Should you upgrade to plan lenses?

[@alexandrevaliquette3883]

I taught the benefit of PLAN was more for the higher magnification, not the other way around. Thank you, an image is way better than only internet words!

[@zoominmicroscopy]

Thank you!

[@wingertm]

Thank you so much for your comprehensive, unbiased reviews. They’ve really been an asset in helping to demystify my microscope purchasing process. Based on your reviews (and numerous forums, etc) I’ve settled on the T340-DK-LED by Amscope as my family’s first microscope. I plan to at some point upgrade to plan objectives as well based on your experience. Keep up the great work and I look forward to future content on your channel.

[@zoominmicroscopy]

Thank you very much! I'm sure your family will have great fun using the scope!!

[@markc.5750]

The T670 lenses are infinity objectives while the T340 are not. Does that make a difference (especially at lower magnifications)?

[@zoominmicroscopy]

Hi Markus! The different standards of the two scopes (infinity vs. 160mm (DIN)) shouldn't make a difference in the quality of the images. The path length of the light in a 160mm scope must be maintained to work 100% because the light is converging to a focal point in the body of the scope (exactly 160mm from the back focal plane of the objective). The addition of polarizers or other elements into the light tube can effectively alter that length. In infinity scopes, the light passing through the body of the scope is parallel, so in theory, the path length could be infinitely long- So the addition of polarizers, for example, won't affect focal points. I've even seen a scope with adjustable height- I have to check that out, but my guess is that the adjustable height is made possible by infinity optics.

[@philipchesleyiii]

Was kinda worring about not getting the 670, as I just bought the 340 yesterday. Good to know there isn't that much of a big difference. Should be here today. Well be my first microscope. Well see how shes goes. Also bought a few plan objectives as well.

[@zoominmicroscopy]

How are you enjoying your scope?

[@philipchesleyiii]

@@zoominmicroscopy Ehh. Well as it was neat for about 2 days. Bought a camera with it. The performance of it for dark field was very disappointing. Couldn't really use it that well with my eyes. Had some swelling in my eyes a few years ago, the issue gave me a lot of floaters. Ended up returning it.

[@zoominmicroscopy]

@philipchesleyiii1288 I’m sorry to hear that. Thanks for replying.

[@bradnelson3595]

I got the 60x Plan lens for my Amscope B340. But I'm having trouble getting my post to show up here so that I can post a sample.

[@zoominmicroscopy]

Great!! Thanks for trying to post. We’re you trying to incorporate a picture straight into your comment or provide a link?

[@zoominmicroscopy]

And… Congratulations! You are the winner of the $25 giveaway celebrating our reaching 250 subscribers. To receive your prize, please send an email to [e-mail], and we’ll work out the transfer.

[@bradnelson3595]

@@zoominmicroscopy The post included a link to the photo (and I tried re-posting again...maybe third time the charm). I was wondering if the automatic spam filters were tagging it or something because of the link.

[@thombaz]

I don't know why most stuff is much cheaper in the us then in tge EU while we earn much less money. That scope I can only find here is more then 550usd...

[@bradnelson3595]

Thanks for the very detailed and organized review. I like how you labeled everything clearly and provided a focus reference. And to the best of my knowledge, this is first video I've seen that's taken any kind of real look at what PLAN lenses can do. A few weeks ago I bought the B340 based on your reviews. I'm happy with it. My interest regarding a PLAN lens is in regard to perhaps swapping a 60x PLAN for the 100x oil lens...which seems to be a common thing to do. If you have the 60x PLAN lens, I'd love to see a photo taken with it. The B340 came with 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x (oil) objectives. Maybe I just got lucky, but all are sharp from edge-to-edge. I'm not seeing any focus disparity like you've demonstrated. Here's a shot of a commercial slide (cross section of a worm) using the 4x objective (via an iPhone adapter): photos.app.goo.gl/mCTcaKQAs5XGruW77 I might get the 60x PLAN lens. I haven't decided yet. My next minor upgrade is hooking the iPhone up to an HDMI monitor with an adapter. I've already done that via my Nikon D3300 (focused through the ocular...which is a bit of pain but it can be made to work). Not only is this fun just playing with the tech, but it makes viewing just a little more comfortable for any long stretches.

[@zoominmicroscopy]

Thank you for your kind words and sharing your micrograph!! That’s a nice image- the colors are so vibrant!! I looked on the amscope web site for the correct plan 60x objective, but the only one I saw in the 160mm standard was for metallurgical application- that is it’s not designed to look through a cover glass. I’ll look at microscope central to see what they have. The only plan 60x lens I have is an infinity lens that I got for my swift stellar 1. It also works on the Amscope T670- if you’d like to see images from that. Thanks again! Andy

[@bradnelson3595]

Thanks, Andy. I see that Amscope (on their site) has a $231.00 60x Plan objective. I wonder if that is the one for metallurgical work. They (and Amazon) also have a $76.00 version of the 60X Plan objective. I've got that on order (and can return it if it isn't suitable for the B34o). But I had earlier contacted Amscope about it and they said it would work. We'll see. The thing is, I never use the 100x oil objective. So even if there isn't that big of a leap between the 40x (which I have) and the 60x, it at least will get used. I take no credit for the photo. The camera in the iPhone SE II does a really nice job (if you take care to save in tiff or save in RAW format). And I'm surprised as heck that the $25.00 iPhone adapter works as well as it does and isn't a complete piece of junk. When I get the 60x Plan objective, I'll post a sample photo here...probably using the same commercial slide.

[@zoominmicroscopy]

I took another look and found the right 60x plan lens for the b340. It’s only $76! Here’s the link! amscope.com/collections/microscope-parts-accessories-microscope-objective-lens/products/pa60x-v300