Having only a laser printer at my disposal, I've been trying to make object-plane reticles to calibrate the magnification of photomicrographs. This first, poor item is 5x5mm, with the light and dark bars intended to be ¼mm (250µ) wide. However, uniformity is awful:
Next I tried a small square containing other squares. My initial attempts were aimed at having the smaller squares be 0.1mm (100µ), but after various tests, I settled on the square being 2.5x2.5mm, with the small squares being 250x250µ. If you click on this image, the larger image you'll see has a magnification of about 52X. This one is closer to 15X. The target insect is a midge about 1.2mm long in body, with legs approaching 2mm long:
This last image is a 1x1mm clip from a more highly magnified original, centered on the midge's head. At this magnification, 1mm = 480 pixels, so if you click on the image below, the larger version, being 480 pixels across, will occupy 4.8 inches on your screen, or a magnification of 122X:
With this microscope, at least, handheld photomicrography works pretty well. I am considering a jig that will screw into the tripod mount and attach to the microscope tube, so I can get more repeatably aimed results, and even make short videos (like of the critters in my birdbath). But for most purposes which I use this microscope, this method is sufficient.
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