Boris said:
If you can afford it, you could go for 3D video with LCD goggles and all.
Regards,
Boris Mohar
Got Knock? - see:
Viatrack Printed Circuit Designs (among other things)
http://www.viatrack.ca
A friend of mine has achieved remarkable results using common items such
as glass marbles and the lenses embedded in penlight lamps to create
microscopes. _If_ you have any experience or understsnding of optics I
would imagine _worlds_ could be done with PVC pipe and a short order out
of Edmund Scientific's optical catalog. I might suggest searching for
educational optics kits in the $30-60 range (Radio Shack used to carry
one), you'll get an assortment of lenses and some theory, perhaps enough
to build a prototype and a feel for the lens specs you'll need to order.
One of the problems you _may_ face is chromatic aberation, ie prismatic
seperation of colors: the simple kits may not go into that, and
unfortunately optics is a weak area for me so I couldn't tell you if the
solution to the problem is as simple as being sure to order corrected
lenses for your final form. Keeping proper stereo alignment across zoom,
focus, and accomodation for different (inter-occular distances of?)
users is a big part of what you pay $400 for, but if you can live with
fixed mag, fixed focal length, and accomodation for only yourself it
might be a worthwhile project. You may need to incorporate prisms to get
the angles right, I'm not sure: I don't think I've seen any stero scopes
without them. Don't rule out the possibility of finding/buying an
inexpensive stereo scope, I have an old Tasco dissection scope which I
doubt is made anymore, it's just one cut above the plastic junk they
sell at toy stores but I've used it to very great effect in aligning
scanning electron microscope filaments in their Weihnelt(sp?) housings.
I can't complain about its performance. OK maybe it's two cuts above the
plastic junk. Also if you move in the right circles you can salvage
_excellent_ and I mean _top notch_ stereo scopes from old microtomes,
eye surgery lasers, slit lamps, transmission electron microscopes: often
thrown away as bulky garbage, and people seldom stop to consider the
optics because they appear integrated. More often than not, the
integration is only skin deep and by literally loosening a thumbscrew
out pops a standard commercial scope, suitable for popping into a
dissection or boom stand. Even a very old scope from a source like this,
circa 1920's or 40's would be better or at least far more user friendly
than anything you could build.
-Jeff