Small take-along helpers: Loupes (III) In the last issue we had discussed
the tardigrade visual impressions provided by a good 10fold 'Steinheil' loupe.
Though the optical quality of the loupe was excellent we came to the conclusion
that the magnification was simply too low in order to deliver enough tardigrade
detail. |
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The battery-holder of the light-box can serve as a base, e.g. in connection with a 20x 'Betamag' loupe: |
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The Betamag loupe has a focusing thread. This is quite
comfortable, at least when compared with other, 'naked'loupes but it might be
a challenge for nervous people or those with thick fingers. |
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As often, when some progress is achieved, people don't celebrate the success but eagerly look out for an enhanced success. This is why we are switching to the 30x magnification webcam loupe as presented in the last issue. |
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Focusing also in this case remains a challenge but it is worth while: |
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Alltogether the results are not too bad for an instrument weighing just 8 grams.
When using it on top of the Mount Everest you might even consider to skip the
light-box and use the diffuse snow-reflected light instead ;-). |
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'One-step' dissecting microscopes basically following the Leeuwenhoek construction principle were built well until into the 20th century and belonged to the typical life scientist's professional equipment - in spite of the modest ergonomics and the very short working distance. |
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In the next issue we will point out that cheap dissecting microscopes ('stereo microscopes') are able to perfectly compete even with the most expensive loupes. |
Sources of the historic illustrations
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© Text, images and video clips by
Martin Mach (webmaster@baertierchen.de).
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