Ring light number of LEDs for microscope - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2023, 10:13:00 am
content: Me purchasethismicroscope yesterday! 228 U.S. bucks free shipping, coming september 2ndNow it does come with a 56 LED ring light.I do realize not all ring lights are made equal. Looking at amscope's website, where they have a lot of amscope branded stuff which you can purchase unbranded on ali, is my understanding correct that more LEDs does not make the light better? Does more LEDs equal a better ring light and more lumens?There are also ring lights with 4 zones that you can turn on and off. Would that be better or makes absolutely no difference in day to day operation?There are also polarized ring lights. Obviously I watched Dave's video on this subject. But the question is, should I get a polarized ring light, or would it be better to have a polarized auxiliary light at a side? Because I watch repair videos online, and Northridge Fix does not have a polarized ring light, instead he uses regular ring light and turns on polarized light only when needed. In other videos I seen comparison between regular ring light and polarized ring light and realized it looks better with a regular light. So I'm not clear on this subject. Should the ring light be polarized or would it be better to keep it normal?

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2023, 11:44:32 am
content: The number of LEDs is not that relevant as long as it is enough (e.g. > 10) to have a reasonable close coverage of all angles. The power per LED can vary so it does not directly correlate with the lumens.How much light is needed depends on the magnification and use. Higher magnification may need more light, but especially better focussing, not really more lumens. Low magnification needs a more even light over a larger area and here too much focus can be an issue. For the polarization it depends on the objects: in some cases it is needed, but often one can get away without.In some cases it can help to have the light also from just 1 side / e.g. use only 1/3 or 1/4 of the ring.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2023, 12:15:56 pm
content: The light you need with a microscope depends a lot on what you are trying to look at. The model you bought is relatively low power so you should be able to see many things with ordinary room light. I suggest you wait until you have the microscope and use it a bit before spending more money on lights you may not need. Then you can ask better questions backed up with more actual use and problems encountered during that use.I have a USB microscope with similar power. In addition to the LED light it came with I have rigged up a couple of cheap LED flashlights with copper wire stands and they provide great light for many things. The copper wire allows me to bend them to whatever angle I need.

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2023, 02:49:18 pm
content: Quote from: EPAIII on August 28, 2023, 12:15:56 pmYou mean goose neck or something else? Can you give me a link to what you using? I want two goose necks on my microscope, so that I can turn them on and off and adjust as needed -- but the stuff I looked at is not cheap, it ranges from $20 and up, and what I'd really like cost closer to $70. So I'd have to rig something up or wait for dollar to come down, which I think should happen closer to winter time.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2023, 04:02:07 pm
content: This:Quote from: EPAIII on August 28, 2023, 12:15:56 pmis so true. A ring light is optimized for minimizing reflections and shadows. That is nice for general purpose stuff and when you have height differences, but it certainly is not always the best solution. Tin whiskers are for example nearly impossible to see with a ring light. To see tin whiskers, you want light from a specific direction, and orient it in a location to optimize reflections from the whisker itself. And having a few lamps on goose necks (or bendable copper wire) is a nice addition to have to your microscope.You can get very cheap "USB lights" with a gooseneck between the USB plug and a small LED, and (at least some of) these have surprisingly good goosenecks. Easy to bend, and they don't move if you release them (but they can't carry much weight).Getting the lighting correct for your microscope to optimize visibility is an art in itself. It goes from very simple to color filters, UV light and polarizers. It all depends on what you want to see.

author: sparkydog
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2023, 04:15:00 pm
content: The number of LEDs does not necessarily correlate with brightness. There are individual LEDs that put out a simplyinsanenumber of lumens (and need heat sinks to match), and you can underdrive an LED to near-invisibility. If you're talking about the exact same LED driven at the same power, then yes, more = brighter, but there's no reason for that to be the case.That said,for the same number of lumens, more LEDs is likely to mean each individual LED runs cooler and therefore lasts longer, so...The real difference that the number of LEDs will make is in shadows. Each LED is approximately a pinpoint light source which, at the relatively short distances you're looking at with a microscope, means it's going to cast a hard shadow. Lots of hard shadows has the potential to create confusing dark edges. However, as youkeepadding lights, the relative intensity of any individual shadow is lessened such that the problematic effect is lessened. (Light diffusers also help.) Thesizeof the ring will also make a difference; a smaller ring should have slightly better shadows due to the lights being closer together and, for equal lumens, will probably give more light in the center, while a larger ring will illuminate a larger area (but with less light at any given point for the same lumens).So, for equal lumen output, moreshould bebetter, but also the improvement falls off exponentially. 56 sounds reasonable, although I've never used such a thing, so I have no practical experience to judge. 🤷

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2023, 05:36:58 pm
content: Quote from: u666sa on August 28, 2023, 02:49:18 pmI boughtthis pairwhich I mounted above a stereo microscope, to the carrier piece I fashioned and added to the arm of a boom stand. I expect the inline switches are not tremendously robust, at least that was the case with the cheap and cheerful 3W, Jansjö desk lamp that IKEA used to sell. Were you thinking of something like that?

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2023, 07:54:01 pm
content: I neither have IKEA nor amazon here. But I did find a good side light solution with which I'm gonna go -- because it is tested and proven to be workingIt'stheselights, a set of 2 very cheap, without cables and the attched 3D printed adapterI'm gonna have to wait and see about the ring light.What color temperature is best to use for side lights?

author: sparkydog
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2023, 09:07:12 pm
content: Quote from: u666sa on August 28, 2023, 07:54:01 pmIf you're actually going to worry about this, highCRIis almost certainly more important, as poor CRI can make it hard to tell colors apart (). Since eyes are really good at adapting, colortemperatureis probably not very important, though there may be some benefit to matching your ambient (room) lighting. Otherwise, I suspect it's a matter of preference, though something neutral (~4000k)mightbe preferable.

author: LinuxHata
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2023, 04:36:13 am
content: Discrete leds emit focused light, which will reflect from solder and shiny PCB surfaces and directly into your eye, causing eye strain. So you can either replace the discrete leds with single, circular COB led, or add a matte diffuser. Also, to read some component markings, you will need a separate light source, pointing at object sideways. Because, top lightning will "erase" all component markings which are made using etching (laser or chemical), making them almost invisible.