Question: microscope zoom or fixed?

[John Cleston]

How do you use your microscopes? What power do you use most? Do you change powers often?

I expect to be a hobby engraver, but I want to be a good one someday. I have bought several good books and a few entry level tools over the last ten years.

My first engraving class in Troy NC is next month. A stainless folding knife is what I have been thinking about for my class project. I'll try and submit a sketch or to in the next few days.

Unless my class project is a complete flop, I post a photo.

I'll be using an optivisor for the class but I have been thinking about a microscope lately. Amscope.com sure has a lot to choose from.

Would a fixed power scope be more durable?

August 3 to the 12th could a little hot, I sure hope the class includes A/C.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi john

A zoom steroscope is the way to go if you are think along those lines. I'm not a tech person but the GRS web site has good specs on the sort of thing you are after.

One word of advise...............buy a good one from the start. They all look the same from the outside but when you start looking through them, then the differences become very obvious. Continuous sharp zoom, brightness, sharpness, clarity etc etc. The down side is that good ones cost more but you won't regret a cent of it and your eyes will thank you.

You know the price is about right when your eyes start to water a bit!!!

You can buy a cheap one and think........wow, that's OK simply because you know nothing better. Then when you look through a good one................you will wish that you brought a better one from the start.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[rhenrichs]

Amen Andrew.

Roger

 

[monk]

you need a stereo zoom. it has a continuosly variable power change, not fixed power. the scope must also have a .5 objective lens. this cuts the power in half, but increases the working distance under the objective lens. it gives you 6-7" of clearance for your hands to get in there and engrave.
even with the power cut in half, that's usually enough for almost all normal engraving. if greater power is needed, simply change to 15x, wide field eyepieces.
you need not go to the poorhouse buying a scope. don't get in a hurry. there's a "scopetip" in the tips section on scopes. check that out. get on ebay and look at scopes for a couple weeks to see what's out there. you can get a good deal if you shop wisely.

 

[Powderhorn]

John:
Pay attention to what Monk says. You need a zoom scope. Also you need to take into consideration, how the scope functions, also how the pupil spacing is set up. I am not trying to sell you my old scope, but the reason that I am selling it is because of the way that the papillary distance is set on that scope. I had Cataract, and Detached Retina surgery. And after surgery, I could not get the scope to work for me, not the scope, just me.
The difference between the Leica and a Meiji is the way the papillary distance is set, on the Leica, when you move one eyepiece, the other moves the same amount, on the Meiji, both eyepieces move independent of each other.

 

[Sam]

My advice, in a nutshell, is to avoid Chinese made microscopes like the plague. Get a Meiji or better (Zeiss, Leica). The Japanese made Meiji is the standard of the engraving industry and is an excellent microscope. There are lots of Chinese made copies which are not as bright, not as sharp, have focus drift problems, and worse. Read the Tips Archive for more info on selecting a microscope.

 

[monk]

john: i bought a used scienscope model ssz. it has performed ok for me. retains focus, flat field, fairly good color and bright field, and distortion free. got mine on ebay for good price. has a boom stand- a bit of a bummer, but all i could afford at the time. the ssz model has a unique feature in that at any time, the body can be upgraded to a trinocular. mine has diopter adjustment on both occulars, and enough interpupillary adjustment to accomodate anyone. some scienscope models (listed in the tip section) are substandard. the ssz works well for me, that's all i can say. the company also still sells accessories for them.