Viewing Trichomes with Unsteady Hands?

[Olderfart]

I've tried the Carson microscope, a good loupe with a light, and hated both. I am not prepared to take samples of my plants to check pieces on a table, and found neither of these tools were effective or convenient for searching live plants, especially if the plants can't easily be moved to a more convenient location. I now use a camera with a macro lens, a tripod, and a macro rail which I know is overkill for most growers. I had most of the gear already, had I not, I would have bought a wifi or usb microscope.

A reasonable alternative to my setup that would work very well is a cheap tripod from a local junk store (one is almost always in there somewhere), a USB or wifi microscope (make sure that it will work with your phone/pad/computer before buying), and an additional support known as a macro rail. Specifically, one like this:

Aluminium Alloy Macro Focusing Rail Slider Macro Long Focusing Close-Up Quick Rlease Plate Slide Rail for DSLR Cameras Close-Up Shooting : Amazon.ca: Electronics

The macro rail is mounted on the tripod, and the microscope to the outer end of the rail. The microscopes tend to not have a standard thread to mount them, but even taping it to the end of the rail would work fine.

You place the tripod to locate the microscope close to where it needs to be, and then you use the rail to move the scope toward and away from the plant to focus. Once focused, you can lock it in perfect focus to study the trichs, or as I do, take pics and scan them later on the laptop.

With the magnifications needed for trich inspection, getting consistent convenient results requires a steady support (tripod or equivalent) and a way to focus easily while supported in place (the macro rail). I found anything short of this to be a massive pain in the ass. And I have good eyes and steady hands. Keep in mind that it is not enough to simply judge the overall color of trichs, it is the ones on the calyxes that count, and telling which those are is a lot easier with decent imagery.

Good luck with it.

 

[olbobcat]

The Carsons are a pain for me as well. between holding it to your eye and right against the plant. Not for me. I ordered a macro lense for my phone on amazon for 6.99. Not looking for perfection. Otherewise back to the microscope.

 

[Olderfart]

The Carsons are a pain for me as well. between holding it to your eye and right against the plant. Not for me. I ordered a macro lense for my phone on amazon for 6.99. Not looking for perfection. Otherewise back to the microscope.

You can also mount your phone with its microscope on the tripod/rail system if you want easier control and better imagery. You just need a phone holder to mount the phone on the rail, one like this:
Phone Tripod Mount Smartphone Adapter, with Remote Shutter Smartphone Holder Clip for iPhone X 8 7 6 6s Plus Samsung Nexus Selfie Stick Camera Shutter Control : Amazon.ca: Electronics

Good luck with it.

 

[Kazman420]

Thanks again everybody for all the replies. Great information!

I spent the last 24 hours messing around trying to get a good view of the trichomes. Thanks to some of the suggestions in this thread I was finally able to do so. Stabilization was the key. My technique? I put my girl on a low shelf and then I leaned up against the wall. I kept the bud I wanted to view as close to the wall as possible and put a rolled up a sweatshirt between the back of my hand and the wall to make up the distance. Now I could keep pressure and steady my hand against the wall and slide it up and down until the trich's were in focus. And it worked!


Today's forecast... Cloudy, with a chance of amber!


I'm still going to wind up buying either a scope or macro lens, but I'm glad I was able to make this work because I'm a lot closer to harvest then I thought! I suspect I'll begin my final flush within the week!