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I'm new to the world of microscopes and have a couple of questions that I would be greatly appreciated if someone could help me with:


I have a Nikon Eclipse E400 microscope and when I try to use the dark field mode I can barely see anything at all... I did some reserach on the internet and found a few sites that claim I need a 150 watt light source. My scope has a factory 30 watt light and has a factory condenser ring that has phases 1 - 3, dark field and a brightfield setting right on it... am I doing something wrong or did the guy I bought my microscope from forget to tell me I needed an additional brighter light?

I would like to use my microscope to view specimens in both phase contrast and dark field, I'm also looking to buy a 100x objective and I'm not sure if a factory Nikon phase contrast objective such as NIKON-MRL21902 will work for both phase contrast and dark field... any suggestions?

I would also like to take HD pictures and video of my specimens, I have a trinocular adapter and another adapter for my Sony HD camcorder to hook up to the microscope. Are there any special settings, filters or procedures I need to be aware of to ensure my pictures and video come out in the highest possible resolution? Or is this a weak attempt at me trying to save a few bucks and I need to scrap the camcorder idea?
If any one has other tips for a newbie I'm all ears... I'm learning new stuff everyday and loving it!


Thanks,

Steve

Hi Steve,

I do not know your microscope so can not answer specifics, however 30 watt seems quite low power to me. The brightness of an object viewed in dark field will depend on how strongly that object scatters light, if the viewed object scatters light poorly then they will appear dim or not at all. To use the microscope successfully especially in dark field the alignment of the condenser and light source with the optical tube axis, and focusing of the condenser on the object plane are critical. Dark field may not be possible with the 100x objective as the condenser NA of the dark field cone must be greater than the NA of the objective.
My suggestion with the camcorder is try it and see. About resolution in photomicrography, the microscope has a resolution, and the "film" has a resolution, but the final "print" resolution is less than the lower of these. (Happy days.)

Hope this helps.

Any more questions just ask.

Good luck.

Peter.

Before I retired my lab scope was a Nikon Optiphot. It had phase objectives, and the low to moderate magnifications, at least, were compatible with dark field.

I looked at a description of your scope, and it referred to "universal" objectives and included dark field among its capabilities, so I guess you should be able to use it as is.

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John Karlsson
Hope Valley, RI

Don't count your chickens until they have burned their bridges behind them.

The E400 is a very nice microscope and if you are just getting started with microscopes you are starting very high on the ladder. There is no reason that this microscope, configured as you say, should not give good results with the 30W light. You must be sure that the condenser is properly centered and raised as high as it can be in order for it to work. If it is not properly set it will not work. Your set should be good for up to 40X.

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