Objects seen and observed do not make images by themselves. Light reflects and transforms the images into the human eye and perceived as something that is solid and concrete. But light can be utilized in different ways, and those ways have to do with science and environmental conditions. For instance, light source used in microscopes can magnify objects that are so small and even the bigger objects. And with the growing popularity of microscopes, manufacturers have tried to come up with what they call as hand-held microscopes to facilitate the examinations of field collections.

Biologists and other scientists normally use microscopes to study various organisms that exist in nature. And with the urgency of some examinations or observations, sometimes the utilization of a typical microscope can be difficult due to its size and composition. Fortunately, hand-held, single lens microscopes were created.

Hand-held microscope facilitates the precise and conscientious examination of various field samples immediately. Flat worms and other minute organisms are easily revealed and seen using hand-held microscopes as long as there is sufficient light, but the background should be dark. For example, scientists can easily examine aquatic samples in a small compartment or in a plastic container. These handy and multipurpose mini microscopes allow steady screening of elements using the natural light source. This also enables the observer to examine the samples further using dissecting microscope magnifications.

Factors to Consider

Many factors contribute to the normal and effective operation of microscopes, particularly hand-held microscopes.

a. Resolution

Hand-held microscopes can give you equal resolving power, which lets you see various types of small bacteria, different bands of chromosomes, or various blood particles. Resolution lets you see the two objects as two objects. This means that in close proximity, the image can easily be identified as it is without getting a blurry view. The human eye cannot readily have this kind of observation because it can only see objects at a distance of 100 µm. Anything closer than this will result to blurry images.

With the help of resolution, hand-held microscopes can easily identify the details of minute objects even in extreme nearness.

b. Depth of focus

There are some instances where an image not in focus will appear blurry or unclear. For instance, you can see clear image of an object using a hand-held microscope with a 10X objective. As you increase magnification, the image will appear blurry. That is the time that you have to refocus to see the details of the object at higher magnification.

Most microscopes use condenser diaphragm to define the depth of field. Depth of field refers to the object in focus. Hand-held microscopes have focusing condensers that allows easy access of light to focus on the object in observation. The result in depth of focus has direct impact on the resolution of the objects.

c. Magnification

In achieving total magnification, the magnification of the eyepieces should be multiplied to the magnification of the objectives. If there are intermediate modules, these things should be included. Hence, using a 10X eyepiece and a 10X objective, you can derive 100X magnification of the object.

The problem is that some people are trying to achieve a better view of the images by using higher magnification of the eyepieces. But this is not the case because it does not necessarily mean that the higher the eyepiece magnification, the higher the resolution. In most cases, higher magnification, such as 1000X in total magnification may result to poor images. Resolutions are not improved by higher eyepiece magnification.

However, one should keep in mind that resolution and magnification should always go hand in hand. Once cannot exists without the other. And this concept is applicable even with hand-held microscope.

Availability

Most hand-held microscopes are available in 400X and 200 X magnifications. These types of hand-held microscopes make use of a white light LED for “coaxial illumination.” Since microscopes use light sources for clearer view of the objects, in hand-held microscopes, light is set up into the ocular axis so that it appears at the apex of the objective lens and hit the “ferrule” at 90 degrees to the endface. This type of illumination in hand-held microscopes creates and advanced level of resolution resulting to exceptional aspects of contamination and scratches.

Most hand-held microscopes have optical magnification of 400X and 200X. Since they are handy and portable, most hand-held microscopes operate using batteries. They are also lightweight, weighing only 0.6 kilogram at the most.

Indeed, with the availability of hand-held microscopes in the market today, more and more people will be able to observe nature without the difficulty of carrying bulky microscopes.