Hi Charlie, Roberto, and R.S...
Thanks for the clarification. I was afraid I had forgotten some important technical term from the few geology courses I had long ago. Apparently "hardstone" means "hard stone". Ok... Poking around on the web, I see that in archaeological contexts it is also sometimes used generically in reference to the igneous/metamorphic rock from which hand axes, celts, etc. are manufactured.
R.S., I have a reply to you regarding cameras/optics, but this involves two photos, and at the moment my web site's server is hosed up, so it'll have to wait.
Regards, Alan
OPINIONS NEEDED.
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Hi R.S...
Yes, I have been using the "super macro" for a while, but have not yet used a tripod/timer - must do that.
This was taken with a "Proscope", a low-res USB-interfaced camera fitted with a 10x lens (the 50x lens has also been helpful sometimes). This toy has come in quite handy on occasion - fast and easy to use, but not really ready for prime time; I probably could do better justice to the artifact by properly using the C-4000 in super macro mode with tripod as you describe.
Regards, Alan
http://www.daysknob.com
Yes, I have been using the "super macro" for a while, but have not yet used a tripod/timer - must do that.
Such microscopes are available, and widely used in geology labs. The photos below show the one Dr. Arsen Faradzhev brought with him from Moscow when he visited the site here in 2005. Seeing the stuff magnified in stereo under quality lenses is a whole different experience.Whether you could ever find a microscope that does the same thing is doubtful, imo. You'd probably need one with revolving optics, but, as you already suspect, finding one with the required amount of travel is going to be a problem.
Well, hairs for one thing, as in the following photo of a rather odd artifact (I have two of these), hairs twisted around each other and tied with plant fibers, some of the fibers artificially dyed. (Verified by a forensic biology professor.)BTW, what hairsized archaeological objects are you thinking of?
This was taken with a "Proscope", a low-res USB-interfaced camera fitted with a 10x lens (the 50x lens has also been helpful sometimes). This toy has come in quite handy on occasion - fast and easy to use, but not really ready for prime time; I probably could do better justice to the artifact by properly using the C-4000 in super macro mode with tripod as you describe.
Regards, Alan
http://www.daysknob.com