Testing out a Compound Microscope...

[cladhunter13]

A friend of mine let me borrow his compound microscope he picked up at Value Village last week for $19.99. He knows I'm looking to get one and he figured I could try it to make sure it is what I'm looking for. It is a older model Boreal. There is no light source and as stated...it is a older model with the mirror underneath to reflect lite for viewing slides. It came with the solid plate that is grey on one side and white on the other. The eye pieces are WF 10X. The microscope has 3 magnification levels (1X, 3X & 6X) so it is 10X, 30X & 60X. The optics are in great shape but could use a bit of cleaning. I gave them a quick cleaning just to remove some visible debris. I used my Canon PowerShot A3300IS (16MP) to take the pics. What do you think? I good start I believe. I need to get better lighting but it will do for now.

Using a single halogen desk lamp connected to a dimmer switch.

Minor Doubled Column #6 using 10X Magnification:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/DBLColumTestLowMag01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/DBLColumTestLowMag01.jpg.html)

Same pic as above but cropped:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/DBLColumTestLowMagCrop01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/DBLColumTestLowMagCrop01.jpg.html)

Same coin as above but using 30X magnification and a bit less light:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/DBLColumTestMedMag01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/DBLColumTestMedMag01.jpg.html)

1969S possible RPM 30X magnification:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1969SMedMag01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1969SMedMag01.jpg.html)

Same pic as above cropped:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1969SMedMagCrop01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1969SMedMagCrop01.jpg.html)

1987D-1MM-003 30X magnification:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1987DMedMag01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1987DMedMag01.jpg.html)

Same pic as above cropped:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1987DMedMagCrop01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1987DMedMagCrop01.jpg.html)

1944P Doubled eyelid?? 30X magnification:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1944PDBLEyelidMedMAg01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1944PDBLEyelidMedMAg01.jpg.html)

Same pic as above cropped:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1944PDBLEyelidMedMAgCrop01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1944PDBLEyelidMedMAgCrop01.jpg.html)

1964D RPM under 30X magnification with 3X camera zoom:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1964D01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1964D01.jpg.html)

Same pic as above cropped;
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1964D01-02.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1964D01-02.jpg.html)

Another 1964 RPM under 30X magnification with 3X camera zoom:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1964D02.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1964D02.jpg.html)

Same pic as above cropped:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1964D02-02.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1964D02-02.jpg.html)

Same coin as above under 60X magnification with lighting adjusted a bit to show the center of MM better:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/1964D02-03.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/1964D02-03.jpg.html)

I believe this coin exhibits Trails of the left top corner of "MER" of AMERICA?:
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/mrsg1313/Microscope%20Test/DieTrails01.jpg (http://s410.photobucket.com/user/mrsg1313/media/Microscope%20Test/DieTrails01.jpg.html)

[coop]

Nice images. But you need to diffuse it some to keep out the hot spots of glare.

[jallengomez]

Not bad at all for 20 bucks.

[georoxx]

Great shots. You'll only get better.

-George

[cladhunter13]

I agree coop. I just pick the scope up last night and set it on my desk. pulled the lamp to it and started taking pics. I just wanted to make sure it was going to be able to do what I wanted it to. I didnt mess with the lighting as that will come soon enough. It sure makes life alot easier taking close up pics. I want to get different lighting but I can not find what I want in my area. I will have to order it online unfortunately.

Thanks for the reply.

I do have a question though. What size pics is best for this forum? I use my camera set on 16MB so the pics are quite large. the uncropped pics are 1500 x 1285 I believe and cropped pics I set to 1500 X ****. They are no larger then 1500 at the largest. This site is a bit different then a few other sites I post at and the pics show quite a bit larger then on the other sites. All opinions are welcome and appreciated.

[coop]

Diffusing the light it pretty cheap. Depending on what type of light source you are using and how hot the bulb is.
Plastic grocery bags, tissue paper, white bond paper, ping pong ball cut in half, rice paper. These work and if they don't diffuse enough, place a second layer or a mixture. Get that right and you most of the way there.

Settings sound correct. You can always reduce them with a photo editing program. The best size for imges width wise is 600-1000 Pixels. Have a problem with images, you can always ask a question. All what to help you.

[cladhunter13]

I use Paint.net and Photoscape for working pics. They are both fairly decent editing programs for free. Can not beat the price. I always cut the pics down to size. With my camera set to 16MP...the pics are somewhere around 4608 x 3456 or something close to that. I always reduce them so the longest point is set to 1500. The pics here that are not cropped are 1500 x 1125 reduced from 4608 x 3456.

The light I'm using at the moment is a halogen (20W) desk lamp. I hooked it up to a dimmer switch so I can control the lights intensity. I still need to defuse it but I need to get a different light source as this light throws out a lot of heat. after a few min of use...I can not touch the lamp head as it gets very warm. Its just a cheap desk lamp. But the heat makes it tough to diffuse the light. I want to get my hands on 2 Jansco or Dansco lights...whatever they are called from Ikea. Unfortunately there is now Ikea within 200 miles of me on this side of the border.

I will get a light source but for now I can work with what I have for close ups.

[Maineman750]

Moved thread to photography forum. Nice pics ! I generally make my pics 800 in width for the forum. Also,you can find Jansjo lights all over eBay for about $20 a piece...check out methods of diffusing them elsewhere in the photography forum...pretty sure Simon posted the ping-pong ball method.

[coppercoins]

Nice images.

[cladhunter13]

Thank you for moving the thread. Not sure why I posted it in general at first. Thank you for the replies. Got the feedback I was looking for. Now...I just need to see if I can purchase the scope off my buddy. I would rather pay $30 then $200. :bigsmile:

[ray_parkhurst]

Moved thread to photography forum. Nice pics ! I generally make my pics 800 in width for the forum. Also,you can find Jansjo lights all over eBay for about $20 a piece...check out methods of diffusing them elsewhere in the photography forum...pretty sure Simon posted the ping-pong ball method.


If I am doing a full-coin shot I usually publish at 800x800. For variety shots like you're showing I go with 1200x800, so I keep to 800 tall.

And if you have an IKEA near you, they have the Jansjo's for $10. If not, $20 on ebay is a good deal. Nice thing about them is they run so cool you can use most any method to diffuse them.

You probably figured out already that the more you can zoom the camera, the better the image will be, and will get rid of the vignetting (black circle). It's better to increase the magnification optically with camera zoom, and then downsize the image to the size needed for web publishing, than it is to crop the image.

Also, if you fix the camera on infinity focus you'll get a more consistent quality. Don't let the camera do its autofocus mumbo jumbo, as it often won't focus where you want it to. Use the microscope focus adjustment to fine-tune your focus.

Ray

PS...you also probably noticed that you can't get the full field of the image in focus. This is because the microscope objective is likely a "biological" type, and is not designed for "flat field" use. But not to worry, if you want to get it all in focus you can take a few images, focused at different focal planes, and then use a program to stitch together only the in-focus areas. This is called focus stacking and there are some free programs that do it for you...

[cladhunter13]

Thank you for the info Ray. I have played with the cameras zoom to get rid of the black ring and getting as close and clear as possible. One thing I like about the camera I'm using is that with the picture quality set to the high end...I can crop small smaller sections of the original pic and still have decent size and quality. Notice on the pics of the minor doubled column. The firs pic is taken on 10X magnification and when I cropped it looked pretty good.

I have been messing with Macro and Infinity settings to see if I can realize the difference. I will need to do more experimenting as I go. Thank you for the tips with it.

The lighting I'm currently using is a Halogen (20W) desk lamp. I can control the light intensity as I have it connected to a manual dimmer I picked up at Canadian tire. I really like the dimmer. It is very simple to use. You just plug it in to the outlet and plug your light into it. There is a 3" cord that has the dimmer control unit on it. Its a slide control and works great. Now for my question...What white balance setting should I use and which ISO? I know with this 16MP camera...to get the full advantage of the high MP...I should not shoot with the ISO set any higher then 100. I have been toying around with 80 & 100 setting. Possible choices are Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800 & 1600. Possible lighting settings are; Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H (for daylight fluorescent light). Color options: Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B/W & Custom color where I can manually adjust my color options. I can also adjust the brightness in 3 ways: Evaluative (sets brightness based on overall scene), Center weighted average (sets brightness based on center of the scene) & Spot (sets brightness based on area inside the frame).

Other options:
Auto Focus Frame - center, face AiAF & Tracking AF (I'm guessing use center)
AF Frame size - normal or small
Digital zoom - Standard (up to 5X Optical and 20X Digital), OFF, 1.6X or 2.0X
AF-Point Zoom (Displays a magnified view of the focusing area) - On or Off
Servo AF - On or Off
AF-assist Beam - On or Off
I-Contrast - Off or Auto (retains shadow detail in high contrast scenes)
Display Overlay - Off, Grid Lines, 3:2 Guide or Both

There are other settings but most do not have much to do with taking pictures. I can manually adjust the brightness of the scene while taking the pic. The shooting modes have already been mentioned (Normal, Macro and Infinity). There are also options to shoot with different scene settings but I usually set on the P (program) setting so it remembers the last setup I used to take pics.

So many options...so little knowledge when it comes to using them to take pictures through a microscope. LOL!

[ray_parkhurst]

When taking pics through the microscope, you need to think of the camera as replacing your eye. When you look through the microscope eyepiece directly, your eye focuses on infinity, and the microscope up/down is used to focus. Putting the camera in place of your eye, it's best to focus it on infinity, thus making it easy to set up by eye and then add the camera without having to refocus significantly.

ISO 100 or 200 should be fine, but beyond this there may be more noise in the shadows that will be harder to recover from.

For white balance, it sounds like you don't have a custom setting available. In that case, try simply taking pictures for each setting of a white piece of paper (slightly out of focus) and see which setting gives the best representation of "white". The pictures will actually be "grey" since they won't saturate the sensor. If you want to evaluate the settings objectively, you can open them in a viewing/editing program and check the RGB level. You're looking for the R, G, and B levels to be equal. If your camera's auto exposure is working correctly, the levels will be in the 100,100,100 to 150,150,150 range.

For the other settings, try to keep everything as minimally-processed as possible. If you set the focus on infinity, then turn auto focus off. Digital zoom should be off. I'd put the Icontrast at auto for now. You will need to experiment with the exposure modes, and try for the one that gives the least amount of over-exposure of the highlights.

[wapa]

super pics! Nice buy on that scope I think.