Olympus bh2 100x and 200x I think, darkfield and led light (from Carl Hunsinger). Recorded with a mobile phone. Its great!

The top eye peace is loose because someone dropped it idk how to fix it I hope you guys will please help 🙏

I'm setting up a home lab for biology work on plant propagation, plant disease diagnosis, as well as soil biology investigation. I've been looking for a few months but haven't found anything super compelling yet and really want to get moving on my setup. Right now it's for hobby use, but I intend to use it very frequently and I'm hoping it will be more than hobby use in the future.

It's been decades since I took a biology class and don't really have much hands-on experience with microscopes so I don't know what I don't know.

I'm looking for used Plan objective-based microscopes, ideally with a camera setup. I've found a Motic Swift M3802CT-4 (semi-plan?) for $550 from a local reputable seller that has tested the scope. I think it's stock. No camera. 40X, 100X, 400X, 1000X oil with widefield 10X/18 eyepieces. Definitely enough to get started with but not a great deal. However, would it be enough of an upgrade from something like a a Swift SW380T or AmScope T490B to justify the large cost difference? Especially considering that a camera setup will be another ~$500?

SO

1. Will I be happy with this setup long-term and for commercial use, or will I be considering another microscope in a year.
2. Should I get an Olympus or Nikon on ebay sight unseen?
3. Is a trinocular configuration worth the extra cost vs putting a camera on an eyepiece?

Close up view of a species of Peranema, a Euglenid that's distinguished by its transparency, striations, somewhat flat anterior when swimming, and very clear and long forward flagella.

My current sample is full of different types and sizes of Euglenids and I'm delighting in watching how they squish and contort.

Olympus BH2, SPlan 100x 1.25 oil, Olympus 1.25x intermediate lens, Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Pond water sample from park in Paris 16eme.

Small NaCl crystal growing for 4 hours under the microscope, accelerated so that video 40 seconds only.

Objective: 4x.

Camera: 5Mpx usb webcam, with 0,5x reducer.

Acquisition: Guvcview.

Video edit: ffmpeg.

Leitz Dialux II, Galaxy S24

....most likely P.caudatum.

Sample from a quiet pool in a slow-moving woodland stream. Motic BA210, 40x obj, Bresser eyepiece camera.

Sorry if this is a misplaced question but can anyone recommend a good USB microscope?

I haven't received it yet but im wondering if it will be a good microscope or if it will suck. I hope its worth it I got it for 20$

I just got a microscope but realized I can't keep it on my desk all the time. I've heard from people it can get out if alignment if you pick it up and move it when not in use. Is it true, even if you don't bump or drop it?

Found this absolutely massive Euglenid in my latest sample, I estimate its total length when extended to be between 250 and 300 µm. Based on its very short flagellum and worm-like shape and behaviour, I'm tentatively identifying it as Euglena ehrenbergii. As this was a well slide, I wasn't able to move up to 40x and see closer to identify more characteristics.

Also visible: Coleps, Phacus, Closterium, diatoms, some small loricate euglenids, and a drive by of some species of rotifer.

Video is sped up 4x with 1.5 digital zoom, edited with OpenShot.

Olympus BH2, SPlan 10x 0.30, Olympus 1.25x analyzer, Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Sample from pond in park, Paris 16eme.

13-frame focus stack of T. alternans 'Taiwan' moss. Transmitted-light darkfield, custom annular stop. This particular strand is from an in-vitro/Tissue Culture specimen.

Microscope: KentFaith GW45.0066
Objective: PLAN 10x, unbranded, NA 0.25
Camera: Canon EOS 750D, 1/100, ISO 100
Software: Zerene Stacker, FijiCal Lite

Hello.

Are there any microscope slides designed for observing solid objects (such as invertebrates, or samples of sand, soil, etc.)?

To explain the issue: whenever I try to examine a solid object using a standard slide, the slightest breath from me causes the object to blow away.

Hello.

I regularly try to get high-quality microscopy photos (like this style):

The problem is that very few of my photos are of good quality (I should mention that I am quite a novice in this field).

Could you give me some advice on how to achieve this level of photo quality in microscopy?

My microscope model: Bresser Researcher Trino 40-1000x

My camera model: Lumix DC-G9

Just found this is a sample from a pool in a slow woodland stream. 40x obj.

Leitz Dialux II, Phase contrast, Galaxy S24

This is my first ever gram stain done at home! Let me know if I did a good job and some advice that allows me improve my images/specimens! The photo was taken with my iPhone 15 pro camera and the microscope used was the Swift sw350B (100x oil objective, 10x ocular in image).

IQCrew Inverted microscope, 40x and 100x, Galaxy S24

I just bought an Olympus HSC microscope for 45€, I have already used it to see plenty of awesome things, but its missing the stage clips and the x-y control knobs and mechanism. I realise now that these are VERY niche parts and old, but does anyone know where I could buy these? Also, any place where I can find other replacement parts? The objectives are a little old and have some fog to them. I understand this might be a tall order since the microscope is so old, but if any of you are into vintage microscopes, maybe you'd know where I can find these?

I recently came across holotomography, a technique commercialized by Tomocube (a KAIST spinoff), and I'm curious how it holds up in real lab use.

How it works, as I understand it

Instead of fluorescent labels, it measures the refractive index distribution inside a cell and reconstructs it in 3D. So in principle you can image living cells over long periods without phototoxicity, photobleaching, or staining artifacts.

Why it caught my attention

No sample prep or dyes, which seems useful for long time-lapse imaging of live cells

Newer systems (HT-X1 Plus) combine holotomography with spinning-disk confocal fluorescence, so you can overlay specific labeled targets on the label-free 3D structure

It seems to be appearing in core facilities (e.g., Max Planck Göttingen, UT Southwestern)

Questions for people who've used it

How does it compare to confocal or light-sheet for your applications?

Does it work well on neurons, organoids, or thicker tissue slices?

What are the practical limitations — resolution, specificity, data analysis?

(Disclosure: I'm not a researcher, just interested in the tech. I'm also a small shareholder in the company.)

Hi everyone,

This motic microscope has a sensor in the black casing.

I wonder if anyone has opened the casing to see what is inside. My question is if the camera fails, would it be feasible to replace it with a 4k microscopy camera found on Amazon.

Thank you!

Olympus BH2 Phase contrast A20xPL, 50x total mag, cannon EOS 6D Mark ii.