How to choose a Microscope for Diamond Setting or Engraving

Hello and welcome to

setting

the standard on YouTube. My name is Ian Bernard. Today we'll talk a little about stereo

microscope

s, how they work, and I'll explain the most important things you need to know. When deciding which one to

choose

to help you and your jewelry, stone

setting

or

engraving

, we'll also talk about some industry standard scopes that I recommend and at the end of the video I'll go over a couple of my tips for getting good deals on some used scopes, for This is a bit of a long video. I went ahead and put chapters right below here, so if there's something that you're specifically looking to get out of this feeling free to go down there and grab it, so without further ado, let's get into it, let's talk about what makes a stereo

microscope

stereo, so it has two focal paths that go directly from the eyes to the bottom of the microscope.

This differentiates it from something like a binocular microscope which only has one focal path or a USB microscope which again only has one focal path and the reason we want the full two paths is that it gives us depth perception and that is something that when you work underneath it is absolutely critical you can't work without deep insight into our industry and do what we do and this is also the main reason why it rules out the USB microscopes that people sometimes ask about when they start doing it. I know they are cheap and attractive and it sounds great to work from a television screen, but unfortunately it is not going to work, so let's look at the stereo microscope.

What is it made of? The main part of the stereo microscope is called the zoom head, which is the microscope body and interior. it's your Zoom, it's got all the magnification built in, all the magnification is inside here, these come with a set Zoom range, so something like this microscope has a 0.7 to 5.5 times Zoom. Now you add to that the eyepieces that in our industry In our case, what we are going to use are the 10x eyepieces that you are looking for, so you add the 10x eyepieces to the 0.7 to 5.5 that you get is a 7 to 55x zoom for this scope.

Another thing to keep in mind. the eyepieces is what you will have here is something called diopter adjustment so when you sit down in front of the microscope for the first time you will have to do something called focal torque your eyes to the microscope these microscopes are made to stay focused throughout the entire zoom range of top to bottom and the way to do this is by adjusting them to each individual eye, which can also change depending on how tired you are, so the recommendation is to do this every day. I do not know much.

There are many people who do this, but it is a good habit to get into from time to time and it will prevent eye strain and make your life much easier. You can search for it. I might try to post a video on this, but until then you can look it up in the literature for your microscope or just Google it or take a look at YouTube. I'm sure someone has made a video. Over there, um, so on the zoom head you have the Zoom knob. This zooms in and out quite simply, so next, at the bottom of your microscope, you'll need a ring light.

This is a LED ring. There are some older ones. The options you may come across if you buy something used, especially like a fluorescent tube or fiber optic, would not recommend any of these. Many of them are quite cumbersome, they are not as bright as we would like and you can

choose

them. a cheaper LED ring light on Amazon at a pretty affordable price. I mean, we're talking in the £60-£80 range and they'll work fine, so I bought this Leica as a kit and it came with the Leica ring light, which is ridiculously expensive. like all Leica, I can't honestly say I notice a huge difference from the Scopes amplifiers I've used, uh, in the light, um, but you know, I'd like to think it's better, it costs a lot more, but there's nothing.

It's wrong with the amscope, it's a long story, so next from the bottom of the microscope you will have a lens. In this case, I really enjoy working at full zoom on my microscope, so what I have here is actually a very dirty protective glass cover now, this is effectively what could be considered a 1.0 times objective lens, so how will you hear them? call them and you may hear this term, these terms would be an objective lens, a Barlow lens or an auxiliary lens now. What they do is change the effective magnification of your microscope to give you more working distance.

You may get less working distance, but that's not something that applies to us, no one wants less working distance, so depending on your exact make and model of microscope. You will have a certain amount of working distance out of the box, so that is the distance from the bottom of the microscope to the work that is now in focus again depending on your make and model. Most of these you know are 7 to 45. Times, microscopes like the Leica Meiji or Zeiss will be between 100 and 120 millimeters out of the box, so it's about four to five inches, which isn't a lot of space. , so what you can do is get a lens. to put it here and it will say something on the side like 0.5 times and what that does is it will have half the magnification of the microscope and it will almost double its working distance.

It's actually going to also give you additional depth of field, which is how much you're in focus at once, which is also an added bonus, but it's also a balancing act because if you're looking at something like the Leica a60, which only has a 30x magnification, obviously you start adding like 0.5 to that and you're only left with about 15x Zoom, which depending on your purpose is what you're going to use it for, you may or may not find it enough. I personally didn't, really. like about 25 to 30 times minimum, in fact on this microscope I don't use any lenses because I really like having that full 55 times zoom, which is a little ridiculous, but it's also fun at the same time and most of the time My job is adjustment, so the only thing I'm really dealing with here is my recorder and my micromotor.

Now, if you were doing something like

engraving

firearms or larger knives, then you might want a little more room to work out and you probably wouldn't need as much Zoom, so you can go ahead and you can use a lens like that to extend it. The same can be said for someone who is also a beginner. I could go ahead and recommend if we're just starting to lean towards something like 0.5 or 0.63 and the reasoning is that sometimes it can be a little difficult to get your bearings under the microscope, so being able to see more at once, um and have that extra space to work with can definitely help you adjust and then you can move up a lens if you want in the future, so we're going to move from the top of the microscope that we're going to talk about now, this is the trinocular port and this allows you Attach a camera to record what you are seeing through the microscope or stream it live to a TV in your workshop or shop or even online if you choose to do so.

Now there are a few things to keep in mind about this. The first will be that they are not perfect, so they have an even shallower depth of field than what you are seeing through the microscope, so, especially at higher zoom levels, it can be a little tricky trying to get the area specific that you want. We are working in focus, many of the different camera options can have issues with brightness, so this is especially evident if you are working with stones like

diamond

s, it can really make the image look cloudy. It may be a little complicated, but that's how it is.

I said, I mean, most of you will have already seen outreach images on Instagram or somewhere else, so you probably know what we're looking at if you're wondering if you need or want this, in my opinion, you should be looking. What you intend to do with the footage if you're looking to teach, in my opinion, recording and setting up, is absolutely how you need it, you should film through the microscope, that's just my opinion, because it's good to show it to the students. exactly where your focus is exactly what you're doing and you don't have to look at what your external camera is looking at to try to point out someone on a TV for your students, you're looking at it so you can show it to them.

Now if you're just looking to market and post something on social media then it may not be the best option and the reason I say this is because it's an extremely expensive add-on to something like you know if you had to do it. go from something like an a60 to this Leica S9 or the Zeiss Demi 508 and you're putting the camera on top. I mean, you're talking about double or triple the price of the Leica a60 and that's a lot of money to spend if I'm just getting this extremely macro image now in my own personal experience, what I found from posting that macro video online is that I get a lot of jewelers commenting and following me, as many of you have probably seen some of my videos, um, I haven't.

I've had better luck even in times when I was specifically trying to target my content at getting clients. I haven't had the best luck with this now, that doesn't mean you can't do it, people like Johnny Oro and, uh, Adrian Rose Jewelry. Both have had incredible success on platforms like Instagram using microscope images, but it is an expensive option. For me, I think it would be better to use something like a camera on the side. That's what this Mount is here if you put another camera on the side of your microscope, that little bit wider image may actually be a little bit more beneficial to clients because I think when it's that magnified, they don't really pick up what's there.

Happening, people who don't understand jewelry, so having the tools and seeing the hands and the fingertips and all that. I think that gives you a better idea of ​​what's going on and you don't need to see that absolutely microscopic detail, that won't convince you of anything, but it's just my personal opinion and that's how it is, as far as connecting cameras to microscopes , it can be a pretty complicated process and it really depends on the cameras you want to use adapters on, it's quite a bit of a thing so I have a little bit of info on that, if you guys would like to see a video on that let me know in the comments and I can try to put something together for you.

Next, you'll see something called a focus rack and that. is this type what you're looking for here is something that allows you to put your microscope inside and you tighten it and that allows you to focus up and down now it's important when you get these that this ring this ring Here is the correct size for your microscope or , otherwise it will be loose and not fit, so there are a few different sizes, a few different types of industry standard sizes that you can get. I'll try to put together a PDF of the common ones. sizes when I have time, but for now you know you'll have to look for it yourself from the back, you're looking at something called an E type faucet, most of the brackets you'll find have the hole for the E. -Type faucet if you have anything else in the back of your focused shelf, it's important to make sure it can attach to whatever bracket you have, but it's a good chance you have both in terms of price type.

Quality as again, this is an extremely expensive Leica unit, that being said, I didn't have to use Leica. I bought it as a kit. I could have gone with an off-brand brand for about a quarter of the price and it probably would have worked. Almost as good, but same with the ring light. You know, I'd like to think you get what you pay for, but I've used off-brand ones and no. I haven't felt unhappy before, who am I? To tell you about the topic of supports, let's talk about those. You will need something to mount your microscope on your bench and move it up and down from now on.

This is called a flexible arm or articulated arm. a great option if you ask me, this is what I've had in my home studio for a few years. I really like it, it allows for a lot of movement, it's relatively small and you can store the microscope out of the way. and it looks relatively nice. Its disadvantages, well, it's very flexible, so if you're someone who really wants to lean on your microscope, you'll see some with headrests, this probably isn't the one for you, it's really just for balancing. I really like the eye cups when I use this because they allow me to place my head where it's supposed to go and I've really enjoyed it now.

One thing to keep in mind is especially with something like settings and micro settings where you are. getting close enough is almost useless for recording videos uh, the rattle, the vibration is too much, possibly it works for recording when you are further away. I can't, I can't talk about that. I've never tried it but what I've done to get around it is I have a higher level above my work table that this part of the stand rests on and then I clamp it down and that's how I make it nice and rigid so that I can film without that vibration.

Another advantage of this is the mounting system. It's a little out of the frame at the moment, but it's basically holding on pretty well forso you can mount it on the edge of a bench without drilling holes in this case. It has holes drilled into it and that makes it a little more fluid, but you might, depending on your bench layout configuration, be able to escape without drilling holes, which for some people might be a benefit, so below you have something called pen holder that I'm going to put in a photo right here. I don't have one with me, so the pen holder has two main ones. configurations, you will have something that bolts directly to your bench and you will also have something that has a large counterweight, essentially a large, heavy plate base that will often sit directly in the center on the top of your bench, so it is something to really consider if that's the option because it takes up a lot of space and isn't the prettiest thing out there.

The ones that mount directly to your bench are a great option for filming, you will have to drill holes. on your bench so it depends on that and generally they will go more or less to the side or maybe back in the center so on the side could be in the way but it's up to you to take a look at your options, um last, but not least, we have the GRS acrobat style mount, which has an intermediate balance, in that it has this type of flexibility from top to bottom, from left to right, which has the flexible arm, but when you tighten it it's quite Stiff, good for filming. um it's a little bit of both worlds um if you ask me the only downside I know of and this is definitely something personal for me.

I haven't heard anyone else complain about this, this is pretty big and looms over you. on top of your bench, so I really care about the aesthetics of my work area, how this microscope gets out of the way if I want it to, so that ruled it out for me to have this big arm towering over me , but um That doesn't take anything away from the function of the stand, it's fantastic and there are a lot of people very happy with it, so the last thing you need to know about the GRS acrobat stands is that they will need a hard mount on your bench so you can We will need to drill some holes and it comes in two models.

There's the older original model, it's gray in color and it has a built-in Focus mount that has an 84 millimeter ring made for the Meiji EMZ series and a lot of the imported Chinese models, the M Scopes and the GT visions and whatnot, they tend to be 84 millimeters. I can't confirm it for all of them, but most of them will be 84 millimeters. There is a second newer model that is black. color and it's called Versa now this one has been designed primarily for the a60 they ship it with but the a60 has a built in Focus mount with that E type spike on the back we talked about so if you go with the 860 then Obviously it's going to fit really well if you want to use another scope and you want to use that stunt mount, you're just going to need a focusing mount with that type E spike on the back, so what kind of mount should I use?

Whether you choose well will really depend on the type of work you are doing. Reasons for choosing the flexible arm over the other two would be if you want a lot of flexibility, you'll want to be able to move it from left to right, up and down. you want to be able to put it away quickly, so maybe you're someone who only uses it part time, you want it to be put on and taken off quickly, you want it to be put away, maybe you're going to have long periods of time. where you're not using it and you want it neat and tidy in the corner, that could be a great option, not a great option if you're going to film, if you're going to film, then you'd be looking at probably the boom or the acrobat or something like that.

I have here, which is a um, I have a level, an additional level here, which I'll give you a quick look at, it just shows up there and then I clamp down using this. The type that would put the pen holder before the pen holder would be a great option if you primarily do jewelry setting or engraving and you're using something like this, like a desk style setup and working on just the microblock, that would probably be a good option. option for you. I've seen people use it in more standard style jewelry bench setups, but I think in that case something like the flex arm or acrobat would probably be a better option for you if you're doing something like hand engraving and going back and forth between smaller and larger pieces, like a firearm.

You'll definitely want something like the flexible arm or the acrobat, if you're filming it has to be the acrobat, if you're not filming then it's There will definitely be a preference between if you like the ability to move it in and out with your head, like if you really couldn't rest your head on this, whereas you'll see some people with the acrobat actually have a head vest attached, so if you're looking for that firm rigidity acrobat, if you're looking for movement, go for this type . Okay guys, now that we've talked about the main parts and functions of stereo microscopes, let's talk about some of the industry standards they target. to see with your suppliers or on social media or what some of your colleagues are using now, the first one will have to be Meiji, the Meiji EMZ line.

I'm going to show an image up here. Mage EMZ have been around forever, they are definitely a firm favorite of many people, they last forever, they are absolutely bulletproof. I mean, if you find one of these things used, regardless of the condition, you can fix it, you can get it as-is. They are just great, they are great, you can't go wrong, the emz5 is the main one you will see, you can also check out some of the higher models, the eight, 10 and 13. the 10 and 13 have different zoom ranges that can Whether beneficial or not, they have a little bit more zoom, I think, so I'd say you probably want to look at five or eight.

Well, the nice thing about the EMZ 8 TR is that it has the trinocular option and you can sometimes find them used for very little money, so if that's something you'd like to do but the Leica S9 or the Stemi 508 are out of your budget, Then the main emz8tr is definitely a great option for you. One definite thing to keep in mind with trinoculars is that Meiji also made an EMZ 5 trinocular version and the 5tr is of no use to us in this industry because it has a small lever on the side that takes light from one of the eyes and directs it to the port of the camera so it won't really be good for you to use it while working, it's more for photography than videography, that being said again, they've been around for so long. and they are so good that there are so many of them out there that you can find one of these five used TRS definitely don't avoid it if you can get a good deal, don't pay a premium with the assumption that you will be able to use it for videos because it just won't work to happen, so with the Meiji EMZ line the optics are absolutely fantastic.

It's a little bit of an older microscope, so I would say something like the With the newer Leicas, especially the Leicas, but also the Zeiss, you'll have a brighter image as far as clarity, although I mean every microscope, the three lines microscope mains are incredibly clear, so you won't be unhappy there, but yes, especially. at higher zoom levels on the Meiji line you will notice some dimming and that will increase when you add an objective lens, but the EM says they are not designed specifically for this industry, they are designed for many industries, there are many.

You can find different configurations with options I haven't covered on these little ports and various little things that cause hickeys, as far as I know none of them get in the way of what we do. If you find a good deal on something and it has an extra feature that you've never heard of and doesn't seem to apply to you, it doesn't hinder the function of what you want it to do, so I think you can buy it with confidence. pretty much any EMZ five five eight specifically and it will work for you as long as you know you're looking at the 10x eyepieces and somewhere around a zero five or zero point seven five objective for a focusing rack for the Meiji, uh, there's many good options, you can get many cheap options, you are looking at 84 millimeters for the ring and for objective lenses, you can get Meiji versions, you can also get aftermarket ones, it's probably safe to assume the aftermarket ones are going to be a little darker , but optically the ones I tried that weren't Magi brand were still, you know, they were viable and a lot cheaper, so that's something to consider if you see something out there.

Looking for an M50 thread with a 0.75 thread pitch. As to what objective magnification or auxiliary lens you should look for. I did a poll in some engraver groups and setup groups on Facebook and it seemed like the 0.5 was overwhelmingly favored by engravers, while for setters again the zero five was favored, but the 0.75 was also commonly used, so again keep that in mind. You know what you're going to work on, what the size is, and whether you're focusing on larger or smaller prints. kind of micro pavement mm-hmm so the Leica a60 look at another photo here is taking the industry by storm.

I mean, what more can you say? They are an absolutely brilliant microscope. They look great. The optics are clear. They have that new. Leica's Fusion Optics, which is incredibly bright and has this huge depth of field that I'm sure anyone who has read about them has probably heard of them. I mean, what more can I say? Unfortunately, you probably won't find them. they are used very often because people love them so much that they are just um they are a great scope um disadvantages I mean they have a little bit they have a lower total Zoom of 30 times instead of the 45 of the Meiji or the 55, better, the high end Leica or Zeiss, um, but especially for someone like an engraver, people seem very happy and a lot of

diamond

setters also seem very, very happy with them.

Now there's one thing to keep in mind with that Fusion. The optics they're talking about are achieved through some sort of optical trick, so if you know anything about camera lenses, they have something called an aperture that opens and closes and when it opens it lets more light in, but it gives you a lesser depth. field, which is how much is in focus, so what it actually does is one of your eyes is shown something with a greater depth of field and one of your eyes is shown something with a lighter and darker image and then in your head, your head, your brain. it combines the two so it's kind of a mind trip when you look at it at first because you just go oh that's weird but it might take a little bit of time to get used to so it's something to be aware of um .

I've heard of people who didn't get along with them, but I mean that's one or two people out of the hundreds or thousands of Setters I'm referring to who are sorry, and it's just one or two out of an untold number of jewelers. . Now that I am very happy with these Leicas, something to keep in mind. The other drawback that you may have seen earlier in the video is these glasses. You'll see people complaining about them online. They are a bit stupid. That being said, I would do it. They say I drop them probably once a month, it's not the end of the world and I really like them.

Some people don't like the eyepieces on any microscope, so it's not the end of the world. You can glue, glue or remove them. - branded, but I thought I'd mention it because it's something to keep in mind and the last thing to know about a model like the a60 is that it actually has this Focus mount built into the back, so you don't need an extra part which is really nice so it just has the E type tang coming out of the back so it just snaps onto whatever mount you choose. My survey for the a60 type for objective lenses, the recorders definitely trended towards the 0.5 The Setters seem to be most commonly around 0.63 or 0.75, there were some Setters that used the zero and zero five and there are also some Setters I included myself without using any lenses and for some strange reason that escapes me, Leica seems to have built this microscope.

It doesn't work with objective lenses, so you actually need this little Leica adapter ring and this, when you remove the protective glass, these screws and then screw your objective into that, for some reason, when you put the objective directly on the microscope, the The microscope's internal optics will hit that lens and possibly damage the optics, lens, or both. Now why did they do that. I don't know, so yeah, it's something to keep in mind, so now we're talking about the Leica S9. This is my favorite microscope. I'll try not to be biased. This thing is amazing.

Zoom Fusion Optics 55 times is like it's absolutely brilliant. You will not be unhappy with this microscope. The disadvantages of this microscope. It's not the prettiest. It is a fairly small grape. I wish it felt. a little more expensive and feels cheap doesn't seem to be made cheaply, the quality feels excellent. I have been super happy with it. I've had it for a couple of years, but that's just the way it is. It feels like the plastic body could be better when you spend this amount of money. It would be nice to feel like you spent that kind of money, but again, that doesn't take anything away from thefunctionality, so it comes in three versions.

The version without a camera, an integrated camera and the version with the port on the top, the integrated camera is now four or five years old, it never had a very good image when it came out, it obviously hasn't improved since then and can't be changed or updated in the future, so I would rule it out completely. If you want, you want the one. this is the S9 D which has the uh port for the camera and then you can put any camera you choose, that's what I would do as far as polling the recorders and configurators for the objective lens Recorders choice overwhelmingly seemed to choose 0.5 The setters seemed very happy with the 0.5 or the 0.63 was also a common option, the Zeiss semi 508 would probably be one of the other more common options, perhaps it would be what could be considered the Zeiss version of this type of superior. final trinocular option for people looking to record through the microscope like this one does as far as comparison goes it's a phenomenal microscope it's definitely on par with this one people seem to prefer the Leica or the Zeiss um without being able to really Identify by What do you prefer one or the other?

In my very limited experience with this ice, I found the Leica to be brighter at higher zoom, but functionally optically accurate. You know, it's the same. They are both absolutely incredible microscopes. Um, maybe the form factor is a little better on this ice, but realistically, especially if you're going to spend that much money, it's probably good to sit down and try each one and see which one you lean towards, if it's similar or different. Zeiss, if you are looking for something high end that is going to do video and are looking to do a new survey, this microscope is quite similar to the S9.

People again seem to like the zero five or the 0.63. it has a similar amount of um Zoom it's uh it goes 55 times more than the Leica S9 so you're still going to be left with a lot of Zoom by putting a lens on the bottom so there's nothing to complain about so now I've gone over the three types of industry standard microscopes as I would consider them these days. Let's talk a little about brand name microscopes that you may or may not have heard a lot about and that there may not be as much. There is literature on them, there are tons and tons of great models available that you can learn to use now.

The brilliant thing about microscopes is that they're not really like they're not something like a computer that's advancing so much. Year after year you can get microscopes that are 30 years old and that are absolutely brilliant pieces of kit and very viable for the work we are doing today. Someone on Sam Alfano's Engraver's Cafe Forum has put together an amazing list of these microscopes specifically and you can go there and take a look at some of the old Nikon Zeiss Leica, uh wild, there are a lot of old microscopes that will be great options and there's also a big list that also tells you which microscopes to avoid, so I've been going back and forth there a few times throughout my career.

I'll link it in the description below. Be sure to check it out and check it out if you're looking to buy something used, because a used microscope can definitely be a fantastic value when you look at those used ones. A great option is something like eBay, you go to eBay and type. In the stereo microscope, you set the condition of use and many different options will appear. Now most of them won't apply to our industry, so look down and try to find something that is similar to either field. Ideally one of the three we've already talked about or something that's high on that list on Sam Alfano's forum, putting the stand together is another thing, but you can get great options from amscope and it's cheap and decent quality . it stops and then the same with the light and then you're off to the races so thanks for tuning in everyone, it's been a real pleasure to ride and I hope you got something of value out of it, please let me know what you think. good or bad, I would really love to hear from you, if you have any ideas on things you would like to see in the future, any other videos, let me know in the comments.

I'm going to try to continue posting some of these. For you, I also have great resources for you on my website. I have a full set of tools that I use for micro configuration, all gathered together on my website. You can find my podcast setting the standard. available now on all platforms and all my social media will be below too thanks for tuning in guys it's been cut