microscope help needed

kiltoncomp · #1 (**permalink**) 16-10-2008, 10:00 PM

i have just had my new microscope delivered (also my first) , and after having had a good "fiddle" with it, would like to ask what is the best way to prepare a slide for use with it,
i had a fresh spore print to hand and used it to try and make my first slide by scraping some of the spore deposit onto the glass slide ,adding a drop of water and using one of the supplied covers(as per the manual that came with the microscope),
the results were not good and after comparing it with the prepared slides that came with microscope i can only think i've gone wrong somehow,

any tips and suggestions or criticisms most welcome,

Brian

fairplay · #2 (**permalink**) 17-10-2008, 10:07 AM

You need to be more specific - did you actually get to see the spores ? if not, start off with a small magnification, centralise the spores and increase the mag' in stages.

When focussing, always be careful not to overshoot otherwise you will be breaking cover slips and risk damaging the objectives.

Don't expect crystal clear images all the time (or any of the time !) as grease on slides or poor preparation affects quality.

Neil.

kiltoncomp · #3 (**permalink**) 17-10-2008, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fairplay

You need to be more specific - did you actually get to see the spores ? if not, start off with a small magnification, centralise the spores and increase the mag' in stages.

When focussing, always be careful not to overshoot otherwise you will be breaking cover slips and risk damaging the objectives.

Don't expect crystal clear images all the time (or any of the time !) as grease on slides or poor preparation affects quality.

Neil.

Hi Neil,
i have put a picture of the spores in the archive section under "unidentified lilac fungi3" along with the fungi it came from, as you can see it is not very good!
the method i used to get the spores was by scraping the spores from the print with a scalpel , would that be the acceptable way to obtain the sample??,

i am not actually sure if what i was looking at were the spores or something else ?, that was the best focus i could get,compared to the samples slides that came with the microscope it was very poor,
as you can see , i am a complete novice at using a microsope , so any tips would help greatly,

Brian

fairplay · #4 (**permalink**) 17-10-2008, 07:37 PM

I've scanned up and down probably every page on this site and can't find Archive anywhere, let alone 'unidentified lilac fungi 3' so have nothing to go on.

Can anyone tell me how to find 'Archive' ?

Neil.

CapAndBracket · #5 (**permalink**) 17-10-2008, 07:49 PM

I just went to unidentified fungi and search last day.

The image looks like some iv'e had, are you using emersion oil.

Cheers J.P.

kiltoncomp · #6 (**permalink**) 17-10-2008, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fairplay

I've scanned up and down probably every page on this site and can't find Archive anywhere, let alone 'unidentified lilac fungi 3' so have nothing to go on.

Can anyone tell me how to find 'Archive' ?

Neil.

go to the "Gallery" page , at the top you will find "image library- archive" ,
you will find the image on there.

kiltoncomp · #7 (**permalink**) 17-10-2008, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

I just went to unidentified fungi and search last day.

The image looks like some iv'e had, are you using emersion oil.

Cheers J.P.

Hi,
no, i'm not using emersion oil (whatever it is - the manual makes
no mention of it at all ??),
would that account for the fuzzy image? , although the sample slide images are crystal clear,

Brian.

fairplay · #8 (**permalink**) 17-10-2008, 09:17 PM

What make is your scope and what objectives are fitted to your turret i.e. 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x oil.

You may only have 3 fitted, but to see detail of spores you will need a 100x objective lens with 'oil' marked on it somewhere. These are special high power lenses that are designed to be used only with immersion oil.

This is a special pure oil extracted from peanuts or something similar of which you place a very tiny drop onto the cover slip (in the middle) and lower your 100x objective into the oil ( or raise the 'stage' containing the slide up onto the lens)

The oil merely concentrates the light 'waves' up into the lens to improve detail - imagine Captain James T Kirk being beamed down to planet Zorg and he lands in a puddle - that puddle directs all the energy into the beam........ oh, forget it, that's not a good comparison, and I don't suppose you watched Star Trek anyway.

Neil.

kiltoncomp · #9 (**permalink**) 17-10-2008, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fairplay

What make is your scope and what objectives are fitted to your turret i.e. 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x oil.

You may only have 3 fitted, but to see detail of spores you will need a 100x objective lens with 'oil' marked on it somewhere. These are special high power lenses that are designed to be used only with immersion oil.

This is a special pure oil extracted from peanuts or something similar of which you place a very tiny drop onto the cover slip (in the middle) and lower your 100x objective into the oil ( or raise the 'stage' containing the slide up onto the lens)

The oil merely concentrates the light 'waves' up into the lens to improve detail - imagine Captain James T Kirk being beamed down to planet Zorg and he lands in a puddle - that puddle directs all the energy into the beam........ oh, forget it, that's not a good comparison, and I don't suppose you watched Star Trek anyway.

Neil.

the microscope is made by Bresser (germany) and has 3 objectives fitted - 4x - 10x - 40x , but is specified as having a range of 40xz-1600x achieved by combination with the 10x eypiece (according to the manual)

fairplay · #10 (**permalink**) 18-10-2008, 12:02 AM

So with your set -up you will achieve a max/mag of 400x - you will only achieve a ridiculous 1600x if you take out one of the objectives, say the 4x, and screw in a 100x and change the eyepiece/s for 15x, but resolution would be so poor, you'd be wasting your money.

Look at the advert again, and see if a 100x oil is available (must be) and how much and ask yourself is it worth it.

The photograph you posted just seems out of focus, maybe you focused first looking through the eye-piece, then placed the camera against it and the weight of the camera against the eye-piece altered the focussing.

If you have a 'live view' screen, hold the camera against the eye-piece with your right hand and fine focus the microscope with the left hand whilst looking at the camera screen - assuming you use a compact digital.

Neil.