EEVblog Electronics Community Forum

EEVblog => EEVblog Specific => Topic started by: EEVblog on November 01, 2018, 10:26:51 pm

Title: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: EEVblog on November 01, 2018, 10:26:51 pm
Check out the amazing increased working distance on the Eakins microscope using a barlow lens to get a larger working area.

Bundle: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/b7ycSav2 (http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/b7ycSav2)
Microscope: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/eN3Ec5a (http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/eN3Ec5a)
Stand: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bHSXalzm (http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bHSXalzm)
C Mount Lens Adapters: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/cMimkzYc (http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/cMimkzYc)
Barlow Lenses: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bmS9nWbe (http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bmS9nWbe)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF65DBtsaEo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF65DBtsaEo)
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: Brumby on November 02, 2018, 02:20:26 am
Aside from that erroneous focus hunting, you now have my attention!

For the cost, the image quality, working distance and auto focus capabilities have put this unit at the top of my list.  The limited field of view is a little bit of a concern, but for the most part I don't see it as a big factor in my decision (although I do realise that there will probably be a couple of times when I will grizzle about it).

Do let us know about any progress you have with regards to the capture problem.  Understanding this is perhaps the single most concerning issue for me.  I would hate to get the unit only to find I couldn't integrate it with other equipment and workflows.
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: BravoV on November 02, 2018, 02:34:41 am
Damn you Dave, now its in my shopping list.  :palm:
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: smbaker on November 02, 2018, 02:34:51 am
I purchased the 0.35X barlow with mine. The working distance is truly huge, more than I need, and seemed to cause some focusing issues. I'm thinking an 0.5X barlow might have been sufficient. I'm excited to watch Dave's video, hopefully he tried both the 0.35X and the 0.5X.
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: cdev on November 02, 2018, 03:01:31 am
Really good DOF
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: Brumby on November 02, 2018, 07:25:28 am
I purchased the 0.35X barlow with mine. The working distance is truly huge, more than I need, and seemed to cause some focusing issues. I'm thinking an 0.5X barlow might have been sufficient. I'm excited to watch Dave's video, hopefully he tried both the 0.35X and the 0.5X.

Dave - can you comment on this, please?
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: johnlsenchak on November 02, 2018, 11:35:08 am


I  didn't   find this video ,  very interesting  ;)
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: German_EE on November 02, 2018, 06:24:23 pm
That's OK, maybe your eyesight is good enough to solder 0201 parts without magnification. The rest of us need kit like this and we're grateful that Dave gas found a microscope system that is so cheap.
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: dav888 on December 02, 2018, 02:26:21 pm
Anyone knows if it's possible to run these cameras standalone?
Capturing to SD-card (without the need for a computer)!?
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: rrinker on December 03, 2018, 04:18:57 pm
That's OK, maybe your eyesight is good enough to solder 0201 parts without magnification. The rest of us need kit like this and we're grateful that Dave gas found a microscope system that is so cheap.

 I think even WITH this microscope I'd have problems seeing 0201. However, this may make it possible for me to work with the larger sizes. I already need a magnifier to work with through hole. I definitely have one of these on my future purchase list - it will also come in handy for my other hobby.

Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: tchicago on December 03, 2018, 08:53:12 pm
got my 0.5 lense, which gives a lot of room.

I think I noticed that the magnification factor gets larger with the lense, which probably makes sense from the optical geometry standpoint.

Regarding the autofocus - I disabled it on Eakins the first 15 minutes after playing with it, even without the Barlow lense. It kept focusing on the wrong things, so I switched to manual focus using those large black knobs.

One interesting thing I noticed is that this scope does not help much in reading the laser-etched chip markings. I think it is a combination of the is too much light reflected off the black surface of the chip, which becomes a bit glossy at this magnification. And another issue is that the etched area does not diffuse much light when looked at 90 angle.
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: aneng on March 28, 2021, 01:00:14 pm
Bit of a necro-bump but the Aliexpress links no longer work.  Does anyone have updated ones that link to the specific kit mentioned in the first post please ?
Title: Re: EEVBlog #1143 - Eakins Microscope Barlow Lenses
Post by: cdev on March 29, 2021, 07:10:57 pm
Aside from that erroneous focus hunting, you now have my attention!

For the cost, the image quality, working distance and auto focus capabilities have put this unit at the top of my list.  The limited field of view is a little bit of a concern, but for the most part I don't see it as a big factor in my decision (although I do realise that there will probably be a couple of times when I will grizzle about it).

Do let us know about any progress you have with regards to the capture problem.  Understanding this is perhaps the single most concerning issue for me.  I would hate to get the unit only to find I couldn't integrate it with other equipment and workflows.

Capturing HDMI?

I found a cheap no-name device a few months ago that does a really good job of capturing the full rIt seems to be made by esolution HDMI from my Canon digital camera and digitizing it to USB2 at a reasonable 30fps. . The output is very good. It cost around $20.Its a black metal dongle that just says HDMI video capture on it.  its enumerating as a uvc video device made by MACROSILICON

usb 1-3.4.3: Manufacturer: MACROSILICON
 hid-generic 0003:534D:2109.002E: hiddev0,hidraw4: USB HID v1.10 Device [MACROSILICON] on usb-0000:00:12.2-3.4.3/input4
 media: Linux media interface: v0.10
 videodev: Linux video capture interface: v2.00

 uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device <unnamed> (534d:2109)
usbcore: registered new interface driver uvcvideo
USB Video Class driver (1.1.1)