The two special and unique features of a dual view microscope are actually made up of just one attachment. Ordinary compound microscopes allow one person only to view the specimen. A dual view microscope, however, comes with a second viewing attachment – and which can have another eyepiece or viewing equipment inserted. This extra viewing port is what mainly distinguishes a dual view microscope from the rest.
Advantages of Having another Eyepiece with a Dual View Microscope
Inserting an extra eyepiece with the viewing port will allow you to see the specimen from a mostly vertical angle or with the eyepiece inclined at only thirty degrees.
Teaching Lessons – Having a dual view microscope is a great way for teachers to educate students on a one-on-one basis. With two eyepieces at work, a teacher will be able to monitor every move the student makes in real-time. If microscope use is the main lesson, he will be able to ascertain whether the student truly knows how to use a microscope and how to adjust focus and magnification.
If the sample being observed is the primary focus of the lesson, the teacher will be able to use the dual view microscope to point out exactly which parts of the sample should be observed, how, and why. Teachers may also reduce waste in time and effort by guiding the student step-by-step on what to do with their samples.
Cooperative Work – Dual view microscopes also allow individuals to pair up. With two brains – and eyes – working simultaneously, objectives may be attained more easily. Study problems may be split into half to accomplish their tasks more quickly. With two people able studying the specimen at the same time, what might be overlooked by one could still have a chance of being detected by the other. Individual studies may also be compared with each other to find any discrepancies.
Secondly, grouping people in pairs also ensure that they have what’s necessary to work as a group, being able to display core values like team spirit, harmony, and cooperation. This is especially important if you’ve a team of members working for one laboratory or class.
Advantages of Installing Viewing Equipment on a Dual View Microscope
If you don’t need another human point of view working on the sample then maybe you can use the extra viewing port to have a digital camera or video recorder installed. Prices of cameras and video recording equipment depend largely on its features, power, size, and brand name. Make sure that whatever you buy is guaranteed to be compatible with your dual view microscope.
Recording – Rather than relying on your memory and drawing skills to recreate a magnified image of what you’ve seen with the microscope, you can have a camera or camcorder installed and provide you with hard and soft copies that are probably more accurate than whatever you could illustrate. You can save the images on your computer or have them printed in color even.
Animation – Again, drawing what you’ve seen won’t be able to recreate the exact movements of live organisms under your microscope’s eyepiece. But those movements can definitely be recorded by a camcorder. With a video recorder at work, each and every movement that your specimen has made will be recorded for everyone to see and study.
Multiple Viewing – If you can attach the viewing equipment to other monitors then the specimen may be simultaneously studied by you and countless others – as long as they can see what your monitor is showing. The resulting images or video recordings may then be sent to the Internet for people in other areas to view it as well. None of these would have been possible without another viewing port and viewing equipment installed.
Digital Editing – Some cameras are powerful enough to recreate a three-dimensional image of the specimen they’ve captured on a microscope slide. Others can instantly provide text and graphic labels and other types of overlays for easy referencing.
Other Tips for Buying and Using a Dual View Microscope
Never buy from an unknown manufacturer or retailer. Always check if the dual view microscope comes with substantial warranty. Check how long and which areas would be covered.
Buy a dual view microscope that automatically offers along with its purchase various sets of objectives so that you can immediately observe different types of specimen.
And lastly, since the special features of a dual view microscope may it ideal for more than one person’s use, find someone who’d willingly pay for half its costs for shared ownership and use.