Journey to the center of the flower

[JBW]

The good news is that the Celestron InfiniView is allowing me to see things I have never seen before. The bad news is that it isn't compatible with W-10 which means I can't access the functions that would allow me to seriously dial in my focus. I'm also feeling the effects of age. My hands tremble just a tad and that makes it difficult to place things exactly where they are wanted. This will require a new scope. So for the next year give or take I find ways to work around this little problem. As always, shot in our garden/temple somewhere in the Philippines. Celestron InfiniView ~ ISO 68 ~ Shutter Speed 1/30s. ~ F/2.8 Brian

[mugge]

Looks like you are having fun, Brian.
Cheers Ole

[JBW]

Looks like you are having fun, Brian.
Cheers Ole

That I am. And I'm making a wish list.

[JohnRostron]

I am contemplating getting one of these. It does seem to be in my price range (even though the list price in the UK is about twice that in the US). The reviews have been mixed though!

Is it feasible to do focus stacking with this? The reviews suggest that touching the microscope (say to adjust the focus) disturbs the positioning. Would it be possible to attach a lightweight lever to gently adjust the focus? Your image is encouraging.

John

[JBW]

I am contemplating getting one of these. It does seem to be in my price range (even though the list price in the UK is about twice that in the US). The reviews have been mixed though!

Is it feasible to do focus stacking with this? The reviews suggest that touching the microscope (say to adjust the focus) disturbs the positioning. Would it be possible to attach a lightweight lever to gently adjust the focus? Your image is encouraging.

John

John, I don't think you want this digital scope for the following reasons.
(1) Touching the scope does not disturb the positioning. But fine focusing does.
(2) The field of view is less than 1/2" and the sharpish focus area is less than half of the fov. It gets soft real quick
(3) 5mp is good enough for learning but I'm missing my 24mp and the Tamron 90mm sharpness.
(4) here I'm talking as a rank beginner but I can not control the focus well enough to attempt stacking. The microscopyists talk about stacking with adjustments of 20mu. I'm not exactly sure how small that is but I think it is a minuscule adjustment.

This scope does come with both fine and coarse adjustment so if your hands are better than mine (and they probably are) you may be able to finely adjust for stacking...

I don't mean to discourage you but it is iffy at best. Best advice would be to find a store that sells them and check it out in person. It is a fine learning scope but I'm already making a list of what i want in my next scope.
Brian
PS; moving the subject to perfectly place it with fingers is difficult and with tweasers it's awkward. My next scope will have a mechanically moveable platform
B.

[JohnRostron]

John, I don't think you want this digital scope for the following reasons.
(1) Touching the scope does not disturb the positioning. But fine focusing does.
(2) The field of view is less than 1/2" and the sharpish focus area is less than half of the fov. It gets soft real quick
(3) 5mp is good enough for learning but I'm missing my 24mp and the Tamron 90mm sharpness.
(4) here I'm talking as a rank beginner but I can not control the focus well enough to attempt stacking. The microscopyists talk about stacking with adjustments of 20mu. I'm not exactly sure how small that is but I think it is a minuscule adjustment.

This scope does come with both fine and coarse adjustment so if your hands are better than mine (and they probably are) you may be able to finely adjust for stacking...

I don't mean to discourage you but it is iffy at best. Best advice would be to find a store that sells them and check it out in person. It is a fine learning scope but I'm already making a list of what i want in my next scope.
Brian
PS; moving the subject to perfectly place it with fingers is difficult and with tweasers it's awkward. My next scope will have a mechanically moveable platform
B.

Thanks for that, Brian. I have a cardboard cut-out which fits snugly around the barrel of my macro lens. Somewhere on CiC there is a photo of this. It allows me to fine-focus the lens with minimal disturbance. I was wondering about making a similar device for this microscope.

When I was working I had access to lots of fancy microscopes with cameras. Now I am retired, I still hanker after photographing small things on the cheap!

John

[JBW]

Thanks for that, Brian. I have a cardboard cut-out which fits snugly around the barrel of my macro lens. Somewhere on CiC there is a photo of this. It allows me to fine-focus the lens with minimal disturbance. I was wondering about making a similar device for this microscope.

When I was working I had access to lots of fancy microscopes with cameras. Now I am retired, I still hanker after photographing small things on the cheap!

John

These snap on macro lenses have a very good reputation and are used by many excellent macroists.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...per_Macro.html

They are also incredibly inexpensive and come in three different mag.
Brian

[JohnRostron]

These snap on macro lenses have a very good reputation and are used by many excellent macroists.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...per_Macro.html

They are also incredibly inexpensive and come in three different mag.
Brian

Thanks for that Brian. They seem to be readily available in the UK for around £53. I will pursue the idea.

John