Molasses and loupe question

[Mr. Clandestine]

Now I tear or cut a piece of the leaf off, and place it on a table, then check the trichs using the magnifier. Much easier and works great.

I finally resorted to doing that, I just hate having to remove any kind of living matter from my plants, especially if they're covered in frosty trichomes! Several times, though, I probably looked like a mad scientist with that thing held up to my glasses, tongue hanging out the side of my mouth, laughing hysterically when I finally got it in focus...then spouting random curses when my laughing blew it out of focus. I did this for days before I finally just started breaking bits and pieces off of the plant.

That aside, on its lowest level, it is pretty nice at inspecting the surface of your trim, giving you a good idea what's quality and what's not. But I still think I'm going to get a less powerful one for routine checks.

[atsar]

i still like just using the camera and loupe,you get plenty enough magnification and have the added bonus of not taking bits off your plant and being able to examine them on the pc monitor
these pics are through a 10x loupe with 3x optical zoom on the camera,taken in 4 megapixel mode,shows stalks and heads clearly,and although not crystal clear,as good or better than the view through a loupe or microscope at the eye

[Mr. Clandestine]

Atsar:

Great pics, and yummy looking example! I'd like to give your method a shot next time, but I'm kind of clueless about the inner workings of my digital camera. Any generic setting recommendations you could give me when trying to get a clear shot of the trichs while using a loupe?

[atsar]

you'd be amazed how simple it is,you don't even need a macro mode,i simply hold the loupe over lens,or you can use blu-tac to stick it,get close to whatever i'm picturing(within a cm or 2),if your out of focus move nearer or back a little,and when it's clear zoom in past the circle of the loupe,re-adjust focus usually by moving back slightly and take your pic,if you force the flash the shutter speed should be fast enough to compensate your shaking,take loads of pics,move slightly back,slightly forward and just pick the best ones,some newsprint is good to try it out on first,get an idea of how close you need to be,you can get some good close ups of anything,check out the ant,it's a little uk ant about 1-2mm long

[Mr. Clandestine]

Awesome, I'm going to give that a shot soon. I'll experiment with some ants to get a knack for it! Even that looks like fun! I appreciate the advice, too.

[PharmaCan]

you'd be amazed how simple it is,you don't even need a macro mode,i simply hold the loupe over lens,or you can use blu-tac to stick it,get close to whatever i'm picturing(within a cm or 2),if your out of focus move nearer or back a little,and when it's clear zoom in past the circle of the loupe,re-adjust focus usually by moving back slightly and take your pic,if you force the flash the shutter speed should be fast enough to compensate your shaking,take loads of pics,move slightly back,slightly forward and just pick the best ones,some newsprint is good to try it out on first,get an idea of how close you need to be,you can get some good close ups of anything,check out the ant,it's a little uk ant about 1-2mm long

This is all fine and good, but how do you get the friggin ant to hold still while you take its picture? :wtf:

PC :smokin: