Anyone familiar with EPI (top-light) microscopes?

Looks like I need a better microscope soon. Must be up to 500x or so and
top light or EPI since none of the things I am looking at are
translucent. Oil immersion microscopy is generally not possible in my
cases either. I guess that means metallurgical microscope versus
biological (slides). Needs to have USB camera and it would be nice if
the microscope wasn't the usual octopus-style monster. Color aberrations
and such don't matter much.

I could not find a reasonably priced OMAX. Is AmScope good? There are
often no reviews and the ones I saw are like a large octopus with
protrusions and cables:

http://www.amazon.com/AmScope-40X-6...1356635296&sr=1-2&keywords=EPI+microscope+USB

This OMAX looks really nice but no decent top lighting possible I guess :-(

http://www.amazon.com/OMAX-40X-2000...4RZXINU/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t/180-8382495-6144419

 

I've got a cheapo one with several inches working distance for
soldering. It has top-lighting built in but because of the working
distance I rarely need to even turn that on.

What I'd need this one for would be things like determining whether
there is damage in metallization features that are 10um wide or less.
Not very often, so I don't want to spend an arm and a leg on this and
preferably it should not clutter the whole lab bench.

 

Those are nice but size-wise they are monsters. Well, I just ordered the
little Chinese scope Jeff pointed out. With its 5 MPixel sensor in there
it should be able to do the trick and it is so small that I can store it
in a cabinet while not needed. Without working up a back pain every time
I have to schlepp it

 

Interesting, although this review was a bummer:

http://www.amazon.com/High-Definiti...Manual-Focus/dp/B005Y1DNEU/ref=pd_sim_sbs_p_2

But ... I'll try, thanks for the hint, I just ordered it. Under $129
with tax, and free shipping. Now, another seller jumped in at $97.45.
Grumble. Oh well.

 

I am not going to solder under this one. It's strictly for workpiece
checks and such. Right now I have teeny sensors that I think could have
been busted in shipping but I can't see things. So I ordered one of
those Chinese 500x scopes Jeff mentioned. I'll post when I've got it
running.

For soldering I use a Veho 20x scope that I can zoom in some more on the
computer. Several inches distance and if I fume up the place a lot it
can even see through a protective cap so no fumes get in. Its downside
is a screwed-up SW, has a rather pathetic flaw. Whenever I disconnect
from USB and then re-connect it has to re-install its driver. But it
takes nice pics.

 

"Joerg" wrote in message

I just got one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110956999139

It was only $49 including shipping, and I'm pleased with it. Here's a video
of my teeth:


and a quick picture of Muttley in poor light conditions:
http://muttleydog.com/pictures/MuttleySnooze.jpg

and just for fun, if you take a screen shot of the image it is displaying...
http://muttleydog.com/pictures/SelfImage.jpg

I also bought this one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160868885384

It was only $19 including shipping from Hong Kong. Some pictures:
http://enginuitysystems.com/pix/ORTM-4PCB_LED1206-3.png
http://enginuitysystems.com/pix/ORTM-4PCB_LED1206.png
http://enginuitysystems.com/pix/ORTM-4PCB_RN3-5.png

Paul

 

It costs more than a cheap Chinese USB camera, though. Joerg is
tight! ;-)

Ditto, though my phone does a pretty good job on its own.

 

I was going to suggest the Mitutoyo. It is a workhorse. The optics are
APO. I've seen them at Outback when they used to be in San Jose.

I really don't understand the need to use video gear. It is so much
better to look through optics.

The deal with a Mitutoyo is you can always sell it if you don't need it
anymore. Nobody wants that Chinese junk. Even my old B&L Stereozoom
would get what I paid for it.

I don't think I'd trust the average schmuck to pack a microscope on ebay.

 

These work good if you want to do a DIY, and don't mind some
scrounging for some objectives and a translation stage on ebay:

http://www.edmundoptics.com/microsc...-c-mount-camera-use/1548?ref=related-products

Have used them for years.

Steve

 

That pales rather quickly once faced with the need to work in a team
where the members are 1000mi or more apart. Which is always the case
with me.

Well, I've bought one before and it works great. Just doesn't have the
500x magnification I need now.

 

But it's a Monster and I do not have the space you do. Although with the
way things are going in CA lately it might be possible to pick up
industrial real estate on the cheap soon.

Plus the Mantis scopes I've used in the past were too wobbly for my
taste. I don't get seasick but it was annoying.

 

I want manual focus. Just like with my Olympus E-PL1 camera. It has
autofocus and all that but it will remain dormant forever because I only
use non-Olympus lenses with it. The microscope cannot know which
features I want to look at and nearly all my stuff in 3D.

That scope is too big and bulky for me. I need something I can quickly
carry out of the way or even use inside heavy machinery.

 

That will collapse just as the dot-com bust and the housing bubble. 1-2
years sounds about right. Just with a more muffled kaboom because only
very few areas see this kind of hype. In our area ... nada. "For lease"
signs everywhere. There is a flurry of large new stores though but I can
almost bet that we'll see some of those go belly-up soon.

Too bit, way too big. Plus I really need higher magnification. 300x at
least, ideally 500x which is what I am (hopefully) getting now. Color
abberation will probably be horrid but that's ok.

Yeah, but too big. I need something I can move to another table or back
into a small cabinet space in seconds. Like I can with the old
microscope I have.

 

That foamed in shipping is fine. Some places charge for it, but better
to get your item in one piece.

I've used video on microscopes for documentation, but there is nothing
like looking through the optics.

There are Mitutoyo to M42 adapters on Ebay. While there are no M42 DSLRs
(that I know of at least), once you are M42, you can adapt that to DSLRs.

I'd try the DSLR route first before going C-mount. Most DSLRs have a PC
interface these days, and the resolution is certainly better then NTSC
or PAL.

The flange to focal plane distance for EOS is less than M42, but the
adapter looks recessed a bit. One assumes it isn't recessed so much that
the mirror hits the lens. ;-) [The difference is about 1.5mm] Then
again, we are talking made in China. I don't know the details for Nikon
DSLRs.