Colored filters
can enhance views through a microscope.
Microscopes come in a variety of designs and functionality. They generally use different types of filters to improve the images and light they capture. Colored filters perform specific tasks and functions for several areas of study, including taking closer looks at biological and mineral specimens as well as photomicrography.
Color Correction
Colored filters filter specific colors to improve the quality of a magnified image. This function corrects the color temperature of the light source used to view the image on a microscope. Two types of colored filters help in color correction: interference filters and absorption filters. Interference filters deflect a color, while absorption filters absorb and distribute the color of the filter. Absorption filters are used mainly for photographic purposes, while interference filters are used for color correction and image enhancement.
Countering Biological Stains
Stains applied to specimens can help show details more effectively. These stains, however, can interfere with the image of the specimen. Color compensating filters counter this problem. If a stain greatly reduces the details of the specimen, a didymium filter can improve the quality of the image. This filter is made up of several rare elements dissolved in a glass filter and it removes orange light. The removal of this specific section of the light spectrum improves the specimen's image.
Reducing Light Absorption and Illumination
Natural density filters reduce the illumination of a specimen. These filters usually have a gray color that not only reduces the amount of light transferred from the lenses but also distributes this light evenly on the whole specimen's reflection. Through this process the resulting image is clearer and the light distribution on the specimen is even.
Uses in Photomicrography
Colored filters are also widely used in photomicrography, the practice of taking photographs using light microscopes. Although the main functions of colored filters are for color correction and enhancement, they can also be used for special effects and design. Some people combine several colored filters to get a desired effect with photomicrography, allowing them to obtain artistic photomicrographs with different textures and characteristics.
Tags: color correction, Colored filters, absorption filters, colored filters, filters used
