Nowadays, an ordinary brightfield microscope gains power once a digital accessory is attached to it. Although the numerous achievements brightfield microscopes have contributed to the world of science are nothing to scoff at, it is however also undeniable that they can only be made more useful today with the help of digital equipment.

What Is a Brightfield Microscope and How Does it Work?
Brightfield microscopy is the simplest illumination technique used by microscopes today. It was considered a remarkable invention in the old days because it greatly improved the resolution of magnified images of microscopic samples and specimens.

Light coming a microscope’s light source is transmitted to the sample. As this is brightfield illumination, only white light is used for illuminating the sample. Light comes from below since the light source is always placed below the microscope’s stage with the exception of inverse microscopes.

Bright field microscopes are capable of observing live and static samples and specimen but incapable of observing nearly and completely transparent objects unless they’re effectively stained.

How to Operate a Brightfield Microscope
Place the brightfield microscope on any firm and stable setting. Avoid setting it on the edge or anywhere else where it might be easily hit and topple off. Plug in the microscope then switch it on. Although sample preparation is generally unnecessary, you do need to be sure that transparent samples are properly stained before placing it on a slide. Set the slide on the microscope’s stage and secure it with stage clips.

Choose the appropriate eyepiece and objective lens then start adjusting from low to high power. Be careful when rotating the objective lenses: exert the gentlest force necessary and hold the nosepiece only. Use the coarse and fine adjustment knobs to make the image fully clear. If necessary, you can also adjust the condenser to limit or increase the amount of light reaching your specimen. For more information about brightfield microscopes, http://www.brightfield-microscope.com may be of help.

The Benefits of Going Digital
Now, a brightfield microscope is always helpful to one’s research and experiment but its usefulness increases once you introduce digital elements to it. The following are just some of the benefits you’ll enjoy when you start using a digital microscope with brightfield capabilities and vice versa.

Image Capturing – This is the essential benefit of going digital. Ordinary microscopes can only let you view and observe but none of them allow you to capture what you’re seeing and share it with other people. But with digital technology, the images you see can be captured in a variety of ways. By attaching a digital camera eyepiece to your brightfield microscope, you’ll be able to capture images of your samples and specimens right away.

Video Capturing – Depending on your microscope and camera model, you might also be able to capture video footage of your samples and specimens. Indeed, because of this very important digital benefit, video footage of cell mitosis had been produced and shared with the rest of the world!

Multiple Viewing – Microscopic studies used to be solitary tasks till microscopes with dual heads had been created. Although two pairs of eyes are certainly better than one, anything more than two is certainly appreciated if you are working on an important study. Thanks to digital technology, multiple viewing is now possible.

Once you’ve connected a digital accessory to your microscope, it can transmit images to a similarly connected monitor. The variety of viewing options depends on the model and features of microscope and camera you’re using. Some, for instance, allow you to divide the monitor into several parts. One area would focus on real-time images while other areas would be focused on previously taken shots and presented for comparison.

In other cases, your digital brightfield microscope is also capable of transmitting real-time video footage to your monitor. If this is connected to any networking system, people in other locations may view the same shots as well!

File Storage – Built-in or attached card readers allow you to automatically or immediately save images and video footages taken of the samples. When you have a presentation, you can also retrieve images from the database quickly and share it with others. Digital technology also allows you to save important files in your preferred format.

Image Editing – Last but not the least is the added capabilities of image editing. With digital technology, you can choose to edit saved images in real-time or afterwards in your own computer. You can change the size and angle. You can also add text and image overlays. You can draw lines, shapes, and symbols. You can add notes for further referencing.

Whether you’re a student, hobbyist, or professional with scientific pursuits, a digital brightfield microscope is definitely an invaluable asset you can’t miss out on!