Microscope Forums .com

Greeting,

I am interested in acquiring (buying, building, etc) a microscope. I'm in no hurry and mainly at this point I just want to learn something about microscopes because I know very little. I do have some knowledge of optics, as I own a telescope (5" maksutov cassegrain). Ultimately, I'd like very high power in a microscope (I'm not really interested in those comparison microscopes used for examining large samples). This seemed like just the right place to post questions as I go about my research.

Some of my other interests include astronomy, bench electronics, hiking, foreign languages, and rec tree climbing!

Adam O.

If you are interested in building a microscope from the component level I may be able to offer some assistance, and if you are interested in buying a good reconditioned microscope I may be able to help. You mentioned "high power" in your post, could you be specific as to what your observation goals are?

g2b2

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A pixel is worth a thousand words but it takes a thousand words to explain a pixel. g2b2

g2b2,

Thank you for your reply! At this point, it is too early for me to set out either building or buying a microscope, as I know so little about them! Mainly I am trying to research and learn a few things (like, what's a condenser? what's a diffuser? what kinds of optical arrangements are usually used in light microscopes? What are some reputable brands? What are the various features I could look out for? What kinds of price ranges should I expect if I'm to purchase a quality instrument? What kinds of prices, or other characteristics, should I take as 'caution, do not buy!' signals? things like that).

By power, I meant magnification. I had assumed that this term is used in microscopy with this meaning, as it is used in this way in observational astronomy. In astronomy, you don't always want (in fact you usually don't want) high power, as that reduces the brightness and resolution of an already dim and fuzzy image. But many cheap "department store" telescopes advertize things like "500x!" which tells you right away that it isn't the real thing and it's a waste of money (cranking the power up to 30 or 40x is really pushing it with a telescope of intermediate sized objective lens/mirror). It seems that in microscopy, brightness isn't really a problem as you can always use a brighter lamp. That means that you can always brighten a magnified image if it's too dim. Plus, resolution probably has more to do with the focal length of the objective lens (because of d = lamda/sin(theta) )than with its aperture (as is the case in astronomy). Am I correct in these guesses? If I see a microscope that says it can magnify to 1000x, should I be wary? Or is this reasonable?

As for my interests in microscopy: they go back to when I was a little kid and I had a toy microscope. It was a cr@ppy little plastic thing with dust all over it's lenses, but it afforded me endless weekends of exploring everything up close. Most of the world seemed pretty boring up close (feathers got old, as did moth and butterfly scales) but I'd often go to the pond and grab a jar of water with some pond scum in it. I'd let it sit for two or three days and then take a peak through the microscope to find an insane zoo of creatures. That was always exciting. Then I discovered that, using an exacto knife and a steady hand, i could slice a cross section of a plant leaf thin enough to mount on a slide. It was very exciting to see the minute structure of the leaf up close--palisade cells, spongy layer, vessels, stomata, etc. And since the leaf would still be alive, the heat from the lamp would get the chloroplasts to start circulating in each cell! These childhood memories have recently made me want a real microscope. Something I could use as an adult. Perhaps something I could connect to my computer to take photos and videos (spinning volvox, hunting hydra...i know, lets try to curb the excitement). I have an old digital camera that I was going to throw out (it's ancient, only holds 30 pics) but recently thought, I could remove its lens and use it as a CCD to interface the microscope with the compy! Hmm, but no microscope just yet.

So, yeah, I guess pond water is my main interest. Anything really though. The smaller I can see, the better.

Well, I've written a lot and if you haven't read it all, that's ok. Mainly I think I just enjoyed writing it, revisiting these memories and thinking about the possibilities. Mainly I'm just on the look out for info at this point. But if you'll show me some pics of your stock and/or give me some prices, I'd certainly take interest. Or if you want to give me some helpful hints in building a microscope -- or this how to get started in this hobby at all -- I'd be greatly appreciative!

-Adam O.

Hello Adam,

It sounds like you have some experience with a microscope. I would suggest that you google any related microscope terms you are interested in and see what is available...there is an amazing amout of really good information on the web.
A little time spent searching and reading will answer many of the basic questions and more than likely raise a dozen more. As for some of the other questions, they very often will get "opinion" answers. Everyone has their own set of experiences that will influence what they think about an issue. This is where a lot of research on your part will be helpful.

g2b2

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A pixel is worth a thousand words but it takes a thousand words to explain a pixel. g2b2