Advice on how to make an image sharp and in focus

Starting out in microscopy? Post images and ask questions relating to the microscope and get answers from our more advanced users on the subject.

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garretgreen
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Advice on how to make an image sharp and in focus

Post by garretgreen »

Im looking for a little advice on how to make my images a little more sharp when all my equipment is not that good, The micriscope is an old lumiscope from the1950s and i cant find any way to attach a real camera to it... Here a few images i have taken so far.
Image Image
and
Image
all feel fuzzy and out of focus.

Pau
Site Admin
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Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:57 am
Location: Valencia, Spain

Post by Pau »

Hi Garret, welcome aboard

I suppose that the images have been taken with a phone through the eyepiece, am I right? This is what is called afocal photography and it can also be done with other cameras, what equipment do you have?

Take a look to afocal setups: http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=15607

But with a good phone you can take better pictures, in fact there are other aspects more important in photomicrography:
- Sample preparation
- Microscope regulation, specially proper illumination
- Microscope optics quality
- Camera adaptation

In your pictures I see several faults due to illumination.

Because the depth of focus is very small if you want to have all the specimen in focus you will need to do focus stacking

Please give us more info about your equipment, pictures of the microscope and some comments about your goals...and budget (this could be an expensive hobby but can be done at reasonable cost)

Admin note: This post would be better placed at the Beginners Micro forum, once you had time to read it I'll move it.
Pau

garretgreen
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Joined: Mon May 14, 2018 10:03 pm
Location: CA
Contact:

Post by garretgreen »

good old junk phone and some cloth on the eye to keep light from bleeding into the top of the microscope, im working on seeing if i can mount an old gopro to that badboy and looking for a way to replace its rust bucked mirror with a Led Light

Image

Pau
Site Admin
Posts: 6053
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:57 am
Location: Valencia, Spain

Post by Pau »

Some comments:
- The images are not very sharp but they look focused, at least with some parts focused. You can't have all the sample focused at the same time with the exception of very thin and flat specimens imaged with Plan objectives.
- Having the GoPro is worth to try it but I fear that having wide angle lenses they will produce severe vignette like the phone.
- I've used the same phone adapter and it is pretty good, although positioning it at the right distance of the eyepiece could be tricky but it seems that you've done it well, just a bit more centering would be OK.
- Your microscope seems pretty solid but it has a major fault: it lacks a proper condenser, maybe it has a simple lens under the stage or no condenser at all. Without a condenser you can't have good illumination with transmitted light with high magnification objectives, with low magnification like the 4X or 10X it could work. A possibility is to place a well diffused LED lamp like a small round ceiling lamp like https://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Panel-Dimm ... 2490751567
- For reflected light like with your first picture you need diffuse illumination, you can try surrounding the sample and objective with white paper like Kleenex and a pair of LED lamps like the Ikea Jansjo at same distance of them https://www.ikea.com/es/es/catalog/products/60385943/
Pau

garretgreen
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon May 14, 2018 10:03 pm
Location: CA
Contact:

Post by garretgreen »

I do not intend to just use the stock lens on the gopro, I have an unused Ribcage Hero3 mount system. There are other lens on that fit on that mount system that are intended for telescopes... So right now i am just looking for a simple lens that fits into the body tube of the microscope. A few measurements of the tube may be in order, finding something, but seeing that the microscope was built somewhere in the 1950's I feel like im trying to use a potato as a 1 kilogram analog. When it comes to funds for the hobby I feel like i have a nice amount of room for some economic items but throwing down a few hundred dollars is not out of the question. Would it be simpler for me to just take a dozen photos at different focal lengths and layer them into one image like in my old animation education?



Image

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