Good (usb?) Micro scope for inspecting styli?

[cafe latte]

I wouldn't go for a stereo microscope, and not an expensive one.
Getting 200x magnification with a stereo microscope is really pushing it, and stereo isn't really necessairy.
Especially if your goal is to take pictures, stereo is not the way to go imo.
200x is the minimum to look at wear. And for pictures, you need to get a good depth of field in 1 shot, which is pretty much impossible at those magnifications. Most quality pictures you see on VE are made with stacking software. Focus on that
And I expect that it'll cost you quite a lot to convert that nexius zoom to 200x.

For a first try and get a feel for it, I'd get a normal, used, older microscope of decent quality from Marktplaats. Like an olympus, Elna breukhoven, some euromex'es. That doesn't have to cost more than €100.
Get a 10x, 20x and 40x objective (more is useless and is normally always oil immersion, so useless for this), 10x and 40x usually already comes with the microscope, and get either a smartphone fixture/holder for the oculair (you need a 5x, 10x (both are pretty standard), and if you can a 15x, or get a camera that is an oculair insert (there are good and bad ones, watch youtube reviews or google).
And get 2 led lights on goosenecks. They need to be single point led lights. I used a set that consists of more leds in a group, but you see the individual leds in the reflection on the stylus which is not good.

And definately get a microscope with a crosstable (kruistafel). to make a fixture for the cartridge that you can easily pinpoint.

The pictures posted above are imho not sufficient to judge stylus wear. They look great, but not enough magnification.

I do this for a living and I use a stereo microscope to do my work as does VDH (there is a youtube). My stereo microscope is super clear with heaps of depth of field even at 250x

 

[cafe latte]

Due to my business I have a lot of scopes.
Compound work the Shure was a converted Compound scope. The problem with compound is the objective is often too much and the stage is often too close.
Stereo lenses are wider so better for side lighting, no stage and small objective and big depth of field.
On 250x my Stereo microscope I can see in focus the wear patches AND the tip.
OM my compound scope at 250x I can see the wear patch but the rest of the tip is out if focus. This aside setting up with thr compound is a pain in the butt, but with the Stereo, start with low mag I clean the tip and position then gradually zoom in.
With a compound you have to select 250x and trial and error focus and reposition it is a real pain in the butt.
Chris

 

[mr_petit]

My stereo microscope

And how expensive was your current setup?
You have to compare that with what the TS is probably going to buy.
I bet you're working with one of the top setups of one of the known name brands. Maybe not something ridiculously expensive as Leica, but a top end Amscope or something like that, if you're getting good quality 250x. I'd imagine that's still a $4-5k setup or something like that.

BTW, do you have any pictures you've made with your setup of wear patches so we can see the quality you're working with?
Can you post them?

 

[cafe latte]

And how expensive was your current setup?
You have to compare that with what the TS is probably going to buy.
I bet you're working with one of the top setups of one of the known name brands. Maybe not something ridiculously expensive as Leica, but a top end Amscope or something like that, if you're getting good quality 250x. I'd imagine that's still a $4-5k setup or something like that.

BTW, do you have any pictures you've made with your setup of wear patches so we can see the quality you're working with?
Can you post them?

My set up is 5k, but my first stereo scope was a couple of hundred bucks from ebay which was a high quality Japanese scope. Many such bargains you find online.
Re pics the resolution of what you see through the lens and what the camera takes is two very different things.
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

This is a quick snap I just took through the eyepiece without setting the camera up, it is good but the actual image is far better and super sharp

 

[cafe latte]

And how expensive was your current setup?
You have to compare that with what the TS is probably going to buy.
I bet you're working with one of the top setups of one of the known name brands. Maybe not something ridiculously expensive as Leica, but a top end Amscope or something like that, if you're getting good quality 250x. I'd imagine that's still a $4-5k setup or something like that.

BTW, do you have any pictures you've made with your setup of wear patches so we can see the quality you're working with?
Can you post them?

My Meiji which was 200 dollars is just as good but what I have now is more versatile and I can change focus far faster which is great but not needed for a hobbyist.
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

The pic took only seconds to set up as I could position on low power and zoom in whilst positioning.
Way easier than on a compound scope

 

[mr_petit]

Ok, that's a very good picture. Especially if you can also make that with a $200 stereo microscope. (for a $5k instrument, I'd expect that).
The depth of field is excellent.
But I just don't see any stereo microscopes on ebay or anywhere else that go up to 250x or anywhere near that. they're usually 40x or in that range. So they'd need extensive modified optics. Is that expensive and easy to get for an old, used Meiji or similar?

For a comparison, these are the pictures I get with a normal microscope. A very old/cheap late 60's olympus student microscope that can be had used for $30 all day long everywhere on local craigslists or equivalent, and an old compact camera that I hoover on the oculair (works a little bit better for me than my phone, but I use that too).

Less depth of field than your $5k setup for sure (wouldn't be good if it had more...), but still easily sufficient to determine stylus wear.

I have no problems setting it up, 1 or 2 min work, I start at a lower magnification and then rotate a stronger objective. And I don't even have a cross table, I just use some blue tack and freehand it. That said, I've had this microscope for 4 decades now, so I'm rather used to it


edit....hmm the picture might be a bit big to view comfortably... Maybe I should've used less magnification.
The thumbnail might be better :

 

[ConradH]

That's pretty typical for what I see in high magnification views. Though I'm fairly well versed in optics, I don't know what specific objectives you'd buy to get great depth of field at high magnifications. Not even sure it's possible. Remember, a traditional microscope is basically a tube. It's the objective and eyepieces that determine everything, and/or any relay lenses you need between it and the camera. The classic setup would be a high quality flat field objective and a "photographic" eyepiece to project to the camera sensor, something like https://microscopecentral.com/collections/olympus-photo-microscope-eyepieces For great DOF you need focus stacking. That's best done with a machinist's dial indicator on the scope so you can get even steps. I do a lot of this at work, but never at the magnifications needed for a stylus. Does anybody know what objectives were used on those dedicated Shure stylus scopes? (edit- seems to be a 10X 0.25 NA)

 

[TrevorBarten]

And how expensive was your current setup?
You have to compare that with what the TS is probably going to buy.
I bet you're working with one of the top setups of one of the known name brands. Maybe not something ridiculously expensive as Leica, but a top end Amscope or something like that, if you're getting good quality 250x. I'd imagine that's still a $4-5k setup or something like that.

BTW, do you have any pictures you've made with your setup of wear patches so we can see the quality you're working with?
Can you post them?

TBF the scope I bought (and am still waiting for) is a device that can be bought new right now for around 800 euros and seemed to have received great reviews. I doubt that the scope will be the issue if I can't use it properly.

 

[TrevorBarten]

Ok, that's a very good picture. Especially if you can also make that with a $200 stereo microscope. (for a $5k instrument, I'd expect that).
The depth of field is excellent.
But I just don't see any stereo microscopes on ebay or anywhere else that go up to 250x or anywhere near that. they're usually 40x or in that range. So they'd need extensive modified optics. Is that expensive and easy to get for an old, used Meiji or similar?

For a comparison, these are the pictures I get with a normal microscope. A very old/cheap late 60's olympus student microscope that can be had used for $30 all day long everywhere on local craigslists or equivalent, and an old compact camera that I hoover on the oculair (works a little bit better for me than my phone, but I use that too).

Less depth of field than your $5k setup for sure (wouldn't be good if it had more...), but still easily sufficient to determine stylus wear.

I have no problems setting it up, 1 or 2 min work, I start at a lower magnification and then rotate a stronger objective. And I don't even have a cross table, I just use some blue tack and freehand it. That said, I've had this microscope for 4 decades now, so I'm rather used to it

View attachment 3288169
edit....hmm the picture might be a bit big to view comfortably... Maybe I should've used less magnification.
The thumbnail might be better :
View attachment 3288169

The main reason I quickly decided on the euromex scope is because it is a modern scope so I assume most of the required add ons would be available still. It is still sold new so they better be.

 

[mr_petit]

Ok, I hope it fits your needs. I think we all eagerly wait on some cracking stylus pictures

 

[cafe latte]

Ok, that's a very good picture. Especially if you can also make that with a $200 stereo microscope. (for a $5k instrument, I'd expect that).
The depth of field is excellent.
But I just don't see any stereo microscopes on ebay or anywhere else that go up to 250x or anywhere near that. they're usually 40x or in that range. So they'd need extensive modified optics. Is that expensive and easy to get for an old, used Meiji or similar?

For a comparison, these are the pictures I get with a normal microscope. A very old/cheap late 60's olympus student microscope that can be had used for $30 all day long everywhere on local craigslists or equivalent, and an old compact camera that I hoover on the oculair (works a little bit better for me than my phone, but I use that too).

Less depth of field than your $5k setup for sure (wouldn't be good if it had more...), but still easily sufficient to determine stylus wear.

I have no problems setting it up, 1 or 2 min work, I start at a lower magnification and then rotate a stronger objective. And I don't even have a cross table, I just use some blue tack and freehand it. That said, I've had this microscope for 4 decades now, so I'm rather used to it

View attachment 3288169
edit....hmm the picture might be a bit big to view comfortably... Maybe I should've used less magnification.
The thumbnail might be better :
View attachment 3288169

You don't need much to get used scopes like my Meiji up from 60x to 200 plus x just new eyepieces and a Barlow lenses.
All I will say is avoided cheap ebay lenses and cheap Barlow. You pay a little more for genuine glass but the difference no pun intended is night and day.
They are so sharp I can often see what I need without the Barlow.
The key with stereo microscopes is get 4 or 4.5x objective so that when you fit big eyepieces and a Barlow you will have enough magnification.
Chris

 

[Nashou66]

I started a thread a few days ago on a cheap set up , a 9.99 dollar Swift scope like the one shore uses, a Propper Zoom eyepiece . I had to mod the Swift a bit to get the adjustment range needed but it works pretty well.

My Stylus microscope build for under 70 bucks

Over the past few years I have had an eBay search alert for a Shure stylus microscope. One over the last month one has come up but bidding was high and the seller got shafted three times by potential buyers not paying. It always went for over $700 , Now looking at the seller pics I began search...

audiokarma.org

Here are some pics I took tonight with a just delivered 5 MP Swift eyepiece USB camera .

One was with the lights full brightness the other I lowered it to see the difference .

Nashou

 

[TrevorBarten]

I got the microscope in. Still getting used to how it works. Currently the maximum magnification is as shown in the pictures attached. I believe the current magnification max is around 45x.

 

[cafe latte]

I got the microscope in. Still getting used to how it works. Currently the maximum magnification is as shown in the pictures attached. I believe the current magnification max is around 45x.

What eyepieces are in it?
Chris

 

[TrevorBarten]

What eyepieces are in it?
Chris

10x ones, I ordered some 20x pieces and a barlow lens from AliExpress. The eye pieces have arrived (still waiting for the barlow lens) now I get this image, supposedly 90x zoom now. The barlow lens I ordered was 2 or 3x I think.

 

[TrevorBarten]

After cleaning:
Feel like this is almost at a useable level now.

 

[cafe latte]

10x ones, I ordered some 20x pieces and a barlow lens from AliExpress. The eye pieces have arrived (still waiting for the barlow lens) now I get this image, supposedly 90x zoom now. The barlow lens I ordered was 2 or 3x I think.

Also turn off lower lamp and illuminate from above. You can get side swan neck lamps or ring lamps off ebay