![\"objective](\"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/microscope-objective-band-colors-guide.jpg\")
The objective lens band colors are universal in order to standardize the function of a microscope. The most common colors are:<\/p>\nOn a microscope, there are usually 3 \u2013 4 objective lenses. These lenses sit on a rotating turret just above the microscope\u2019s stage.<\/p>\n
The objective lens band colors are universal in order to standardize the function of a microscope. The most common colors are:<\/p>\n
There are other band colors as well, which are listed in the table below.<\/p>\n\n
| \n Objective Lens Color<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Magnification<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Common Lens Name<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Black<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Brown<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Red<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 4x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n Scanning Lens<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Yellow<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 10x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n Low Power<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Green<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 16x \u2013 20x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Turquoise<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 25x \u2013 32x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Light Blue<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 40x \u2013 50x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n High Power<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Bright Blue<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 60x \u2013 62x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n White<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 100x \u2013 250x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n Oil Immersion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n While as noted above there is a wide range of objective lens band colors, below are the four most common types of objective lenses and their colors.<\/p>\n The red stripe is located on the scanning lens. A scanning lens has its name because it\u2019s low magnification, usually providing 4x magnification.<\/p>\n These lenses get their name from the idea that you can \u2018scan\u2019 your specimen from a relatively zoomed-out position.<\/p>\n Use this objective first whenever looking at a specimen. Achieve focus using the coarse focus knob then either use your mechanical stage or fingers to move the specimen so your focal point is right in the middle of the field of view.<\/p>\n Then, rotate the turret clockwise to the low power objective lens which usually has a yellow stripe.<\/p>\n The yellow stripe indicates you are using the low power lens. Combined with a 10x or 20x ocular lens, his lens can be very effective at generating a good view of specimens such as fly legs, onion skin and human hair.<\/p>\n It\u2019s always best to navigate from the red to yellow lens and re-focus (using the fine focus knob) to see whether this lens will provide sufficient magnification for your project.<\/p>\n If you need to step up to the high powered lens with a blue stripe, make sure you re-center your specimen using your fingers or mechanical stage, then carefully rotate the turret clockwise to the blue setting.<\/p>\n Most microscopes come out of the box with a 40x objective lens. These lenses are called the \u2018high power\u2019 lens and are used to look at smaller bacteria and cell structures.<\/p>\n It\u2019s often the case that the high power lens is too much power for your specific project. More magnification isn\u2019t always best. You want a good clear view of your specimen and you don\u2019t want to be so zoomed-in that you can\u2019t see all of your target area in your viewport.<\/p>\n Combines with a 10x eyepiece, this lens will achieve 400x magnification. With a 20x eyepiece, it will go all the way up to 800x magnification. This is more than enough for very close-up views of bacteria.<\/p>\n Only use the fine focus knob when working with a 40x high power lens to avoid clashing the lens against the stage. I would also highly recommend getting a 40xs or 40xr spring-loaded (retractable) 40x objective to prevent damage if your lens hits up against the stage or slide.<\/p>\n The objective lens with a white (or sometimes off-white cream colored) band is your 100x oil immersion lens. This lens is rarely used because you\u2019re reaching the physical limits of magnification with these lenses.<\/p>\n With a 20x eyepiece, we\u2019re talking about 2000x total magnification. At this extreme magnification, you often need to use oil immersion method.<\/p>\n Oil immersion involves placing a dab of oil above your specimen and rotating the lens over the oil so you are viewing your specimen through oil rather than air. (Often, you need to place oil between the condenser and the slide as well).<\/p>\n Oil immersion is necessary in these high magnification cases to prevent refraction that can occur when light waves travel through air.<\/p>\n A good quality objective lens is arguably the most important of the microscope parts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Objective lens quality varies significantly. As a general rule, the higher quality lenses will, unfortunately, cost more.<\/p>\n But for me, I look out for two important features:<\/p>\n A DIN Standard objective<\/strong> complies with “Deutsches Institut f\u00fcr Normung”. In English, that means “German institute for standardisation” [1<\/a>].<\/sup><\/p>\n The DIN standard regulates the thread diameter and angle (called the whitworth) so you can place any DIN standard objective into a DIN normalized objective turret.<\/p>\n Din standard objectives have:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the benefit.<\/p>\n If you have a microscope that accepts DIN standard objectives, it\u2019s easy to buy replacements \u2013 just look for any DIN objective as your replacement or upgrade.<\/em><\/p>\n Not all microscopes accept DIN standard objectives. Some cheaper \u2018kids microscope\u2019 models have poor quality and non-replaceable objectives in the objective turret. Others use the old RMS (Royal Microscope Society) standard, which has a 170mm tube length. This standard is outdated now and hard to find replacements.<\/p>\n The other thing I look out for is a spring-loaded objective from 40x and higher. You can tell these objectives because they have an \u2018s\u2019 or \u2018r\u2019 on their side, e.g. it might read as: \u201c40xs\u201d or \u201c40xr\u201d.<\/p>\n |
![\"scanning](\"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/scanning-objective-lens.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"low](\"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/low-power-objective-lens.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"high](\"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/high-power-objective-lens.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/oil-immersion-objective-lens.jpg\")
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