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Sleepingstar
Stranger
Registered: 10/20/20
Posts: 124
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Would that be something you would have to do in the first place when making the plates up, to avoid contams? For example, if you started with lids, you couldn’t switch them out or could you in a sab?
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist

Registered: 03/10/07
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You could in a SAB, or in open air carefully if you don't mind a slight contamination risk. If you put the plastic on first the plates might have a bit of trouble breathing, though I doubt that would matter much.
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AndyHinton


Registered: 12/05/16
Posts: 434
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A couple of draft protocols I'm working on: tech/microscope and tech/light-source. Emphasis on "draft" right now!
Edited by AndyHinton (11/03/20 07:20 AM)
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Hindsight
Mad Scientist


Registered: 01/24/21
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Re: The perfect MICROSCOPE [Re: AndyHinton]
#27493301 - 10/05/21 08:04 AM (2 years, 7 months ago) |
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I'd like to pull the trigger on a microscope today and am looking at the different variations of the AmScope B120 recommended early on in this thread. I can get a B120 that is 40x-1000x for $215, or a B120C that is 40x-2500x for $195.
I read this from the first page of this thread:
Quote:
Heruuka said: Oil immersion 100x objective - brightfield microscopes can really only do 1000x magnification, and even then, you need to add immersion oil because the refractive index of the glass with air between would cause light to scatter enough to obscure the image(close enough). There are vendors that sell >1000x magnification but all that is is replacing the 10x eyepiece with a 20x or even 40x, which has the same effect of zooming in on a pixelated photo. Don't waste your money on anything more than 1000x, unless the 20x eyepiece just comes with.
The specs on the B120C appear identical to the B120 except the B120C comes with the additional 25x eyepieces, so it seems like it makes sense to just get the cheaper of the two scopes, correct?
Second question is related to measuring. I'm new to microscopes and still researching everything, but my understanding is that in order to measure spores or anything else, you need an eyepiece with a reticle? From everything I am seeing, none of the B120 variations come with eyepieces that have a reticle, and you'd have to buy it as an optional accessory (WF10X) for around $40. So, first question is, does this sound right? And second question is, are there other/better ways to measure?
Last question is: What stain should I use. I know Melzer's Reagent is the gold standard but difficult to get. I've done some reading and can't really find highly-recommended alternative. I'm mostly interested in looking at spores and mycelium.
Thank you!
Edited by Hindsight (10/05/21 09:13 AM)
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Tas75
Taswegian



Registered: 04/12/12
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Loc: Tasmania
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Re: The perfect MICROSCOPE [Re: Hindsight]
#27494021 - 10/05/21 08:00 PM (2 years, 7 months ago) |
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I would say the extra magnification is usually a waste of time on cheaper scopes. You will get a bigger image that shows you no more detail than the smaller one, only magnifying the blurriness.
Save your money to buy stuff that will be useful and go for the cheaper one.
I don't know these particular scopes, but you can often buy a reticle insert to place into the eyepiece. Can anyone comment who has used them?
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist

Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,392
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Re: The perfect MICROSCOPE [Re: Hindsight]
#27494068 - 10/05/21 09:00 PM (2 years, 7 months ago) |
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I would throw away the 25x eyepieces, the 2500x is empty magnification. Cheaper of the two sounds good, they appear to be otherwise identical.
Instead of using a reticle you could get a stage micrometer and measure digitally. https://amscope.com/products/mr095
Amscope has a 10% off sale right now that ends in a few hours, coupon code SAVE10
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Hindsight
Mad Scientist


Registered: 01/24/21
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Thank you both for the replies!
Alan, when you say measure digitally, I assume you mean by using an Amscope digital camera attached to the microscope? If so, what megapixel rating what you suggest?
Edited by Hindsight (10/06/21 06:13 AM)
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist

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Last seen: 2 days, 17 hours
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Re: The perfect MICROSCOPE [Re: Hindsight] 1
#27498134 - 10/09/21 02:18 AM (2 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Hindsight said: Alan, when you say measure digitally, I assume you mean by using an Amscope digital camera attached to the microscope? If so, what megapixel rating what you suggest?
I use a Nikon Z7 to take microscope photos - or a cell phone with a spacer to keep it a constant distance from the eyepiece and a camera app that allows manual focus. Both distance and focus will change your measurements.
I use Piximetre to do the measuring.
I haven't tried many of the Amscope cameras - I have a little though. The 1.3 megapixel has given me grainy photos and the 5 megapixel decent photos. I am not sure how these cameras compare to a professional camera or a cell phone. Many cell phones take surprisingly good photos through the microscope, it'd have to be a good microscope camera to perform better than that.
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Hindsight
Mad Scientist


Registered: 01/24/21
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Thanks again for all the help Alan. I have a complete setup now and have been testing it out, dialing it in, and learning about it. I went ahead and got a 3MP Amscope camera. I used my cellphone to take a few pics and it did work well though I was holding it by hand so not perfect. I liked the idea of being able to view and measure objects and video on my big computer screen in real-time so that was part of why I went with the Amscope camera. I have the camera now and it works pretty well. 3MP seems pretty good so far.
Here is what I've looked at so far. This is the plate I prepared slides from. The spot at 7:00 appears to be mold to me:

Here is that mold(?) spot at 1000x:

And here are two shots of a slide prepared from the main mycelium in the center of the dish - the first with red food coloring dye and the second without dye:


I can't really tell the difference. I haven't been able to find many photos online showing the difference between mycelium of edibles and actives vs molds. Obviously both are fungi but I've read you should be able to see the difference, which I cannot. Also not sure what dye to use - I know food coloring isn't the best but if I can't get Melzer's what would you suggest for looking at mycelium?
Edit: I tried the scotch tape method (pick up mycelium on scotch tape then place it sticky side up on a slide with a cover plate) and the pics came out better. But I still can't tell the difference between mold and mycelium (unless the mycelium is actually mold too hah)


Thanks again!
Edited by Hindsight (10/09/21 11:16 AM)
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