Microscope
- Thread starter Ammomac
- Start date
Snub Knows
New Member
I use an led lighted pocket microscope. I think it's made by Carson, not sure, it's in my bloom room. Magnifies 60-100x and cost me about 15 bucks. I used to use a jewelers loop. 
HigherDrifter
New Member
For sure
It's where I got mine.
It's got 100x ~ 60x Zoom, Focus, and a light (even included a battery...I think. Don't remember
)As simple as it gets Ammomac
QueenTokelove
New Member
I definitely will be getting me one, I don't know what my bf walked in with but it sucks royally...Can someone post a pic of theirs so I know I am getting the right one.
HigherDrifter
New Member
- Thread starter
- #9
HigherDrifter
New Member
What are you growing?
My budding plants are the same way (@4 weeks also). I can stick my nose right on a bud and smell nothing but that planty smell.
I've heard that dom Sativas (pretty sure that's what I've got...no idea what particular strain) are not particularly odorous when budding, but they sure are stinky when you smoke'm. Indicas are the stinky ones.
- Thread starter
- #11
That looks like about 10 to 20x magnification, not 400x.
If you want something accurate and of quality for checking your trichs on a budget, just get a good 10x Jewelers Loupe like a "Belomo Triplet 10x". Far more useful than those cheap pocket scopes and much easier to use. Even the products in the under $100.00 are crap in my opinion. I tried several and returned them all before buying what I use now.
A quality microscope worth using for trichome checking and cataloging will run you just under $200.00 with a USB imager. Can't recommend the cheapo pocket scopes cause they are hard to use and not very good image quality.
I use a Celestron Lab Grade scope with a 2 megapixel USB digital imager in place of the optical eyepiece.
This is what I get with mine at the lowest power (80x). It can go as high as 500x but that is not very useful for this purpose.
Grand Daddy Purple Week 7:
Blueberry Kush Week 8
Here is my Celestron rig in action: (MacBook Pro Not Included!)
A quality Loupe will offer you far more information on your plant's state than a fuzzy off-color image from a $15.00 pocket scope. Or... You can save your money for awhile and buy something like I use! Pays for itself on the first perfectly timed harvest and the Trichome PORN shots NEVER get old!
Snub Knows
New Member
Here you go:
Yep, same one I have. Well, almost. Mine doesn't have the fingergrips. Yours is a macromax mine is a micromax, or something like that. Both are made for carson optical, available at radio shack, kmart, etc., wherever fine chinese electronics are sold in large quantities. The usb microscopes that maer was talkin about are definitely cool. I've had one on my list of "stuff for next cycle" for a few weeks now.
- Thread starter
- #14
GoldenGoose - that Celestron is pretty slick. obviously a set up like that requires you to remove a portion of the bud to view it. correct?
I can see where the jewelers loop would get use as well.
in a sativa advertised as an 11 week flower - how far along would you expect to be able to see the trics
I can see where the jewelers loop would get use as well.
in a sativa advertised as an 11 week flower - how far along would you expect to be able to see the trics
Thanks Ammomac! I LOVE my Celestron! So does everyone who follows my grow journal! Some of the best trichome photos on 420, so I have been told!
Yep! But that is the way to do it properly. If you look at the photos of my scope in action, you can see how small the actual leaf samples on the slide actually are. Less than a 1/4 inch long and absolutely no damage done to the bud it was taken from.
Trying to get a pocket scope onto a living bud to see anything will do far more damage to the bud than snipping off a tiny leaf tip believe me!
A Jewelers Loupe allows you to view the trichs ON THE PLANT without touching the bud, so there is no contact damage and no need to cut off a piece to look at it. I use my Belomo Triplet every morning when I go out to check on the buds that are nearing harvest. It allows you to get a rough idea of the ratio of clear, cloudy and amber trichomes. However, it doesn't have enough power to really show you everything that is going on. Thats when I snip a tip off a bud leaf and put it under the Celestron to confirm what I think I am seeing in the loupe. The two work great together, so one doesn't really replace the other. If I was on a limited budget and I had to choose between a cheap scope and a Belomo Triplet, I'd get the Triplet in a heart beat!
Blows away even the $60 - $80 dollar pocket scopes in terms of optical quality and more importantly, COLOR accuracy which is what you need when checking trichomes. They should always be inspected under either sunlight, or a 6400k temp light. Checking them under a 2700k or 3000k bloom bulb or worse... a colored LED light won't tell you crap about whats really going on with them.
Most plants start producing trichomes at about week 4 or so. Some a little earlier some a little later. You can see them with the naked eye. Just not well enough to determine their state of maturity/decay etc.
I think you can pick up the BeLOMO Triplet 10x for about $35.00 on the web. Google it and you should be able to shop for the best deal. Check out their website too! They have been around forever and are used by jewlers and rock hounds all over the world. It is the Rolls Royce of loupes!
Hope that helps!
Snub Knows
New Member
Just get a good 10x Jewelers Loupe like a "Belomo Triplet 10x". Far more useful than those cheap pocket scopes and much easier to use.
A quality microscope worth using for trichome checking and cataloging will run you just under $200.00 with a USB imager.
Can't recommend the cheapo pocket scopes cause they are hard to use and not very good image quality.
I use a Celestron Lab Grade scope with a 2 megapixel USB digital imager in place of the optical eyepiece.
A quality Loupe will offer you far more information on your plant's state than a fuzzy off-color image from a $15.00 pocket scope. Or... You can save your money for awhile and buy something like I use! Pays for itself on the first perfectly timed harvest!
Yeah, I miss my loupe. Misplaced it months ago while medicated. It's around here somewhere, lol. But the cheapo pocket one works fine for me for now. Definitely upgrading in the near future, though. Love the pics, Goose, will definitely check out Celestron. Thanks!
Sorry to hear that you lost your Loupe! Look at it as an opportunity to buy a BeLOMO triplet 10 this time!
I can't give that little gem enough props, it is that good for this job!
If you do decide to pick up the same rig I use, here are the actual model numbers...
Microscope:
Celestron 44104 500x Power Advanced Biological Microscope
Digital Imager:
Celestron Digital Microscope Imager
Just go to the Celestron website for more info. As I said, I got both for $170.00 with free shipping from the big online store that starts with the letter "A"
Snub Knows
New Member
Sorry to hear that you lost your Loupe! Look at it as an opportunity to buy a BeLOMO triplet 10 this time!
I can't give that little gem enough props, it is that good for this job!
Lol, mine WAS a Belomo! It was a replacement for the Bausch & Lomb loop I misplaced a few months before that... while medicated (haha, yes again). Bought the pocket scope cuz it was half the price and I refuse to admit that I lost another loop, lol. Anyway, Belomo is tits for sure. Huge lens on it, compared to others I've had.
QueenTokelove
New Member
Well I broke down and ordered a scope off the net, someone had posted a site on here earlier, glad I thought to bookmark it and ordered it from there. Cuz I don't see the post anymore..It cost 13 bucks but add shipping in there so it came out to a lil over 20 bucks. I consider it a good investment. It has 60x 100 magnification so I hope that is good. I can't wait to get up close and personal with my girls....Will post pic of it when I get it. I am so excited I am going to be hawking the mailbox......Yay!!
Btw, I did try to look for one on Radio Shack site but couldn't find the one you guys mentioned.
Btw, I did try to look for one on Radio Shack site but couldn't find the one you guys mentioned.
HigherDrifter
New Member
I had the same problem. You can't always count some company's websites for showing what all's available in all of their stores. I called all the stores in my area (3 of them...I think) and one of them had it in stock. Good fortune smiled upon me (again) that day; turned out to be the one just down the street from my house.
Well, you got one. It should do you fine. I don't understand why some people come down on these cheapos. I used it on my last years crop and I didn't have any problems with it. Heck, I was scopin the buds at night while they were still on the plant and I could see the trichs without too much hassle.
You only need the scope at about 80x to get a clear shot of the trich's colors. You can set the range before you look at your buds with it and then just adjust the focus accordingly once you've got the bud in the scoping view area.
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