DIY usb microscope

[Mark Ian]

Hello guys,

 

I modified my usb camera to work as a microscope yesterday evening. I was astounded at its magnification power and resolution. I used a cheap ~20$ camera with a resolution of 480x360 pixels. Nematodes are about an eigth of the width of the screen so about 60 pixels (equals about 6 cm) in length. If we assume a nematode is around 1.5 mm in length this would be a magnification of about 40x. I followed the instructions provided by the wiki entry of hackteria.org DIY_microscopy dissasembling the camera to its circuit board, flipping the lens for an even higher resolution, and mounting the modificated camera to a plastic frame. It is a fine apparatus which can be assembled quickly and at an extremly low cost. A must do for any biology lover (or of any science infact).

 

Now that I have taste blood however, I crave to modify an even better usb camera with higher resolution and magnification. Additionally. I would like to modifiy the lense in such a way, that its altered focal distance allows a higher magnification. After I have done this I may add an extra stand for the prep glass for easier focusing (its a pain to do it by hand).

 

If you have built such a device, your expertise desired.

 

here are some questions to the expert:

1. which camera do you suggest?
2. can one modify thr focal distance of the lense? (Ive seen it done but I do not know which distances are reasonable)