Chromonid

[Ken Ramos]

Chronomid larva showing the head. Image taken using a Zeiss Axiostar Plus TLM with a Canon Powershot A570IS bracketed to the microscopes phototube using a 10X wide field eyepiece as the transfer lens.



Bracket is an Orion SteadyPix from Orion Telescopes

This is really neat - is this a common set-up for shooting through a microscope?

[Ken Ramos]

Originally Posted by conor

This is really neat - is this a common set-up for shooting through a microscope?

I don't know if it is a common set up or not, mostly those who have the money and the expertise will be using a dSLR with a T-mount on that phototube and a substage flash. However, this set up works very well for my needs and it's a lot cheaper and less technical. The bracket mount is for a telescope that has an eyepiece tube long enough for it to clamp on to, much like the phototube of this microscope I show here but it would not be practicle for a spotting scope. A number of people that I know of, though not personally, have adopted this technique for photomicroscopy. You're not going to win the Nikon Small World with it I don't think, however depending on the subject there might be a chance. I put that set up photo there for those who might would be interested and as you can see from this post and the other, it will suffice for most applications in brightfield microscopy. Thanks Conor

By the way, here is another shot of the spore mass of a plasmodial slime mold. These spores are about 10 microns in size at the most.

Thanks, Ken; appreciate you taking the time.
The detail is outstanding....

[Ken Ramos]

Originally Posted by conor

Thanks, Ken; appreciate you taking the time.
The detail is outstanding....

Thanks Conor Point and shoot cameras have a lot of potential when it comes to what is termed as "digiscoping," and mega pixels really are not of all that great importance. The one atop my transmitted light microscope (TLM) is only 10 mega pixel, while the one atop my stereo or dissecting microscope is only 5 mega pixel, both produce outstandng detail but one has to remember it is not just the quality of the camera atop the scope but the optical quality of the scope itself also.

[Bynx]

Having tried this myself I can really appreciate what you have accomplished here. Great lighting. Most of my shots suffered from strong backllight and not enough light from above.

[Ken Ramos]

Originally Posted by Bynx

Having tried this myself I can really appreciate what you have accomplished here. Great lighting. Most of my shots suffered from strong backllight and not enough light from above.

With a transmitted light microscope, which is what I used here, I primarily use the microscopes built in substage illumination (Kholer) and tweek the condenser occasionally to get the light just right. One can get really fantastic results with a substage flash but that can be pretty technical and somewhat expensive. My needs however are quite simple and so I prefer the less expensive and less technical approach when it comes to lighting through the transmitted light microscope.

For a dissecting or stereo microscope, a 150W cold blue fiber optic halogen works well for above stage illumination and produces some really great results as far as lighting goes and an ever bigger plus is the utilization of the Zern Stacker program for some really detailed work.

[Bynx]

Your shot of the spore mass of a spasmodial slime mold would make a good book cover. Looking forward to seeing more of your shots. If I can make a request Id like to see a spirogyro and a paramecium.

[Ken Ramos]

Originally Posted by Bynx

Your shot of the spore mass of a spasmodial slime mold would make a good book cover. Looking forward to seeing more of your shots. If I can make a request Id like to see a spirogyro and a paramecium.

I have made a post including the Paramecium but as for the Spirogyra, I will have to search my files. Alas, I am not very organized.