Install a Blue Filter on the Olympus BX45 Microscope

Read the Edited Video Transcript for ‘Install a Blue Filter on the Olympus BX45 Microscope’

Hi, this is Chad with Munday Scientific. Today, we’re going to talk about how to install a blue filter—or a didymium filter—on your Olympus BX45 microscope.

If you’re looking through your scope and notice that the halogen light appears yellow, there are a couple of things to check. You may be missing the blue filter, or you might just have a setting incorrect. Michael’s going to join us as we go through it.

First, this is what your BX45 microscope looks like. It comes with a great universal tool that can handle just about anything on this microscope.

Your blue filter can be installed in one of two places. The first option is in the filter cassette, located here. This cassette rotates between three positions. To make access easier, we’ll remove the stage.

To take off the stage, flip the top element out and raise the objectives to their highest position. Then, loosen the small screw next to the filter cassette—just a quarter to half turn. Once loosened, the cassette can be pulled out. You’ll see three slots where you can insert various components, such as a phase ring, a blue filter, or a green filter—depending on your application, like phase contrast work.

You’ll also see the field diaphragm, or iris diaphragm, and underneath that are clips that hold the blue filter in place. If your light appears yellow, you can rotate this filter into position. It’s secured with a retention ring—just clip it in securely. Make sure it’s seated properly, and then slide the cassette back into the microscope. Your blue filter is now installed.

Second Option – A Lollipop Shot

The second option for adding a filter is using what’s often referred to as a “lollipop” slot. This is the same location used for inserting a polarizer. The blue filter slides right into this slot. Mike, come in and let’s show them where it goes.

It simply slides into place. If this were a polarizer, you’d be able to rotate it here to align the poles. For a blue filter, you just drop it in. It’s gravity-held, with a small lip that keeps it from falling—so be sure it’s inserted correctly or it may fall out.

Just to give you a visual comparison, here’s what the light looks like without a filter—it has a yellowish hue. Now, when we add the filter, the light becomes much crisper and whiter. On camera, it might appear blue, but when viewed through the microscope, it looks very clean and white—which is ideal for microscopy work.

That’s all we wanted to show in this video. If you’re looking for a blue filter like the one we used, you can find it at microscopemarketplace.com. The reason we made this video is because a pathology lab purchased three of these filters just this morning.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at —that’s “Munday” spelled M-U-N-D-Y. You can also call us at 919-775-5596.

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