Microscope from the web. My homemade microscope from a webcam

Attention: this design has a number of shortcomings that could be eliminated and the web camera could be used more effectively as a microscope. With the new design you can

Weekend DIY:

For a long time now there has been a dusty BIOLAM school microscope on the balcony, it’s a shame to throw it away, after all, there are children, I think it might still come in handy.

One weekend, while cleaning the balcony again, the idea came to mind to attach a camera to the microscope in order to photograph the images and view them on the computer screen. But the idea turned out to be not very successful, because... It was difficult to attach the camera to the eyepiece.

So everything is in order. The first thing is choosing a web camera. I was guided by the cylindrical shape of the lens to make it easier to mount the camera on the microscope eyepiece. The web camera has been purchased, the most difficult thing remains - securely attaching the camera to the eyepiece. I start looking for an adapter from the eyepiece to the camera from scrap materials, and settle on a fastum cover gel - external The diameter corresponds exactly to the diameter of the eyepiece, and the inner diameter of the camera lens.

The only thing left to do is to connect all these parts into one whole: I solved the problem with the help of silicone hot melt adhesive

We assemble the entire structure into a single whole and get an excellent toy for both children and adults.

Now our microscope is very popular at home, so with the help of a simple modernization we gave a second life to old things

The results of our research, obtained using an “electron” microscope, will be published additionally.

for example LCD matrix of a touchscreen mobile phone

Below is the LCD matrix of the communicator

A microscope is needed not only for studying the surrounding world and objects, although this is so interesting! Sometimes this is just a necessary thing that will make it easier to repair equipment, help make neat solders, and avoid mistakes in fastening miniature parts and their exact location. But it is not necessary to purchase an expensive unit. Eat great alternatives. What can you make a microscope from at home?

Microscope from a camera

One of the simplest and available ways, but if you have everything you need. You will need a camera with a 400 mm, 17 mm lens. There is no need to disassemble or remove anything, the camera will remain working.

We make a microscope from a camera with our own hands:

• We connect a 400 mm and a 17 mm lens.
• We bring a flashlight to the lens and turn it on.
• We apply a drug, substance or other micro-subject of study to the glass.

We focus and photograph the object under study in an enlarged state. The photo from such a homemade microscope turns out to be quite clear; the device can enlarge hair or fur, or onion scales. More suitable for entertainment.

Microscope from a mobile phone

The second simplified method for making an alternative microscope. You need any phone with a camera, preferably one without auto focus. Additionally, you will need a lens from a small laser pointer. It is usually small, rarely exceeding 6 mm. It is important not to scratch.

We fix the removed lens on the camera eye with the convex side outward. We press it with tweezers, straighten it, you can make a frame around the edges from a piece of foil. It will hold a small piece of glass. We point the camera with the lens at the object and look at the phone screen. You can simply observe or take an electronic photograph.

If on this moment If you don’t have a laser pointer at hand, you can use a sight from a children’s toy with a laser beam in the same way; you just need the glass itself.

Microscope from a webcam

Detailed instructions for making a USB microscope from a webcam. You can use the simplest and oldest model, but this will affect the image quality.

Additionally, you need optics from a sight from a children's weapon or other similar toy, a tube for the sleeve and other small items at hand. For backlighting, LEDs taken from the old laptop matrix will be used.

Making a microscope from a webcam with your own hands:

• Preparation. We disassemble the camera, leaving the pixel matrix. We remove the optics. Instead, we fix a bronze bushing in this place. It should match the size of the new optics; it can be turned from a tube on a lathe.
• The new optics from the sight must be secured in the manufactured sleeve. To do this, we drill two holes approximately 1.5 mm each and immediately make threads on them.
• We stick in the bolts, which should follow the threads and match in size. Thanks to screwing, you can adjust the focus distance. For convenience, you can put beads or balls on the bolts.
• Backlight. We use fiberglass. It's better to take double-sided. We make a ring of the appropriate size.
• For LEDs and resistors you need to cut small tracks. We solder it.
• Installing the backlight. To fix, you need a threaded nut, the size is inside manufactured ring. Solder.
• We provide food. To do this, from the wire that will connect the former camera and the computer, we bring out two wires +5V and -5V. After which the optical part can be considered ready.

You can do more in a simple way and make an autonomous light from a gas lighter with a flashlight. But when it all works from different sources, the result is a cluttered structure.

To improve your home microscope, you can build a moving mechanism. An old floppy drive will work just fine for this. This is a once used device for floppy disks. You need to disassemble it, remove the device that moved the read head.

If desired, we make a special work table from plastic, plexiglass or other available material. A tripod with a mount would be a good idea to make it easier to use. homemade device. Here you can turn on your imagination.

There are also other instructions and diagrams on how to make a microscope. But most often the above methods are used. They may vary only slightly depending on the presence or absence of key parts. But, the need for invention is cunning, you can always come up with something of your own and show off your originality.

DIY microscope photo

I'll try to tell you how I made a camera for a microscope from a cheap Canyon CNR-WCAM820 webcam. The camera is made on a 1/3", 2MP matrix. I chose this camera, first of all, because of its design, which is convenient for modification on the knees. At the same time, the camera remains undamaged, you can put everything back and use it as a regular webcam.

I WARN! You can repeat everything stated below at your own peril and risk, and I do not bear any responsibility for things damaged by you. In this case, you will lose the warranty on the webcam!

So, let's begin :

1. We disassemble the camera and unscrew everything unnecessary (holder and lens)

2. We measure the diameter of the lens flange and grind a ring of the same outer diameter from thin (1mm) aluminum. Ring inner diameter equal to diameter frames of the focus reducer lens used. I took the eye lens of the viewfinder of an old Zenit-E camera. This lens is a plano-convex single lens. By coincidence, it turned out to be a perfect fit for my LOMO apochromats. The chromatism of the magnification is compensated quite well by this lens.

3. I cut out a second ring from 1.5mm foil PCB (not necessarily foil, maybe another durable material).

Its outer diameter should be such that it fits inside the macro ring (I have M39) and is pressed against the second such macro ring. And the inner hole is for the frame of our gear lens. Both rings must be painted with matte black paint.

4. Now we assemble the “sandwich”. We put an aluminum ring on the lens frame and press it with a nut from the video finder lens. We glue a textolite ring on top of the nut. It would be better to fasten it with the same nut, but unfortunately in Zenit there is only one.

5. We put the resulting gearbox in place of the camera lens, before that we put one macro ring on the camera, and assemble the camera body. The convex side of the lens should face outward. 6. To attach the camera to a microscope (Biolam, MBR, MBI), you need to make an adapter from two long macro-rings. I only used 1 set of M42 rings and 2 sets of M39 rings. This is quite enough for mounting this camera and for mounting DSLRs.

So, take two long rings and glue the sides with the internal thread to each other. For reliability, I glued it with epoxy resin and wrapped it in thin synthetic fabric. This adapter will withstand a lot. I think the adapter can be made by gluing a thin macro ring into the front part of the gutted Helios-44 lens. In this case, it will be possible to smoothly change the length of the tube to achieve

correct position camera relative to the lens. 7. To install the camera on the microscope, remove the tube, twist the conical mount from it and screw it to our adapter. We screw one thin macro ring to the other end of the adapter, place our camera on it and press it with the ring that is put on our camera. Twist, but do not tighten completely. After connecting the camera to the computer and launching the program (I use the wonderful and free program Micam-1.4), we get an image on the monitor screen. (Before this, you need to adjust the microscope for sharpness with the eyepiece and place any object in the center of the field of view). Then, by moving the camera to the sides, we center the image. We tighten it. The sharpness should be in approximately the same position as with the eyepiece. If the focusing position is very different, you need to select the overall height of the pipe from the macro rings. Hello, habra users! This post will show you how to make one out of an old one.. It's really easy to do. If you are interested, continue under the hack.

Step 1: Required Materials

• Actually, the webcam itself
• Screwdriver
• Super glue
• Empty box
• Brain and some free time

Step 2: Opening the Webcam

You need to extend the capture button wires to get still images. I also took out the LED on/off wires. They were gray and yellow flowers(yours may differ).

Step 3: Working with the Lens

Step 4: Assembling the Camera

Step 5: Final Stage

Some pictures taken with this webcam/microscope

Enjoy! ;)

Nowadays, Web cameras have become very inexpensive and accessible devices. Of course, they can be used not only for communicating on the Internet, because even the simplest camera is still some kind of video recording device. The matrices of modern cameras are very small - this allows them to reduce their cost and obtain high resolution. This feature can be successfully used to build a simple microscope based on a Web camera. The principle of its operation is based on the fact that the shorter the focal length of the lens, the greater the magnification it provides, while Web camera lenses are designed to work with very small matrices and, accordingly, have a very short focal length - usually within 3-4 mm. To ensure that the camera lens works in microscope mode, it is enough to turn it over with its front end facing the camera. Indeed, in normal position The back edge of the lens is very close to the camera, and the subject is relatively far away. By turning the lens over, we get the opportunity to examine a very close object (instead of the matrix), focusing its image on a relatively distant matrix, and at the same time the lens operates in its normal mode, because the path of rays in the lens system is reversible and, in general, it does not matter which side the object is located, and with which - the photodetector. (By the way, this inverted lens technique is also widely used in macro photography in classical photography)

So, we need any Web camera with a screw-out lens, several parts of a children's metal construction set for assembling the base and focusing mechanism, a couple of screws and an LED with a battery for illumination. For example, I used a cheap 1.3 megapixel Trust camera.

So that the camera can be easily returned to its original state, the lens is mounted upside down on the camera using a decorative ring and an elastic band; the design of the focusing mechanism is clear from the photograph. Please note: the slats on which the camera is mounted in the working position must be horizontal - otherwise, when focusing, the object will shift in the field of view.

The object table, the role of which is played by ordinary clothespins with slightly filed clamping surfaces, is illuminated from below by a white LED. It is advisable to provide the ability to adjust the brightness of the backlight.

Naturally, this design is not the only one possible and developing your own version can be a very exciting technical puzzle.

All that remains is to install the slide with the drug in the clothespin holders and connect the camera to the computer.

To assess the magnification of a microscope, the easiest way is to photograph the pixels on the monitor screen - their real size can be easily determined by knowing the size of the monitor and its resolution.

As an example and to evaluate the magnification, I present a fragment of a photograph of the simplest preparation, familiar to everyone from biology lessons - onion cells. However, you can get a higher magnification - to do this you need to move the lens away from the web camera matrix using an additional sleeve.