FAQS

The purchase of a microEYE DISCOVERY microscope includes the microscope body, shroud, curved arm with LED illuminator, 12v power supply (with suitable plug for your country), a 2 metre HDMI cable, spare LED lamp and instructions.  We also offer an optional universal plinth.  A plinth is not required if the microscope will be attached directly to a display table.  We also offer a specimen turntable, a turntable extender kit and a polarising attachment as optional extras.  Please note, however - an HDTV is not included.

No ... motorising the controls does not necessarily make an instrument easier to use!  We have purposely kept the ZOOM and FOCUS controls as smooth, manual sliders - to mimic the operation of a traditional microscope.  We're keeping it simple!

The microEYE DISCOVERY microscope plugs into a HDTV, monitor or projector via an HDMI cable.  DISCOVERY's camera operates at 1080p resolution at 50/60 hz (frames per second (fps)). 

An HDMI cable is supplied.  This connects to your HDTV, computer monitor or projector via one of its HDMI input connectors.  A plug pak (power supply) is also supplied for connection to your mains power (with plug fitting suitable for your country).

We have found that each customer's needs are different - with the instrument's location, space constraints etc., we leave the purchase of a monitor to the customer so they can purchase something that suits their needs.  

The choice of screen size is an interesting one.  Biggest is not always best!  Choosing the screen size will depend on the space you have available or whether the screen is for the benefit of an individual user or an assembled group.  A useful rule of thumb is the following calculation to work out the best distance for a viewer to be away from the screen for the best viewing experience:

Divide the diagonal measurement of the screen by .84 (i.e. a 32inch TV divided by .84 = 38.09 inches - this is the minimum distance you should be from a 32inch TV for the best viewing).

We usually recommend placement of the TV above and behind the microscope (so the user can relate zoom and focus movements with what is happening on the screen) and as this will mean the user will be relatively close to the TV, a screen size from about 22 inches to 32 inches would be acceptable.  Screens larger than this will work well for viewers at a greater distance, but the user will probably be too close to the screen for optimum viewing.

DISCOVERY is live video only.  However, you may like to check out the Elgato range of image capture products.  Their Cam Link product captures still and moving images via DISCOVERY's HDMI cable to a laptop (via USB3).

There is sometimes confusion with the words "fields of view" and "magnification" and how they vary with TV size.  The microEYE DISCOVERY microscope uses a macrozoom lens with special internal focusing.  Because the lens has the ability to focus on flat objects and objects up to a height of around 100mm (4 inches) without having to move the object or microscope body, the fields of view and magnifications will vary depending upon that height.  Our specifications detail the various on-screen fields of view and magnifications obtainable with different object heights.

Yes.  We have designed the microEYE DISCOVERY microscope so that the two cables (HDMI and power) can be hidden by creating a hole in the table top (we can supply hole placement/dimensions).  You can also choose to have the cable run behind the instrument in a protective sheath (not supplied).

The illuminator (built into the arm of the microscope) is a high intensity, white LED spotlamp, rated for 20,000 hours.  This equates to approximately 7 years usage, assuming the microscope is on 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year!  So, in theory, you won't need another lamp for quite a while.  However, just in case your LED lamp doesn't live up to the rating above, we supply you with a spare!

The optional universal plinth also uses LED technology, in the form of a long life, high intensity white 48 LED array.

Yes.  We offer a two year warranty for optical and mechanical components and a one year warranty for electrical components (HD camera, wiring harness and plug pak (power supply).

No.  We have designed microEYE DISCOVERY to operate all day, every day.  This is one of the major advantages - a robust, interactive microscope with little or no maintenance.  The only part that may need replacement is the coverglass (protecting the internal lens).  It is easy to replace.  The camera and lens units are designed to operate without maintenance for long periods, however if there is a problem, we are here to help with replacement parts, advice or we will arrange a "return to base" for repair or replacement.

It is designed, manufactured and hand assembled to order in New Zealand.

You can purchase microEYE DISCOVERY exclusively from us here at Micro Imaging.  Buy direct from the manufacturer!  We fully support all our sales, worldwide.

The microscope is supplied with four fixing screws and washers (M6) along with a hex key.  These are used to attach the microscope to the plinth.  The cables can be fed either between the arm and plinth (through a semi-circular cavity at the rear of the arm) or down through the aperture in the plinth.

Many specimens are transparent or translucent and are able to light pass through, such as leaves, feathers, pond life, thin textiles, paper, thin rock, plant and tissue samples on microscope slides.  In these instances, light coming from below (transmitted) may well be the most appropriate way to observe specimen detail.  The plinth's high intensity LED array provides the transmitted light necessary for highlighting features on these specimens.

The plinth is supplied with two types of stage plate.  One is a clear acrylic type while the other has a grey tint.  When using the plinth in its bottom illumination setup, we recommend using the clear stage plate.  When using top illumination, we recommend experimenting with the clear and grey tint stage plates.  It can be advantageous to control the background colour for some specimens when using top illumination.  The microscope's camera is sometimes challenged when trying to correctly image particularly small specimens that may be very light or dark in colour against a very light or dark background.  In these instances we strongly recommend experimenting with the grey tint stage plate (or a similarly coloured background).  A spare of both types of stage plate is supplied with the plinth.

There are two stainless steel threaded inserts positioned towards the rear of plinth.  They serve two purposes.  The first is to affix the optional specimen turntable to the plinth.  The inserts can also be used for security.  On the underside of the plinth the two inserts are exposed and accept M5 screws.  By drilling into a table top and passing the appropriate length M5 screws through the holes and into the underside of the plinth, the microscope and plinth will be securely attached.

The turntable comes with the following components: the assembled turntable, 2x hex screws and washers (to attach to universal plinth or display table), hex key, 5x 90mm petri dishes.

Our standard turntable allows for specimens up to 25mm in height.  We offer a turntable extender kit which will accommodate larger specimens.

While we do not recommend putting anything on top of the turntable (as it can scratch the top surface), we can provide replacement turntable tops, if required.

The full kit consists of the extended height spacer, 5x specimen holders, 5x slide securing rings, fixing screws and hex keys.

We call it "Simple Polarised Light" (also referred to as linear polarisation or plane polarisation).  We use two linear polarisers; one is polarised film sandwiched between optical glass in filter form, while the other is a film, cut and shaped to fit the universal plinth.

While you can simply put specimens on the plinth to view under polarised light, you can also use the polarising attachment with the specimen turntable or the turntable extender kit.