Forums

Amateurmicroscopy.net - forum, image galleries and more. Some of the best photomicrography to be seen on the web

Yahoo Microscopy Forum - a great source of technical information and assistance

General Resources

Micro Contrasts - methods for the optimisation of light microscopy. A site worth checking out for ideas.

Microscope Forum - site by Ron Neumeyer containing a broad range of resources

Microscopy from the Very Beginning - a very useful summary of microscopical practice and technique from Zeiss

Microscopy UK, - a site providing almost all you are likely to need relating to microscopy, including excellent monthly on-line magazine

Modern Microscopy - an online journal

Molecular Expressions - optical microscopy primer

Olympus Microscopy Resource Center

Robert Hooke - a site dedicated to the great man

Microscopes - Documentation

AO (American Optical) Spencer Microscope Manuals and Catalogs

Science-Info.org - Microscope documentation compiled by Gordon Couger

Watson - Little Imp Publications - not only provide useful publications, but also host a valuable resource for Watson microscope information

Zeiss (Jena) Manuals - Follow the "Zeiss-Jena Anleitungen" link on the left-hand side of the page, and there is the Manual archive, sub-divided into different categories of literature. Thanks to Kevin Sunley on the Yahoo Forum for spotting this.

Zeiss (West) Manuals - See index which can be downloaded here more info from CZ Micha

Zeiss Product Archive - an archive of more recent product literature from Zeiss

Zeiss Manuals - an expanding collection of manuals on the Zeiss website

Leitz - Image Forming and Illumination Systems (~20 Mb) - More excellent resources from Gordon Couger

The Book of the Watson Microscope (27.25Mb)

Handbook for the Watson Service II Microscope (2.08 Mb)

Microscopes for Students & Research (Watson Catalogue 1936) (4.23 Mb)

Olympus FH Manual (3.46 Mb)

Olympus FH Fine Focus (2.56 Mb) - rough notes compiled by my dad for dismantling the FH fine focus mechanism

Bits and Pieces

Hardware

Brunel Microscopes Ltd. - Instruments, lab equipment, stains, reagents etc

C & H Sales Co - all sorts of useful surplus, inluding fibre optic light guides

LSDiodes - Where I get 24000 mcd LEDs

Middlesex University Teaching Resources - more useful bits & pieces

The LED Light.com - high intensity LEDs. Luxeon stars etc.

Software

CombineZ - Free software from Alan Hadley for combining "stacks" of images taken at slightly differing focus positions in order to enhance depth of field. Only the in-focus parts of each image are combined

Helicon Focus - similar in function to CombineZ, but not free (apart from a free 1 month trial). The two programs are complementary in that where one does not produce good results, the other often will. UK agents are Brunel Microscopes Ltd.

Clubs and Societies

Freshwater Biological Association

Friends of Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Postal Microscopical Society

Quekett Microscopical Club - a venerable club, founded 1865 and still very much alive