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    Default Looking to get a microscope can anyone advise

    have been looking around and the brunel advanced set looks like the choice but whats the diffrence between http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Profession...item20c4e8acbe

    any help would be much appreciated

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    Whilst waiting for Ruary to hopefully make an appearance (general guru on all things microscopy), it might help if you could elaborate a little on what it is that you want to do. If Nosema sampling was your primary aim, it looks like you could do that a lot cheaper, with one of the Advanced set 'scopes rather than buy the whole set or have the swishy looking one from ebay.

    These days, as handy as being able to take images via USB sounds, 640x480 isn't much to crow about. I dare say that capability would be useful, but these days it's not far off like looking at a stamp when it comes to monitor resolutions, the iPhone can display pictures at a greater resolution than that.
    Last edited by Neils; 03-05-2012 at 01:05 AM.

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    Thanks for the vote of confidence Nellie.
    When you get to reading the description of the ebay item one item that stands out is 2000 magnifications. This is impossible with light microscopes the maximum is about 1000X because of physical limitations of waveform light. any larger magnification just gives a bigger picture with no more detail than the X100 limit.( like digital zoom on a camera)
    Would you trust a dealer with that sort of statement.
    Secondly it talks of adjustable interpupilary distance fine if the microscope is binocular but can not be done on a monocular microscope as you need two eyepieces to adjust the distance between them.
    Third they reside in India how are you going to contact them if there is a fault and how long will it take for the replacement to arrive.
    Ruary

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    To second what Nellie said,
    Decide what you want to do with the microscope first. Acarine detection needs a stereo dissecting microscope.
    The other diseases require a compond microscope:
    Nosema spores need no more than X400 for normal use. Pollen using Sawyers data table is reliant on X400 with the occasional foray into X600. Serious pollen analysis goes up to X1000 and uses very strong chemicals to expose the exine.
    Bacterias (AFB; EFB etc) require X1000.
    If you are going to use the microscopes a lot, then binocular compund is easier on the eyes. If you have astigmatism (as I do) you really need to get eyepieces which allow of their use. (They are called high eyepoint have a spectacle symbol on the side with the magnification markings).
    Not all microscopes give the same clarity Randy Oliver tried several before he found the best one (for him) for nosema checking.
    If you are going to do a lot of photography then a tri-ocular microscope comes in handy. I am just using a compact digital camera clamped to the ordinary eyepiece and though awkward it does a very satisfactory job. If you are doing photos then you do need plan objectives, certainly for the X40 and larger ones or else jst take the centre of the field.
    Hope this helps
    Ruary
    Last edited by Ruary; 03-05-2012 at 11:33 AM. Reason: data omission + tidy up

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    Ruary, thanks for that, I learned a lot from it I've stickied the post for future reference as I think for general advice there's a lot of useful info here.

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    Well Santa came this year and bought me Brunel Microscope's primary set for bee disease/dissection:

    [/url]
    Untitled by tehNellie_, on Flickr

    I think I'll figure out how to actually use the things before I start worrying about taking photos.

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    Default Looking to get a microscope can anyone advise

    Happy to give you personal tuition at the weekend if you like. Essential things for the compound scope are:
    - be careful cleaning the lenses. No rubbing. Clean lens tissue only to tickle off any dust specks
    - small clearance from the objective lens to slide (so watch when switching lenses and only look at thin mounted specimens)
    - arrange the optics so that the light for the specimen comes in a parallel-sided beam just the width of the field of view. (Centre and focus the condenser if you can, and adjust the diaphragm to allow just the right amount of light)
    - there may be another diaphragm inside the condenser which further optimises the light. If so just set it at the point where it is just about to start to dim.

    Cheaper models may lack the ability to make these adjustments.

    Sent from my BlackBerry 8520 using Tapatalk

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    Default Looking to get a microscope can anyone advise

    While there are undoubtedly some deals to be had I think Ruary raised good points, especially about buying from eBay as a beginner, which I certainly class myself as at the moment.

    As an aside, apart from Brunel are there any other companies people use or recommend for buying additional kit for making up slides? Brunel's site is a bit of a nightmare to navigate and there are a few things I want that they don't seem to carry.

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    Try Highfield Bees.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Neils View Post
    While there are undoubtedly some deals to be had I think Ruary raised good points, especially about buying from eBay as a beginner, which I certainly class myself as at the moment.

    As an aside, apart from Brunel are there any other companies people use or recommend for buying additional kit for making up slides? Brunel's site is a bit of a nightmare to navigate and there are a few things I want that they don't seem to carry.
    This company are on Ebay but they have lots of stuff for making slides etc I have used them quite a few times
    http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Magnacol/_i...4.l1581&_pgn=2

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