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Prep microscope?


Sjfriend

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So, I am starting to look into getting the required stereo microscope for doing abrasion prep work. I am not a rich man so going to hunt around for a bit before diving in. So far I am looking at a new AmScope SE410-XYZ. There are better ones listed with close to same price but those are auctions so price will probably climb still. Any here know this this machine? Is it decent or do I save a few more bucks?

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AmScope is Ok. the optics overall are a crapshoot. We have had numerous prism issues. Additionally, they use a proprietary thread on optics...so you can only nuy theirs to upgrade. Their cameras are OK too, however you get what you pay for. I have one of their 500$ cameras at my lab, and it is amazing, but I run it on a Swift scope.

 

To be frank, AmScope is acceptable for entry level, but really isn't all that great. There are vast inconsistencies in quality from unit to unit over the last five years. In fact, AmScope is just the factory branded generic item. Big companies like Fisher Scientific buy their scopes, slap a lousy Motic camera and their own brand name on them and sell them at a Premium...and they are still the same junk. On that note, avoid all Motic products like the plague, their software is junk and the cameras are the lowest of low quality for premium prices.

 

My advice, if you are willing to spend the money on a good, brand new entry level scope, buy a Swift. If you don't mind a older used scope, anything made by American Optical is solid. They are very common as they used to be the standard educational scope, and can be had on auction siyes for peanuts. Their are also aftermarket upgrades and repair kits for them for very cheap.

 

We have a dozen AO stereoscopes that we still use. I had to disassemble and clean all of them, but the optics on those 40-60 year olds are better than the AmScopes we ended up donating to a high school as they didn't meet our needs.

 

I use a 2016 Swift M29TZ stereo scope at work. I bought an adapter for the trinoc so my DSLR handles photos and video. Bought it on 60% off clearance as it was the previous years body style.

At home, I have a collection ranging from old AOs I got off the electronic body of water and rebuilt for a few bucks, to my favorite- a Zeiss SV8 that I built one part at a time by buying each part, used from the electronic body of water...2000$ scope for 300$ all said and done. I use the AO in my media cabinet now.It is a true workhorse.

 

In reality, it boils down to how often you are going to be using it. If it an occasional thing, nothing wrong with AmScope. If you plan on spending many hours over many years, spend the money now and get a good one.

 

Pre X-mas is a great time to buy a scope as the new models go on sale for the holidays...two months before they push the new ones right around when all the new grants roll in!

 

For Comparison:

 

90x darkfield on the Swift with the AmScope camera (captured still from video):

image.thumb.png.5dc0cfb8fc1a5020bab7350061a48631.png

 

 90x darkfield on the AmScope with the Motic Camera (captured still from video):

 

image.png.f7699db9977f4c8dddbb387aebd3de1b.png

 

 

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I should note that each camera uses different proprietary software. On of the reasons I hate Motic as it has autmated image processing built in, which as you can see, cut all the cillia off the worm in the lower photo. It does it in realtime, and there is no way to disable it.

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I have very little experience with microscopes. But here's my two (or perhaps less ;)) cents.

 

Currently I'm using a Swift S41-20 I got for cheap. That I know of, you can't attach a Barlow lense to it (but I could be wrong) so I'm limited to the 9 inch working space. But I'm 5' 6" to begin with and most of that is in my legs so anything much longer and I wouldn't be able to use it seated :default_faint:

 

I think I've seen members on the forum using something more along the lines of the SWIFT 7X-45X.

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I have an Omni trinoc in my lab, and have had no complaints. If it is being used for prep, the really high magnification is unnecessary and not useful. Up to about 40x is fine, with a Barlow lens. 

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Hi,

 

2 hours ago, LabRatKing said:

 90x darkfield on the AmScope with the Motic Camera (captured still from video):

 

image.png.f7699db9977f4c8dddbb387aebd3de1b.png

 

 

Your last link is broken.

 

Coco

----------------------
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Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

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I have a used Cenco stereo scope and the focal range is short, or from nose piece housing to object. And found a used Motic with video out. About a 3 inch height to object is nice  and optics on  mine seems very nice for my needs. Video out is fuzzy as said but got it for $20 and no software. Not mentioned here is will you need a cover to protect the nose piece from abrasives as they can cloud up the viewing glass, and how far will your specimen be? By  microscope for doing abrasion prep work I assume that you mean air abrading in a cabinet with scope on top, or using hand tools at a table?  

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 microscope Barlow lens, I probably do not have one and does it fit over the standard eye piece to extend focus range or some replace it? 

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2 hours ago, Bob Saunders said:

 microscope Barlow lens, I probably do not have one and does it fit over the standard eye piece to extend focus range or some replace it? 

My Barlow screws in to the objective lens, not ocular lens, area. It cuts magnification by about half, but extends the working distance by about double or more. When preparing in a blast box with the scope's boom arm up top, good working distance is necessary. It's striking the right balance between magnification and working distance. 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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At one point I owned 9 scopes. I highly recommend Olympus SZ3060 with  10x widefield high eyepoint oculars and a .6 or .75 Barlow. I also like the Nikon scopes and still have 2 of those.

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I have an old Bausch & Lomb Stereozoom 3, been must trusty companion for over 20 years now.  I dread having to think about replacing it.

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8 hours ago, Coco said:

Hi,

 

Your last link is broken.

 

Coco

Yep...that is Motic’s nonstandard formatting haunting me again. I’ll fix it shortly.

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2 hours ago, ParkerPaleo said:

I have an old Bausch & Lomb Stereozoom 3, been must trusty companion for over 20 years now.  I dread having to think about replacing it.

I have an old American Optical and I feel the same way.  I love it.  Its max magnification is 30x, and I only use that for punt Cretaceous mammal teeth, so things on the 1 millimeter scale.  The other thing that I really like is a sliding zoom.  I turn a know and it goes form .7x to 3x, which is sperate from the focus.  Most of the scopes we have at work (bought before I got here) give you two choices... 1x  or 3x.  I really don't like that.  Nope. Not good.   (The eyepieces are 10x so you multiply the zoom by the eyepiece to get the actual magnification.

 

For doing microscope air abrasion, I very strongly suggest getting something with a long focal length.  This is what the Barlow Lens does.  I assume, as someone else did above, that you will be doing the sandblasting inside a sealed box (with suction).  It should have a glass lid that is not permanent, so you can replace it when it gets frosted or scratched.  With a Barlow lens, the working distance becomes about 6 inches, in my case.  Without it it is three inches or so.  At such a small distance you have to hold the specimen so close to the top of your blast cabinet that a) there is minimal room to maneuver the working end of the sandblaster and,  b  ) you will constantly be fighting the powder that wants to stick to the inside of the glass. 

 

And the boom arm is an excellent addition to a scope being used this way.   

 

Good luck, and yes, the online auction places are a good source of used equipment, but I recently failed to find an isolated Barlow Lens for an AO scope we have at work.

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At one time I had around 20 microscopes and have from antique to vintage etc. My MOTIC uses Halogen bulbs which are pricey from the company, but found that Menards has both upper and lower bulbs on the shelf around $5 each. So if someone needs a bulb check the big box store first unless special. My next one hopefully will have boom arm. 

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45 minutes ago, Bob Saunders said:

At one time I had around 20 microscopes and have from antique to vintage etc. My MOTIC uses Halogen bulbs which are pricey from the company, but found that Menards has both upper and lower bulbs on the shelf around $5 each. So if someone needs a bulb check the big box store first unless special. My next one hopefully will have boom arm. 

For less than 20 you can convert to LED. Kits via the electronic body of water-10 minutes and a screwdriver and will never need another metal halide bulb!

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1 hour ago, jpc said:

I have an old American Optical and I feel the same way.  I love it.  Its max magnification is 30x, and I only use that for punt Cretaceous mammal teeth, so things on the 1 millimeter scale.  The other thing that I really like is a sliding zoom.  I turn a know and it goes form .7x to 3x, which is sperate from the focus.  Most of the scopes we have at work (bought before I got here) give you two choices... 1x  or 3x.  I really don't like that.  Nope. Not good.   (The eyepieces are 10x so you multiply the zoom by the eyepiece to get the actual magnification.

 

For doing microscope air abrasion, I very strongly suggest getting something with a long focal length.  This is what the Barlow Lens does.  I assume, as someone else did above, that you will be doing the sandblasting inside a sealed box (with suction).  It should have a glass lid that is not permanent, so you can replace it when it gets frosted or scratched.  With a Barlow lens, the working distance becomes about 6 inches, in my case.  Without it it is three inches or so.  At such a small distance you have to hold the specimen so close to the top of your blast cabinet that a) there is minimal room to maneuver the working end of the sandblaster and,  b  ) you will constantly be fighting the powder that wants to stick to the inside of the glass. 

 

And the boom arm is an excellent addition to a scope being used this way.   

 

Good luck, and yes, the online auction places are a good source of used equipment, but I recently failed to find an isolated Barlow Lens for an AO scope we have at work.

Google “laboratory surplus” and you can find independent auctions with better prices.

 

Also, PM me your specs- I have a big Rubbermaid of vintage AO, Barlow, Olympus  and more just collecting dust.

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21 minutes ago, LabRatKing said:

Google “laboratory surplus” and you can find independent auctions with better prices.

 

Also, PM me your specs- I have a big Rubbermaid of vintage AO, Barlow, Olympus  and more just collecting dust.

cool. will do.  

 

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As asked a couple times, I plan on doing air abrasion in a homemade box. Have a box body already (old homemade turtle cage) with place for glass and will make holes for vacuum and arms.

 

And am looking for a scope with a boom.

 

Thanks @LabRatKing  and others for info. I did notice that the photos of a couple of the AmScopes were very much like some of the cheaper ones on different sites. Really glad to know about the proprietary threads. Always hate when companies do that!

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6 hours ago, Sjfriend said:

As asked a couple times, I plan on doing air abrasion in a homemade box. Have a box body already (old homemade turtle cage) with place for glass and will make holes for vacuum and arms.

 

And am looking for a scope with a boom.

 

Thanks @LabRatKing  and others for info. I did notice that the photos of a couple of the AmScopes were very much like some of the cheaper ones on different sites. Really glad to know about the proprietary threads. Always hate when companies do that!

There are adapters and tricks with o rings and spacers, but that always messes with field of view and can create artifacts.

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5 minutes ago, LabRatKing said:

There are adapters and tricks with o rings and spacers, but that always messes with field of view and can create artifacts.

True but we all know how well the proverbial "short cut" works out lol

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  • 6 months later...

Because of the consistent positive mentions on TFF, I looked up American Optical stereo microscopes on the big auction site. There were a number for sale. But none of them had a boom arm. Question 1) Is a boom something I could add to a traditional “classroom type” microscope? 

Question 2) How can I tell whether a particular microscope allows for the attachment of a Barlow lens? Thanks much. 

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No, the boom arm is not Something you can add to a lab type AO scope.   Barlow lenses are microscope specific.  The AO Barlow lens fits the AO 569, and maybe others, but the 569 is what I have and like.  It took me a while to find a used barlow lens online, but mhy pateince paid off.  

 

PM sent.

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