Microscope Tips

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LoveIt

Well-Known Member
got a couple new pieces of equipment yesterday... the one on the left doesn't have anything to do with this post, but it's so fucking cool, i included it in the pic, lol... now i can check in on the forums when i'm not home (have to figure out if it's relatively safe first, though).

so the main thing here is i picked up the microscope at radio shack... $390 cheaper than the iPhone, by the way, if you're wondering lol. it has 60x-100x magnification and a light at the bottom.



*** what i'm wondering is: any of you have any tips or special tricks you have figured out... it's easy to look at something on a table, but holding the microscope up to a plant is another challenge entirely. any experienced insight would be mucho apprec!!***

in the 3rd day of 12/12 now, and i think i already see that one of them is a girl!!! check out my journal in a couple minutes to see the pics!
 
VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
I have a 30x. much easier to use. I have that one from radio shck also. you can stop by and pick it up for free if you want. Too small of a focal point to be practical for this old man. VV
 
natmoon

natmoon

Well-Known Member
I am going to buy a cheap microscope in a couple of weeks as well,i am interested to know if you can put a basic digital camera lens over the microscope lens and take the pics like that?

Also has anyone used that intel microscope that you can plug directly into your pc,i dunno if there are others apart from intel who do usb microscopes but the intel one is the only one ive seen,any advice is appreciated.

Like your new iphone btw i want a motorola z8,sorry i have no tips to offer but just thought i would add my request for knowledge to this thread to save starting another microscope thread:weed:
 
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LoveIt

Well-Known Member
VictorVIcious said:
I have a 30x. much easier to use. I have that one from radio shck also. you can stop by and pick it up for free if you want. Too small of a focal point to be practical for this old man. VV
Click to expand...
where did you pick up your 30x scope?

i managed to get a look at one of the pre-preflowers through it the other day, but it was so early in development, that the fact that it was hugely magnified didn't make any difference.

honestly, what i'd like to do is get a zoom lens for my camera, but i think they only make a wide angle/ fish-eye lens for my model, and some filters...
 
pinecone

pinecone

Active Member
Look for macro lenses or macro filters for your camera. They'll get you in closer but nowhere near as close as the 30x from Radio Shack can. I find the best thing to do with the Radio Shack microscope is to prefocus then slowly move into the bud. Go easy on coffee in the morning - a little shake of the hand moves you miles when looking through it. In theory using a macro lens you could focus on the surface where your eye would be on the microscope. You'd have to block out light coming in from the side. Tricky thing to do right.
 
cloudflyer

cloudflyer

Well-Known Member
LoveIt said:
got a couple new pieces of equipment yesterday... the one on the left doesn't have anything to do with this post, but it's so fucking cool, i included it in the pic, lol... now i can check in on the forums when i'm not home (have to figure out if it's relatively safe first, though).

so the main thing here is i picked up the microscope at radio shack... $390 cheaper than the iPhone, by the way, if you're wondering lol. it has 60x-100x magnification and a light at the bottom.



*** what i'm wondering is: any of you have any tips or special tricks you have figured out... it's easy to look at something on a table, but holding the microscope up to a plant is another challenge entirely. any experienced insight would be mucho apprec!!***

in the 3rd day of 12/12 now, and i think i already see that one of them is a girl!!! check out my journal in a couple minutes to see the pics!
Click to expand...
I use the exact same one. focus on something on the table, then take off the plastic thing on the bottom. Look at your plants and instead of using the focus, pull your head back and forth.
 
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LoveIt

Well-Known Member
natmoon said:
I am going to buy a cheap microscope in a couple of weeks as well,i am interested to know if you can put a basic digital camera lens over the microscope lens and take the pics like that?

Also has anyone used that intel microscope that you can plug directly into your pc,i dunno if there are others apart from intel who do usb microscopes but the intel one is the only one ive seen,any advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...
you're not taking away from the thread by contributing questions that belong in it's vicinity. i am actually very curious about photographing those extremely magnified shots, and this discussion is really the logical part b to this thread... so thanks for chiming in!

pinecone said:
Look for macro lenses or macro filters for your camera. They'll get you in closer but nowhere near as close as the 30x from Radio Shack can. I find the best thing to do with the Radio Shack microscope is to prefocus then slowly move into the bud. Go easy on coffee in the morning - a little shake of the hand moves you miles when looking through it. In theory using a macro lens you could focus on the surface where your eye would be on the microscope. You'd have to block out light coming in from the side. Tricky thing to do right.
Click to expand...
macro lenses/filters... i'll have to look into that. you say in theory- have you never tried it? it would be very fun to make pics so close up, but i don't know if i want to go to school for a doctoral degree in photography in order to achieve that lol

cloudflyer said:
I use the exact same one. focus on something on the table, then take off the plastic thing on the bottom. Look at your plants and instead of using the focus, pull your head back and forth.
Click to expand...
that is perfect- always excellent, descriptive instructions from you, cloudflyer- thanks!
 
natmoon

natmoon

Well-Known Member
Ok scratch the intel one ive found one that is much cheaper and newer,i dunno if you can find similar in america or not but here is a link to have a look at what im on about,im especially interested in making a time lapse video of a bud from start to finish as well as the super cool convenience of just plugging it into my pc and taking film and pics with it,anyway heres a link to what im on about in case anyone didnt actually know about them,i only saw them in a toys section a while back and though little of it really.


USB Microscope, 10x ~ 200x USB Microscope with adjustable focus and magnification : nov-usbmc
 
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LoveIt

Well-Known Member
natmoon said:
Ok scratch the intel one ive found one that is much cheaper and newer,i dunno if you can find similar in america or not but here is a link to have a look at what im on about,im especially interested in making a time lapse video of a bud from start to finish as well as the super cool convenience of just plugging it into my pc and taking film and pics with it,anyway heres a link to what im on about in case anyone didnt actually know about them,i only saw them in a toys section a while back and though little of it really.


USB Microscope, 10x ~ 200x USB Microscope with adjustable focus and magnification : nov-usbmc
Click to expand...
here's a link to one you can get in the u.s.... unfortunately, usb 2.0 ports are required, and my powerbook can't have those upgraded- i just asked the apple store about that... i'm not giving up though, just have to keep googling for a bit.
 
natmoon

natmoon

Well-Known Member
Thats a bit expensive for me seeing as it dont even have a lens but still cool to have a look at if you wanna get serious about microscopes i reckon some kind of usb scope is the way to go.
What about some time lapse bud drying:idea:
lol:weed:
 
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LoveIt

Well-Known Member
yeah! lol that's a riot- the other funny thing is that i never thought i could be so well entertained by watching the grass grow until now...:leaf::shock::leaf::leaf:
 
potroast

potroast

Uses the Rollitup profile
For looking at trichomes, I've found that microscopes are too much power. A 20 power loop is all I need, and they cost about 20 dollars. I can gaze at the trikes on one bud, and quickly move to several others.

HTH :mrgreen:
 
cloudflyer

cloudflyer

Well-Known Member
LoveIt I know you have seen this before. Someone posted it a bit back and I kept it because it is a great picture. But just in case you dont have it.
 
nongreenthumb

nongreenthumb

Well-Known Member
Using the scope you have can be confusing and hard to get to grips with. I found that out myself. The hardest part with that one is staying steady enough to see something for long enough before you've shot past it. I got the hang of it in the end by just making sure everything was steady.

The problem I found with those are that the little light you get on the end is usually no where near powerful enough to see as well as you would like to.

Then we went over to the inlaws and the mrs was showing me this mini telescope she has, it was about 5 inches long and about half an inch in diameter. The bottom section was mostly glass which let loads of light in from the hps. It was only 30x magnification but I saw 100 times more with this than the 80-100x. The wider view through the scope was very helpful also.
 
cloudflyer

cloudflyer

Well-Known Member
A while back I bought a real microscope to look at my plants with. 100x-2400x. Once you get to about 300 the heads and the whole trichomb except for a tiny outer clear edge, is black. It weird. Ever since I got it I have been looking at everything. With the one you have, go to 100x and look at a printed picture. Its weird how I can be looking at a picture of something brown but what I see in the microscope is colored dots that look nothing like what they make up.
 
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VirginHarvester

Well-Known Member
This thread is just what I needed. I'm having trouble using the 60-100x from RS.

VictorVIcious said:
I have a 30x. much easier to use.
Click to expand...
Victor, where did you get the 30x?


cloudflyer said:
I use the exact same one. focus on something on the table, then take off the plastic thing on the bottom. Look at your plants and instead of using the focus, pull your head back and forth.
Click to expand...
So removing the plastic piece definitely helps? It doesn't by chance expand your field of vision does it?


potroast said:
For looking at trichomes, I've found that microscopes are too much power. A 20 power loop is all I need, and they cost about 20 dollars.
Click to expand...
Where to find one of these please?


nongreenthumb said:
Then we went over to the inlaws and the mrs was showing me this mini telescope she has, it was about 5 inches long and about half an inch in diameter. The bottom section was mostly glass which let loads of light in from the hps. It was only 30x magnification but I saw 100 times more with this than the 80-100x. The wider view through the scope was very helpful also.
Click to expand...
Any idea what store or type of store carries these?


In all sincerity, if I don't learn how to use the RS scope better I need to find an alternative because I'm serious about wanting to harvest at particular trich development. Some I want to harvest at just all cloudy, some at part amber, maybe even a few branches at all amber. Right now I can't make anything out or it's just too narrow a field of vision for me... And man, you have to be dead steady with the RS scope.
 
potroast

potroast

Uses the Rollitup profile
Most hydro shops sell some loupes, and magnifiers. Or you can find them at optic shops that sell telescopes.

HTH :mrgreen:
 
VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
I did a search on line after visiting every store in town I thought might have one. Picked from the list. I ordered two. If your order was over $25.00 shipping was free. VV
 
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HumboldtHunny

Well-Known Member
I agree the RS can be tough to use, but I simply clip off a piece of one of the smaller leaves on a bud I want to check, then place it on a white piece of paper and focus. I can look to my hearts content. The scope sits flat and everything is "crystal" clear (lol). No problemo, I really don't care about losing a 1/4 inch of one of the bud leafs. GL HH
 
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