Microscope

[1971sharyn]

Hi all,
I am thinking of getting a microscope to look at structures of crystals/stones etc.  What would be the best magnification? My eyes have had it LOL.
Cheers
Sharyn

[scratchie]

The typical gemmology microscope has a magnification of 40 to 60 times.
John

[1971sharyn]

The typical gemmology microscope has a magnification of 40 to 60 times.
John

Thanks John! will start looking

[agemcutr]

I have a Kyowa microscope with extention mast, reduction lense and higher magification eye pieces. I found that getting all the add ons has been a great advantage. I do regret not having a trinocular head because you end up seeing something that you realy want a picture of.

Regards Anthony

[blinkeybill]

I was thinking also of a microscope and had thought of a usb one has anybody tried these

[agemcutr]

I got a USB camera eyepiece several years ago. I think they are much better now than this one it works but not very good.Get the microscope then a USB video/ camera for the trinocular head.

Regards Anthony

[1971sharyn]

I was thinking also of a microscope and had thought of a usb one has anybody tried these

Thats what I was thinking along the lines of, you can get endoscopic type ones on eBay and was thinking of giving these a go.

[fossickeract]

Hi Sharyn,
    You can get El Cheapo USB microscopes on ebay  for about $30 and yes they work, good for looking at minerals crystals and faceted gems. They can also provide photos. However it is difficult to get consistent focus for photos.
                             
First imagine USB microscope second proper camera.
However sometimes the focus is pretty good.

So at the price you might give it a try.
                                          Ted

[Aussie Sapphire]

I dont know what your budget is but a good binoc or trinoc microscope offers more features which are useful for working with gems.

As Anthony describes, if you get a trinoc micro, then you can look through the eyepieces and add a USB camera to the third for taking photos.

There should be lots of info over on Gemology Online forum about this but those members tend to talk about the high end brands that are realistically out of reach of a lot of us price-wise.

These guys have a big range to choose from and you can see how some of the options work to make the job easier:

http://www.amscope.com/index.html

They are an American company so freight is not cheap and dollar has dropped a bit but it will give you some ideas. Not sure the endoscope idea will work all that well but might be worth a try if a lot cheaper. If you are on a real budget, there are usb micros that might do the job for you.

cheers
Leah

[1971sharyn]

Thanks Leah,  I am never going to facet or anything flash like that.  I just want to see the structures of the quartz, gold (?), different feldspar and whatever else I come across here at home, so the budget is not overly high.  And I thought it might be easier to get ID's on rocks if I could take a pic under microscope.
Cheers
Sharyn

[scratchie]

Sharyn ,
I'm a bit late getting back to this but ,
Aussie Sapphire have a 30 power hand loupe with an LED light at a very reasonable price. You'll be amazed what you will see in mineral specimens with one of these and much cheaper than a microscope
John

[wilsonintexas]

My hands are shakey anough at 10X, I can not image holding the 30X without some help. 

I have a older stereo scope, with removable lenzes, it only goes to 20X, and that is not enough power.  I agree something in the  30-60 range would be best.