Jump to content

Stereo Microscope

Lee
 Share

Recommended Posts

mikepilk Distinguished Member

mikepilk

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Knebo said:

I can't say that I'm overly happy with the overall image quality, but I think it may be primarily an issue of top-down lighting which causes reflection and over-exposure. Perfectly fine for taking pictures for technical/logging pictures, but not great for artsy ones. 

I use the same light ring and 0.5 Barlow lens as you,  and find it an excellent combination. I have the same reservations on the pics - reflections, over/under exposure.  For more 'artsy' pics I sometimes shine a more yellowish desk lamp or torch from the side. Still not great though.

  • Like 2
  • Replies 774
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Knebo
Knebo

Hello all, So for my birthday, I asked my wife for a stereo-microscope (actually, I told her exactly which one I wanted). I've read many times (and seen this video of Alex https://youtu.be/t

luiazazrambo
luiazazrambo

Hello Everyone, I am going to share the details of my adventure with a trinocular stereo microscope and a digital camera attached to it. I bought a second hand AmScope SM-1T (1st purchase) and I

Tiny
Tiny

Well my stereo microscope has arrived  All turned around

Posted Images

Knebo Distinguished Member

Knebo

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

For more 'artsy' pics I sometimes shine a more yellowish desk lamp or torch from the side. Still not great though.

I'll try that. Thanks! 

RickTock Watch Enthusiast

RickTock

Posted
Posted

Thanks to all of the information gleaned from this post (and a couple of excellent YouTube vids), I took the plunge today and ordered a Microscope from AmScope and camera from AliExpress. Here's what I ordered:

AmScope started a Black Friday 15% Off Pre-Sale today (enter PRE15 coupon code at checkout), so that was a pleasant surprise. AliExpress pricing was also lower today.

The two videos I found most helpful were from:

I'll follow up with a brief review once I have some bench time with the new gear.

Cheers!

--Rick

 

 

  • Like 2
Knebo Distinguished Member

Knebo

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, RickTock said:

Thanks to all of the information gleaned from this post (and a couple of excellent YouTube vids), I took the plunge today and ordered a Microscope from AmScope and camera from AliExpress. Here's what I ordered:

AmScope started a Black Friday 15% Off Pre-Sale today (enter PRE15 coupon code at checkout), so that was a pleasant surprise. AliExpress pricing was also lower today.

The two videos I found most helpful were from:

I'll follow up with a brief review once I have some bench time with the new gear.

Cheers!

--Rick

 

 

I think this is a perfect shopping list. Surely also useful to others. 

Once you receive you equipment, you'll need this video:

 

  • Thanks 1
Knebo Distinguished Member

Knebo

Posted
Posted
44 minutes ago, spectre6000 said:

I would amend that list with the double arm boom stand if it were me. 

@RickTock's order includes the Single Arm Boom Stand in the Amscope order. So it would be rather "replace" than "amend".

I have the Single Arm and haven't faced any problems/constraints with it. What's the advantage of the Double Arm?

mikepilk Distinguished Member

mikepilk

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, RickTock said:

HAYEAR 0.35X C-mount Adapter

That's what I need! My camera is on the existing mounting, on a 0.5X Barlow. It sits way too high, and doesn't get enough image. The 0.35X looks like it would be perfect.

99% of the time I'm working  under the 0.5X Barlow. When oiling pallet jewels, or if I need a close inspection of a pivot, jewel, I used to remove the Barlow. Which is fiddly. So I bought a pair of 20X eyepieces. Seconds to swap and you get the same magnification (though you do lose field of view and brightness). I bought a cheap set from ebay.

 

20241119_151957.thumb.jpg.27e5772f4d940f0684224e3504f879d8.jpg

Knebo Distinguished Member

Knebo

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, mikepilk said:

That's what I need!

Yes you do! 😄

 

1 hour ago, mikepilk said:

When oiling pallet jewels, or if I need a close inspection of a pivot, jewel, I used to remove the Barlow. Which is fiddly. So I bought a pair of 20X eyepieces. Seconds to swap and you get the same magnification (though you do lose field of view and brightness).

That's a smart alternative! I also do the screw-off, screw-on procedure -- which also means that you need to lower the scope and then lift it up again. Indeed takes a lot of time. 

Question @mikepilk: if you exchange the eyepiece, do you need to adjust the height of the scope? Or does the distance to the object then remain the same as with the 10x eyepiece?

Edited by Knebo
Knebo Distinguished Member

Knebo

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, gpraceman said:

Why remove the Barlow or swap out eyepieces to oil the pallet stones or do inspection?  I just zoom in.  I am using a 0.5X Barlow and 10X eyepieces.

I think what @mikepilk and I are referring to is where you can benefit from even more zoom. He said:

7 hours ago, mikepilk said:

99% of the time I'm working  under the 0.5X Barlow

And it's the same here. 

I think 0.5x barlow, 10x eyepiece and the 4.5x maximum magnification of the main lens add up to 22.5x total magnification. That's more than enough for 99% of the time. 

But I do sometimes want that full 45x magnification (i.e. 10x eyepiece with 4.5x mains lens, but no Barlow). For example, when I want to really see the surface smoothness/roughness of a pivot to determine if my work on the Jacot tool was effective. 

  • Like 1
mikepilk Distinguished Member

mikepilk

Posted
Posted

Exactly @Knebo. 99% of the time I don't need more magnification, but for instance today, I was oiling the pallet jewels on a small ladies movement, and the extra magnification makes it much easier.  There's even times when I put in the 2x Barlow to give me 90x mag if I need a really close look at balance pivots. 

  • Like 1
Knebo Distinguished Member

Knebo

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, Knebo said:

Question @mikepilk: if you exchange the eyepiece, do you need to adjust the height of the scope? Or does the distance to the object then remain the same as with the 10x eyepiece?

Can you confirm @mikepilk? 

mikepilk Distinguished Member

mikepilk

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, Knebo said:

@mikepilk I wonder... if you could confirm: How does the field of view compare between 10x without barlow and 20x with 0.5 barlow.?

It's the same.

Fully zoomed out with 10x eyepieces and 0.5x Barlow, the FOV is 70mm.
Removing the Barlow, the FOV is half, i.e. 35mm
With 20x eyepieces and 0.5x Barlow, the FOV is also 35mm, but the image is less bright.

I have the Amscope 144 LED light ring. When oiling pallet jewels or looking closely at pivots, I sometimes use a hand held LED light to increase brightness. For pallet jewels, I sit the movement holder on a small mirror and shine a light on the mirror under the movement, so I get back lighting in the jewel.

Knebo Distinguished Member

Knebo

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

It's the same.

Fully zoomed out with 10x eyepieces and 0.5x Barlow, the FOV is 70mm.
Removing the Barlow, the FOV is half, i.e. 35mm
With 20x eyepieces and 0.5x Barlow, the FOV is also 35mm, but the image is less bright.

I have the Amscope 144 LED light ring. When oiling pallet jewels or looking closely at pivots, I sometimes use a hand held LED light to increase brightness. For pallet jewels, I sit the movement holder on a small mirror and shine a light on the mirror under the movement, so I get back lighting in the jewel.

Cool. I just ordered a pair of 20x eyepieces 🙂

  • Like 1
spectre6000 Distinguished Member

spectre6000

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, Knebo said:

@RickTock's order includes the Single Arm Boom Stand in the Amscope order. So it would be rather "replace" than "amend".

I have the Single Arm and haven't faced any problems/constraints with it. What's the advantage of the Double Arm?

Word choice correction is correct.

The double arm stands have a better mechanism for tilting the head slightly, and giving you an angle onto the work piece rather than directly from above. Gives better tool clearance, and can help with glare and angles. It was discussed many pages back, and I can't take credit for the observation of the feature or enumeration of its benefits. I can attest that the stand and feature are very nice and nice to have.

rehajm Super WRT Addict

rehajm

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, mikepilk said:

So I bought a pair of 20X eyepieces. Seconds to swap and you get the same magnification (though you do lose field of view and brightness). I bought a cheap set from ebay.

That’s what I did as well- works great!

mikepilk Distinguished Member

mikepilk

Posted
Posted

Hmm, who understands camera lenses ?

The 0.35X Barlow arrived today, but the results are not what I expected. I have a generic Chinese camera, I can't remember what the specs are.

On minimum zoom of 0.7x I cannot focus the camera. The Barlow has it's own focus setting, I can only get a clear image with the focus all the way out.  Then it only focuses at a zoom of about 1.6x, giving a FOV of 20mm (normal 70mm).

I can get it to focus at 0.7x, but to get a clear image I have to  unscrew the camera from the Barlow by about 3mm. This give a FOV of about 50mm, which is fine. But when I zoom I have to refocus, and above about 1.2x zoom it won't focus at all. 

Rather disappointing, and I'm not sure if there's a fix. Anyone?

20241121_150242.thumb.jpg.1e7c8dfe46a13716b6a1fbe218f493aa.jpg

Knebo Distinguished Member

Knebo

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, mikepilk said:

Hmm, who understands camera lenses ?

The 0.35X Barlow arrived today, but the results are not what I expected. I have a generic Chinese camera, I can't remember what the specs are.

On minimum zoom of 0.7x I cannot focus the camera. The Barlow has it's own focus setting, I can only get a clear image with the focus all the way out.  Then it only focuses at a zoom of about 1.6x, giving a FOV of 20mm (normal 70mm).

I can get it to focus at 0.7x, but to get a clear image I have to  unscrew the camera from the Barlow by about 3mm. This give a FOV of about 50mm, which is fine. But when I zoom I have to refocus, and above about 1.2x zoom it won't focus at all. 

Rather disappointing, and I'm not sure if there's a fix. Anyone?

20241121_150242.thumb.jpg.1e7c8dfe46a13716b6a1fbe218f493aa.jpg

Ah damn, so sorry to hear that @mikepilk. That's indeed disappointing. 

I guess there are two aspects of the issue:

1. Not being able to focus:

I really don't know why this would happen. Hopefully others can weigh in. I don't know if microscope and c-mount lens need to be specifically compatible with regard to the exact lens distance... Possibly the "original" AmScope lens will fit? Or at least the "real clone". I noticed that yours just looks a bit different in design. 

2. Small field of view. 

Here I may be able to offer better advice. I had forgotten about this, but remembered when you shared your bad luck. Sorry that this comes too late now. So... the sensor size of your camera and the (de-)magnification of the c-mount lens need to correspond to give the desired field of view. So first, you need to find out what sensor size your camera has. Most common sensor sizes are 1/2" (then take 0.35x c-mount) and 2/3" (then take 0.5x c-mount). Here is a detailed article that explains it better: https://www.microscopeworld.com/p-3341-microscope-c-mount-field-of-view.aspx

 

Hope you can figure it out. 

Cheers, 

C

  • Like 2
spectre6000 Distinguished Member

spectre6000

Posted
Posted

I believe you need a spacer. I forget the exact whys and whatfors, but it's something like a 5mm spacer for going from one standard to another... Hopefully someone else can weigh in on the reasoning or provide a link.

I looked through my orders on Amazon and Ali-X, and don't see it. Might be @gpraceman had a spare to throw my way or something, and he knew the reason and solution, which is why I'm not coming up with it. Could also be lack of coffee... 

  • Thanks 1
mikepilk Distinguished Member

mikepilk

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, spectre6000 said:

I believe you need a spacer. I forget the exact whys and whatfors, but it's something like a 5mm spacer for going from one standard to another... Hopefully someone else can weigh in on the reasoning or provide a link.

Spot on @spectre6000. I tried holding the camera just above the Barlow, and I could focus and zoom and keep focus.  As you suggested It seems about 5mm would do it. The thread on the camera can be screwed out, but not quite far enough. There's plenty of cheap spacers on ebay - I guess one of these would work?

image.thumb.png.803ceaa97e8dacc5b72286481dbe6ac8.png

 

  • Like 1

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • way2wyrd
      No images showing

      By way2wyrd · Posted

      Web sites are cheap. Message board are easy. Hosting both is less than 100 usd a year and small advertising would cover most of that.  In the discord group we did some 15 min poc and threw up a couple of different message boards on a domain i host.   The real value is the data / information / hive mind While I'm a rank amateur in watch repair the information and assistance on this board is invaluable. The members on here are friendly, entertaining and a wealth of knowledge This is what needs to be preserved  --Jeff
    • ChrisInOz
      No images showing

      By ChrisInOz · Posted

      The post below contains the link. If you don't already have a discord account it will take you to the registration screen.  Registration is free.   https://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/31653-mark/?do=findComment&comment=279066
    • luiazazrambo
      WWW Eterna sucked me in.

      By luiazazrambo · Posted

      HWGIKE#57 Valex FEF 190 15 jewels Swiss lever full service and repair This one was waiting for a balance staff replacement in my cabinet parts and case cleaned up with a new balance staff and a 4th wheel as the original 4th wheel had a broken pivot for the off center second hand. I never attempted a balance staff replacement before however I received a Bergeon Molfres (i was hunting it for about 2 years) and with the help of it I managed to remove the old staff and riveted the new one in. It also received a new MS, crystal and the hole for the MS arbor was also tightened. With the new MS now it has an acceptable performance meaning that the amplitude goes up to 280 fully wound, has an acceptable beat error and I have the two nice lines but only dial up, dial down is not as nice and I could not figure out as why. I have the two lines but the amplitude is dropping to around 230 and the lines are a bit hairy. Both dial up and dial down the lines just go up and down without seemingly any pattern. I cleaned the movement two times, and then a 3rd time pegged out the main plate and train bridge holes but made no change. Both the HS collet and the roller table was too lose on the new staff... I did not count how many times I took the balance cock off to sort out the HS collet, the roller table and the beat error, somebody before me also shortened the HS by pushing it out a bit and it seems every time somebody is messing with the end of the HS the protruding bit is most of the time twisted bent etc. This one was probably one of the most challenging repair and service. I might take the new MS out and clean it lubricate it as I just pushed the new one in to the barrel from the retaining ring. Plus started to re-read the theory of the escapement and how to analyse the graph on the timing machine: Greiner Chronografic Record manual. I am also thinking to put the watch on a 24 hour long run with the eTimer SW it once helped me to figure out what was wrong with a watch. There is an interesting part of the Greiner record manual talking about the pallets and the end shake of the balance and pallet staff. Maybe this is my issue? Who could that possibly identify? After a few years now I am still without a clue how could watchmakers make parts I can only see with my microscope or how could/can they carry out complicated services impossible to do.. real magic..... .... ..... before I sent this post while the pics were uploading I had an idea, i was browsing the possible outcomes on the timing machine I had one for magnetism..... so I demagnetized the movement and it is not hairy now.... two really nice lines 0.2 ms beat error still a bit wavy, but a lot lot better..... argh....  
    • Nucejoe
      Hello from Cypress, CA

      By Nucejoe · Posted

      Hi there, welcome here.  
    • JohnR725
      No images showing

      By JohnR725 · Posted

      yes the advertising revenue should generate money. The question is how much money? Then as far as the cost of the website goes that's relatively easy to determine? all you would have to do to grasp costs and profitability would be to go to the link below and you can actually get a website for free try it out for free I believe you get no advertising initially. They also talk about that they'll help you out they have marketing tools and some sort of paid subscription or something. So I guess were shopping for a whatever just ask them what would a maybe could use this one as an example in other words it's going to look basically identical to this is going to have advertising a paid subscriptions what's it going to cost? After all they want to sell or give us a message board like this they should bill answer the questions as they're the people who did the software for this. Yes they really said you can have a free discussion group at least to start. https://invisioncommunity.com/ I was curious about the monthly supporter thing where exactly do we find that on this message board? A quick search I'm not finding it so obviously I'm not looking in the right place?
×
×
  • Create New...