Video through the microscope

 

Of course, digital cameras can do more than just take still pictures. Video through the microscope adds the dimension of time. Not only can you see the subject move, but you can focus on the subject at different depths.

Below is a Rotifer, seen using dark field illumination. You can see the eyes, the mouth, and details of the segmentation. She's carrying an egg, which you can see near the tail (all rotifers are female).

 

Below is a colony of Vorticella seen in phase contrast with a 20x objective.

 

Here is a Tardigrade with a Rotifer stuck to it for a while, each trying to move in a different direction.

 

You can also do special effects, like slow motion, so that features that may have been moving to quickly to see are now visible. Below is a Rotifer at one-quarter speed.