Microscope Preferences

I am getting ready to purchase a microscope and would like to hear what other people have and what they have to say about it. What bells and whistles do you like?

Also if you feel generous to let us know where you got it.

PM Dave Weldon... he will have some good suggestions for you. I heard him speaking about his microscopes at one of the SBCK meetings.

I think I'd like to pick one up as well. It would be nice to be able to check fecals for parasites!

I got a very nice and thorogh email from DW regarding fecals and equipment. I would like to know what other people use to get a better perspective.

I use the same scope as Dave Weldon.

I use a Nikon, a Leica and one other brand (can't remember the name of off the top of my head) in the lab. They are all very nice. It really depends on how much you want to spend though.

Chris

microscopy

AJA said:

I got a very nice and thorogh email from DW regarding fecals and equipment. I would like to know what other people use to get a better perspective.

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i have been surfing the subject of microscopes for some time now , dw seems to be the most knowledgable person on the forums regarding the subject so i would follow his lead. however microscopes can get real expensive in a real hurry, been researching microscopes/ cameras under $ 500 so that i can upgrade my currently marginal system, however the subject is quite extensive , and probably handled better in depth off forum. i have your email and will send you what i have learned

Chris Anderson said:

I use a Nikon, a Leica and one other brand (can't remember the name of off the top of my head) in the lab. They are all very nice. It really depends on how much you want to spend though.

Chris

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The third one we use is a Wild (don't know why I couldn't remember that).

j walker said:

however microscopes can get real expensive in a real hurry

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That's an understatement. We're demoing a new Leica scope in our lab at the moment and its probably going to end up costing around $8000 when all is said and done.

Chris

Ryan Jarosek said:

I use the same scope as Dave Weldon.

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Hey Ryan, which one is that again? Dave told me but I forgot... after three $30.00 fecals, I think it is time for me to invest!

Howdy All,

Funny, I just sent this to a keeper tonight and others in the past and I realized that I ought post it too .

Many of us have been happy with this trinocular microscope ($200-$300 depending on the luck of bidding. Check-out the recently Sold eBay list!):

http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=40...600X+TRINOCULAR+COMPOUND+MICROSCOPE&_osacat=0

(Or do an eBay search for “40X-1600X DOCTOR VET LAB TRINOCULAR COMPOUND MICROSCOPE”)



I recommend a trinocular over binocular microscope because it is easier to slap a simple digital video camera onto the trinocular unit’s vertical mount rather than having to put the camera in place of one of the eyepieces (easy to do but limiting user friendliness). Don’t be fooled about magnification. The more you magnify the less light you get etc. Most often, we use the 10x eyepieces in combination with the 4x, 10x, 40x objectives to get 40x, 100x, 400x. We don’t use the 100x objective (10x combined with 100x = 1000x along with the use of special oil contacting between the lens and the slide cover) much since a bigger but blurry image doesn’t buy us much for detecting most parasites. You’ll see listings mentioning 1600x and 2000x. They get that by using a 16x or a 20x eyepiece and the 100x objective lens. These eyepieces don’t buy us much either. The 10x eyepieces are WF “Wide Field” which means that they are better for our use anyway.

There are a bunch of other nice things about these particular microscopes that I won’t go into but suffice it to say, they do what we need to do well enough that they are worth the money. Consider these microscopes to be “knock-offs” of (costing $1000’s) Nikon, Olympus etc. Their optics aren’t nearly as good but, like I said, for the price, they get the job done. It is likely that if you have never used high-end 'scopes then you'll think that you have now . These aren't $50 "kiddie" scopes.

As far as a digital video camera (USB interface) goes, it isn’t necessary to have one unless you want to document and share your parasite findings. They are fun to use though .

This one (same one I bought) is at a fair price of $124 + cheap shipping: http://shop.ebay.com/USB 1,3 Mega P...xel+Digital+Microscope+Camera+Eyepiece&_naf=1

(Or do an eBay search for “USB 1,3 Mega Pixel Digital Microscope Camera Eyepiece”)

Several of us got it from this seller and have been happy. I also have an adapter for my Canon DSLR but it cost me over $300 just for the fancy adapter! It’s really nice though.

So once you have your microscope you’ll need slides and slide covers. Either buy them from the AmScope people when you buy your microscope (reduced shipping costs) or pick them up elsewhere.

50 slides and 100 covers:

http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=50...OPE-SLIDES-100PC-SQUARE-COVER-SLIPS&_osacat=0

(eBay search “50 BLANK MICROSCOPE SLIDES & 100PC SQUARE COVER SLIPS”)

Another 50 slides:

http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=50...MICROSCOPE-SLIDES-WITH-GROUND-EDGES&_osacat=0

(eBay search "50 BLANK MICROSCOPE SLIDES WITH GROUND EDGES)"

(50 BLANK MICROSCOPE SLIDES & 100 CIRCULAR COVER SLIPS)

I’ve also found slides and slide covers at some camera/telescope stores and you might find them at a hobby store too.

If you are going to do Fecal Floats in addition to fecal smears then you’ll want the handy-dandy generic fecalyzers along with a gallon of generic Fecasol. I like the fecalyzers that DON’T have the green part but rather the ones made with a clear part inside. It isn’t the clearness but the physical usability of the clear (semi-transparent) ones. They are just easier to handle. Either one will do the job though. Any of them should cost less than about $1 each. Vets don’t re-use them but if you are very careful about how you handle/sterilize them you should be able to re-use them. I do. It’s not so much that you might contaminate another sample but more about how and where you clean them. You don’t want to contaminate your household sinks! Pure bleach kills some parasites while ammonia will kill others and strong hydrogen peroxide will kill others too. DON’T let any of those chemicals get mixed or (your) death may be the result .

Example of the green ones:

http://www.petsupplies4less.com/Fec...ce-Parasite-Diagnostic-50-Tests--pr--01400850

The clear ones:

http://www.synbiotics.com/Products/PDF_lib/96-0556a.pdf

(You don’t need the whole kit, just the cups)

http://www.atozvetsupply.com/Ovassay-Plus-System-50-Tests-p/722-syb960556.htm

It may be easier for you to buy a few from your vet. I’d get between 1 and 10 of them.

Fecasol or its generic equal:

http://www.google.com/products?num=100&hl=en&q="feca-med&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf

Flotation info:

http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/dxendopar/techniques/ovassay.html

Interesting parasite photos as well as good flotation techniques info.

http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/fecal-flotation.html#float-limits

Get this book:

"Understanding Reptile Parasites" By Roger J. Klingenberg D.V.M. 2nd Ed.

Be sure that it is the 2nd Edition. It has 200 pages. ISBN: 978-1-882770-90-8.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1882770900...veASIN=1882770900&creative=373489&camp=211189

Any questions, toss me an email . (I’m also available by phone if that works better for you.)

Example with the DSLR:


USB Digital Video 100x magnification:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BvzjySnL0s

Thank you! I can't believe I sent the PM and you were typing this post at the same time!

Thanks for all the info Dave! I just bought the book on half.com I am going to slowly start getting the stuff suggested Thanks again for being so helpful!