A microscope include condenser lenses as one of its components. This is because the incandescent light source aims to magnify the specimen through the eyepiece or ocular lenses of the microscope. The user sees the objects in a lighter path through the natural pigmentation that has been absorbed.
Take for example, a paramecium. This microorganism is fairly seen under a bright light simply because the user must have an adequate amount of light in order for him to fully magnify the image using the microscope. The magnification may simply be done through the objective lenses, wherein the subject is magnified countless times.

Many students of life sciences may be already aware on how to use the focus knobs – be they fine or coarse – in order to observe the subject better. However, some may be unaware of the proper adjustments that should be done to the condenser, however the contrast and resolution can easily be controlled.

There are condensers that are already fixed in terms of their positioning while there are others that are focusable and close to the microscope stage. The condenser of the bright field microscope also includes an aperture diaphragm. This is a tool which controls the light diameter beam that comes up from the condenser. This stops the light from heading straight into the condenser lenses, which is essential when there is high contrast.

Now that is one advantage. Sadly, there is a disadvantage to that. The user then relies solely on the diaphragm in order to contrast the subject to the optimum point required. Some believe that the more contrast the bright field microscope produces, the more distorted the image will become. But with a tiny unpigmented and unstained subject, the user can easily obtain the optimum contrast once the subject becomes visible.

How to use a bright field microscope
First and foremost, it is important to ask yourself why you need the microscope in the first place. A scientist is aware on how much magnification is needed for the study that will be conducted, as well as the specimen that will be observed. The resolution and the contrast of the over-all study is also taken into consideration in order to set up the bright field microscope for viewing.

The user must then mount the specimen on the bright field microscopic stage. The advantage to this is that the microscope has high-powered objective lenses that can be used to focus through the glass slides. There is no need to bring these up close to the subject. The stage can also be armed with clips or slide holders. The disadvantage is that this process is not done automatically. It is tedious work but the slides require manual positioning.

Optimize lighting
Every microscope user knows that a good light source is one that has a dynamic and a wide range which can provide the whole eyepiece with an intense illumination at high levels. Low intensities can only make the user comfortably view the subject because it is not as bright as those with high intensity. The problem is the light will be too dull for the user to fully see what is going on in the bright field microscope stage.

In order to make the most out of this, the microscope must have an external light source that is aimed toward the center of the condenser. The user then adjusts the illumination so the field light is not too bright to blind the eyes.

In order to fix this disadvantage, we suggest that the user adjust the condenser. This not only aligns the microscope, it also positions the lens at an opening that will allow it to have a brighter field for the aperture diaphragm to increase the high contrast. This can be seen with the light coming up into the subject.

Do not be troubled too much with the disadvantages. Instead, try to concentrate on the advantages of using a bright field microscope. It is hard to search for something that is as minute as a bacteria and the bright field microscope can help you with that. It is all about the proper lighting. As long as you know how to direct the light to the subject with the proper amount of hue, contrast and brightness, then you slowly eradicate the disadvantages in using a bright field microscope.

The key is to just focus, find and concentrate on the subject being observed. With the knowledge on lighting, everything else will follow through. Soon enough, you will get the hang of using the bright field microscope and you will be observing other specimen in no time.