Besides other types of lenses for your phone, you can also get ones that will turn your phone into a "microscope."

One of those is the iMicro lens that you attach to your phone camera lens. This lens runs about $39 for the newer Q2 improved lens. As such, it won't be the same as the ones that are used in professional labs. Nevertheless, it could make study of biological slides easier. It simply sticks over your existing phone lens. Using a backlight of some type is needed. These were taken using an LED light panel: (However, you could use another light source such as the flashlight from another phone or tablet.)

Light panel

I found that trying to focus on a microscope slide while holding the phone was very difficult. Closeup photography can be challenging in this respect. The best method seemed to have something for the phone to rest on to reduce camera shake. Another problem, however, was that the distance for focus varied from slide to slide. That is also why microscopes have both coarse and fine adjustments. In trying to figure out an inexpensive and easy method for this, I decided to try a stack of thick plastic sheets (0.02 inches thick each). That would allow me to add or remove a sheet for focusing. I cut the sheets into pieces 3" wide x 2" high. This allowed the phone to sit on the stack without interfering with the camera lenses. Generally, a stack of 10-12 of these small pieces of plastic worked. Here is what it looked like.

1. The arrow points to the iMicro Q2 lens on the phone lens.

iMicro Q2 Lens

2. This is the lightboard with the microscope slide. I took a piece of the leftover plastic and made it into a "slide mover." I bent up one end to keep the slide on it.

Lightboard with microscope slide and plastic mover

3. Here is the lightboard with the microscope slide, slider and the stack of plastic used for adjusting the height of the phone for focus.

Lightboard with microscope slide and plastic stack for focusing

4. Here is the entire setup with the phone and using the i-Seeing application. A layer of the plastic stack was added or removed to help with the focus. The amount needed depends on the slide that is being viewed and how the slide was prepared.

Lightboard, microscope slide, plastic stack for adjustments, and phone with camera

5. Here are slide photos taken with this method using the i-Seeing app. Once the photo is taken you can add it to your phones photos.

Tilia (Linden) stem cross-section 48x

Tilia stem cross-section

Volvox (Green Algae) 48x

Pine Root Cross-section 48x

Pine root cross-section 48x

Paramecia 96x

Paramecia 96x

Onion Epidermis 96x

Onion Epidermis 96x

Want to know more? Contact Kathy at 402-280-3646.