lights or single bright light sources put through a diffuser will generally give a better result that 2 lights. It is a myth that a second light gets rid of shadows caused by main key lighting, it just reduces it but causes another shadow - a chair shot with 4 lights has 4 shadows, just lighter ones! In microscopy you have very little room to light. Stereo microscopes can have some room to experiment, so don't be afraid to reverse the stand if possible (you may need a sophisticated brick as a counterweight...) and rig flat or ring lighting from below and above. You do not have to stick with what is in the box - experiment with light rather than keep buying kit. There is no if the shelf solution for lighting, after a lifetime of lighting products we still often rebuild lighting rigs, job to job.
Finally, I agree with your findings about stereo microscope trinocular adapters. I have discovered the exact same issue with disappointing loss of resolution, chromatic aberration etc with a number of adapters. Images look sharp through eyepiece lenses but fail to stay that way in trinocular camera. I would love to tell you that I knew the cause, but having done loads of tests and even taken my trinocular prism assembly apart and rebuilt it - like you, I have decided that there is some optical physics going on here that are beyond me.
Thanks for some great content. I hope some of the above feeds into your advice to the community.
Best regards,
John Matchett
I didn't achieve stereoscopic vision til the age of 50 so the whole world at any magnification is an art museum!
Excellent set of questions and answers! This is the selfsame information I was researching for. Very helpful, thanks!
Another option if photography is the main goal is to skip the stereomicroscope and get a lens/adapter for your camera instead. There are quite a few options ranging from dedicated lenses for higher than 1:1 magnification to more DIY options such as using a microscope objective coupled to a dslr.
Q.
Wonderful discussion and answer, learned so much.
Nikon E400 and is a workhorse and has many aftermarket parts and upgrades. It’s not for beginners but in my opinion it’s the best bang for your buck. I got an old fluorescent E400 with illuminator, 4 lenses, and 3 filters and it came out to 1500.00. I just bought a phase contrast condenser that comes with dark field and it was 300 dollars. 1800 dollars for a good quality laboratory grade microscope. It may be old but it’s a work horse. Mine came with halogen light but I will be upgrading to LED which is 500.00.
Great video, took me ages to learn this stuff, wish this was out there a few years ago.
Hello! Are there any stereo microscopes that are able to look at slides full of very small specimens as well as being able to look at the insect world? I definitely want to start with insects, but if I can get a microscope that does both I'd prefer to just get one unless you recommend buying separate for the two different applications. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
thanks so much. very informative
How would compare macrophotography (Digital camera+macro lenses) with stereo microscope photography?
best video yet. would like a video on what 2k US will get in stereo and compound. With the idea of high quality britefield for 2k, and good for later add of kohler/phase-c, and dic(yes, some of your audience willing to get this.) Same idea for stereo scope.
Thank you!
What happens to the magnification / zoom with the camera, either in the third dedicated hole or in an eyepiece hole? If you are taking out the 10x eyepiece, isn't the camera now trying to take a 1x picture? is the magnification of the third hole 1x?
I gather that you never use a 20x eyepiece. Why? Is it hard to use? Does it work well with a 0.5x Barlow lens to have both working distance and magnification?
Love this video -- good information. 👍
what's your opinion of the Seben SBX-5 for 180 E lightly used?
Any reason to go up to 80x on an Amscope Stereo Microscope? Would kids be able to see anything more interesting with 80x? (pond water, etc)
no. 80x is way too much. image is dark, if lamp is not strong. moving objects will disappear quickly from the field of view. maximum 40 is enough and for kids it might be easier to observe at 20x. insects etc. do not need much magnification.
What's the disadvantage of using 20x eyepiece ?
Is it normal if right eyes see from lence put from left is darkness????
Any idea on reasonably priced polarising microscopes for mineralogical analysis? Seems like their prices are ridiculously higher!
Yes, becasue these are used for research. Contact olympus, zeiss, nikon, leica and ask for an offer. or try to find used ones on ebay.
The Barlow lens is great for getting higher magnification, but I can't stand the fish-eye effect.
Did the questioner mean a fluorescent bulb as a light source? With these the coating on the bulb fluoresces, not the sample being viewed. I dont know if these are common, or even exist (obviously a fluorescent lamp could be used) or what the results (color, brightness) would be. I am curious myself actually. Have you seen these Oliver?.
I’m on a low budget 😅. Is 10x - 30x magnification better than 20x - 40x magnification??
Which camera adapter do you have there, in the metal box?
This one here: th-cam.com/video/U9JxEPvueC0/w-d-xo.html
@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy thanks, no European supplier unfortunately.
hello, I've watched many of your interesting videos, I have two questions : is Levenhuk D400 LCD a good purchase for quality pictures aquisition? it has a built in 2 MP camera that cannot be changed. With a budget of aproximately 600 $ , which microscope is optimal for capturing the highest quality pictures ? Thank you!
Hey i am in Situation of buying a Stereo microscope i can get an Amscope for 685€ as well as a Vevor with Same specs only Little Bit More Equipment is included but the Price is 385€ thats a big differente is Amscope worth paying 300€ More??
Quality control is an issue to,think about. Often the same product is rebranded. That does t mean they’re the same. One may be better than the other. The actual manufacturer may sell different levels of the same product. Often, the products price will reflect that, as well as the service given and parts availability.
one caveat to consider - the photos will not be 3-D
Me the first one watching from Somali
All microscopes these days are compound. All it means is that lenses have more than one element, rather than a tiny glass ball as the first ones were, centuries ago. Seriously though. The big manufacturers are VERY expensive. You’re not going to get anything from them for $1,000, or €1,000.