Most compound microscopes come equipped with a condenser – a lens or set of lenses that evenly focus light onto your specimen. But is one condenser enough? If you’re after the very best image quality, you’ll find that two is better. Fortunately, you won’t have to constantly swap your whole condenser – you just need a swing-out condenser.
Stereo microscopes (both eyes) have come a long way since they were invented by a French monk over 300 years ago. They’ve gone from handcrafted novelties to sophisticated and varied tools indispensable to science and industry. From surgery and biology to engineering and repair, they’ve become an essential part of our lives – whether or not we know it.
Today, microscopes are a vital part of hundreds of industries and scientific disciplines. But despite their overwhelming importance to our way of life, we know surprisingly little of their origins. Here’s a quick look at what we know of early microscopes and their inventors.
Buying you first camera can be confusing because of the many models on the market.
To help, we have put together this quick guide to introduce you to the basics.
There are a few main types of microscope camera, each with their own pros and cons. The right camera for you is going to depend on what you want to get out of it, as well as the limits of your budget.
DIC microscopy is an advanced optical technique for enhancing contrast in transparent samples. It’s particularly useful for the study of living and unstained specimens. It also has applications in fluorescence microscopy. As the name implies, DIC uses interference to generate additional contrast in an image, letting you see ordinarily invisible details.
Microscopy doesn’t have to be expensive. Mid-level suppliers such as Amscope sell good quality microscopes at affordable prices. Based in the USA and their products are all shipped from the USA.
Static electricity. If you’ve ever been zapped by a car door or got a tiny shock after walking on carpet, you’re probably familiar with static electricity. But while it’s only a minor annoyance to most people, that same static shock can be deadly to sensitive electronic equipment. If you’re going to be inspecting electronics under a microscope, you’ll need an electrostatic discharge (ESD) safe microscope to keep the circuits protected while you work.
If you’re after the very best quality image possible, you’ll need to attach a DSLR camera to your microscope. DSLR cameras have excellent resolution, dynamic range, colour range and sensitivity, but can be finicky to set up. Here’s what equipment you’ll need, and what you’ll need to set up your camera.
While people often run screaming from close encounters with insects, entomologists aren’t like most people. So, if you’re interested in getting a close-up look at your 6-legged friends and neighbours, you’ll need a trusty microscope.
