sexing, microscopes and magnifying glasses

[Alice]

hi all,

my bf wants to give me a pocket microscope (magnifying glass the size of a pen with 40-60x magnification) for my birthday so i'll be able to sex my slings earlier :worship:.

so now my question is: how much magnification is needed to sex slings asap and is there a 'too much'? they offer those things with up to 100x magnification (though they get quite expensive then). what do you think would be ideal?

if you don't know what i'm talking about you can have a look here:
http://www.lupenshop.de/content/lupenshop.storefront/45a612c60170e90e2742d43f47020649/Catalog/1466

check out the pen chaped ones. do you think they would be helpful?

thnx a lot.

 

[billopelma]

My microscope has 10x 20x 60x and I use mostly the 10x and 20x, though 30x would be a nice addition. The depth of focus shrinks quite a bit at higher magnification as well as the field of view and I prefer using the lowest power nessesary to see what needs to be seen. Unless the device has a dynamic method of adjusting the focus other than moving it up and down holding it in your hand I wouldn't go too high in power.
I would guess that on the majority of theraphosids, if it's so small you need 100x to sex it, that it has not developed to the point where there is anything useful to be seen. If you are only going to use it on smaller stuff 40x might be appropriate, though a lower power would be more useful in more situations. I have quite a few different magnifiying devices, loupes, headsets, microscopes etc. and unfortunatly, for whatever reason, 10x on one is not the same as 10x on another, making them hard to compare. I would want to try the item before spending $'s, don't throw out the sales slip.
There is of course a big advantage to dual eyepeice devices, whether a microscope or magnifier, as it gives depth perception. If given the choice, Id opt for lower power dual as opposed to higher power single. Sometimes I use a flip down type headset for sorting out an exuvium then use a loupe in front of it on one eye to get a closer look at details.
Hope this dosen't add to the confusion more than it helps...

Bill

 

[Alice]

thnx, it doesn't :worship: - so i'll go for 30x i think. there is even one with different magnifying levels... but i'll stick to the pocket version so i can take it to shows .