Here are two images of the heart of a daphnia (water flea). The "pumpkin" like muscle pattern (seen here on the lower half) is also on the top half as well, but it can't be seen due to the limited DOF. This was beating rather rapidly (motion "frozen" by electronic flash) so there was no real good wa...

I posted a head shot of this termite about a week ago. I wanted to look at the wings through the microscope, and when I did they were actually pretty drab. So I cranked in the DIC color and things got more interesting. These pronounced veins at the leading edge of the wing are used to help identify ...

David... you can get a "stronger" eyepiece. That will magnify the image formed by the objective, making things appear larger. It will not, however provide any more resolution. The amount of detail that is resolved is determined solely by the objective, and specifically its numerical aperture. Now, e...

This is a pretty small skipper. Couldn't get the antenna the way I wanted but I decided to go with it anyway.

Nikon D200. Canon 35mm f2.8 photomacrography lens. 68 frames stacked with Helicon Focus

The last face a lot of small critters ever see!

Nikon D200. Reverse mounted Schneider Componon 28mm f4. 28 frames, stacked with Helicon Focus

The chart on the page DaveW referenced shows the good ones. You would probably want to use them with the 70-300. I would go with the more modest "strength", either the Nikon 5T or the Canon 500D. The stronger 6T and 250D will get you closer, but image quality on a 70-300 could get "iffy", especially...

Walter... with the Olympus DIC (perhaps all DIC for all I know) I must also be cautious about the intensity of light along one edge or the other with many subjects. It is easy to "burn out" the highlights along an edge if I am not careful with the DIC adjustment and camera exposure.

This is very, very nice Graham! Excellent. I've really had a tough time finding and photographing this rotifer.

Surprisingly hairy little critters when you look really close!


Nikon D200. Canon 35/2.8 photomacrography lens. Whiffle ball diffuser. 42 image stack with Helicon Focus

About the size of a mosquito (just a tad bigger) this chironomid midge has amazing antennae, and a wonderful "wrap around" eye.

Nikon D200. Tominon 17mm f4 lens. 32 image stack

Ken... like 'em all, but especially the body "language" of the first one!

Nikola... actually, except for beetles that rummage around on the ground, the insects I find seem pretty clean. I usually dust them off with "canned air", and occasionally a fine artist brush if there is a stubborn, annoying piece of debris.

Wim... sort of funny to imagine us about 6000 miles apart working with the same critter in the same manner. Making this type of image with "macro" equipment rather than on the microscope does give more freedom to experiment with lighting and backgrounds. Digital cameras and the stacking software fin...

Walt... you are certainly getting a nice DIC look with the Nikon scope! This image worked out quite well... it's always tough to get a number of these in focus simultaneously.

(BTW... I finally have a little time and will get that email off to you this weekend)

Gerd... really nice DIC images!

This is the first I've seen you mention the Pentax DSLR. Any thoughts about how it compares to the Coolpix you were using? Did you have any problems setting it up?