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Diy Tutorial: $20 Digital Microscope For Microfossils


TNCollector

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  • 1 month later...

I'm wondering if anyone has tried stacking two lenses together to get a higher magnification? I have tried with a few different lenses but every time the resulting magnification is even smaller than the original magnification of just one lens. Am I doing something wrong? Do the lenses have to be reversed, or do you need a certain distance between the lenses, etc.?

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I'm wondering if anyone has tried stacking two lenses together to get a higher magnification? I have tried with a few different lenses but every time the resulting magnification is even smaller than the original magnification of just one lens. Am I doing something wrong? Do the lenses have to be reversed, or do you need a certain distance between the lenses, etc.?

Yes, coupling two lenses will increase the magnification. The focal points need to be aligned however. Try spacing the two lenses apart by the same distance that your first lens needs to be from the smartphone to get a clear image. So if your single lens needs to be 0.5cm from the phone to see clearly, then space the two lenses by 0.5cm.

So like this

OBJECT YOU ARE LOOKING AT <----0.5cm----> LENS2 <----0.5cm----> LENS1 <----0.5cm----> PHONE CAMERA

Edit: If this doesn't work, then try reversing the second lens. The lenses I have seen work both ways because they are double concave, but maybe yours is different.

Another Edit: Do note, that as magnification increases, your 3D depth of view is going to decrease, so higher magnification might only be useful for looking at relatively flat objects. To get high magnification and large depth of view, you need larger lenses (bigger width).

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Yes, coupling two lenses will increase the magnification. The focal points need to be aligned however. Try spacing the two lenses apart by the same distance that your first lens needs to be from the smartphone to get a clear image. So if your single lens needs to be 0.5cm from the phone to see clearly, then space the two lenses by 0.5cm.

So like this

OBJECT YOU ARE LOOKING AT <----0.5cm----> LENS2 <----0.5cm----> LENS1 <----0.5cm----> PHONE CAMERA

Edit: If this doesn't work, then try reversing the second lens. The lenses I have seen work both ways because they are double concave, but maybe yours is different.

Another Edit: Do note, that as magnification increases, your 3D depth of view is going to decrease, so higher magnification might only be useful for looking at relatively flat objects. To get high magnification and large depth of view, you need larger lenses (bigger width).

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation! The depth of view will probably be horrible, I'm just curious to see how far it could go :P

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  • 1 month later...

I have found that you can download magnifier apps for smart phones... this would increase the magnification of the device. I don't know how practical it is yet, but I am going to download one and try.

Here is one that may work:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hantor.CozyMag&hl=en

That will provide "digital zoom", not "optical zoom", with a resulting degradation in resolution. Same as taking it raw, enlarging, and cropping. A good lens is what you want for micro work. ;)

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've built a few more of these, and found out these star knobs work well to adjust the stage, a lot better than wingnuts. They will prevent the stage from wobbling, and are easy to turn.

51e-VMieIHL._SX425_.jpg

I recommend using 1/4 carriage bolts, but they have them for 5/16 too:

1/4:

http://www.amazon.com/Knob-Five-Star-Through-Insert/dp/B0035Y5MC4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450120944&sr=8-2&keywords=1%2F4+star+knob

5/16:

http://www.amazon.com/Knob-Five-Star-Through-Insert/dp/B004073ZWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450120928&sr=8-1&keywords=5%2F16+star+knob

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  • 7 months later...

Not sure if anybody posted this already, but there's a well known hack to convert an old webcam into a microscope. The gist of it is to simply flip the webcam's lens over. Here's a typical DIY on it: http://www.instructables.com/id/HOW-TO-TURN-ANY-WEBCAM-INTO-A-HIGH-POWER-MICROSCOP/step2/Opening-the-webcam/

Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer

Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year

Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert

Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous

Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk

Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus

Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html

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  • 2 months later...

Ok, I wanted to share something I saw the other day- a company called Echo Labs is selling a wooden cell phone microscope kit somewhat similar to this one for ten dollars.  I haven't bought one yet, so I don't know the quality of the kit or the lenses, but it looks pretty neat:


http://echo-labs.com/woodenscope

 

It has an interesting focus mechanism, and is made of laser cut wood.

 

Wooden-scope.jpg

 

 

 

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On 09/22/2016 at 5:39 AM, aplomado said:

Ok, I wanted to share something I saw the other day- a company called Echo Labs is selling a wooden cell phone microscope kit somewhat similar to this one for ten dollars.  I haven't bought one yet, so I don't know the quality of the kit or the lenses, but it looks pretty neat:


http://echo-labs.com/woodenscope

 

It has an interesting focus mechanism, and is made of laser cut wood.

 

Wooden-scope.jpg

 

 

 

Looks cool but I wish they showed the results better. From the video I can't even tell whether the cell phone was able to focus…they seem to be missing a light source so that moght be a problem.

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