iPhoneMicroscope
Wayne's Word Index Noteworthy Plants Trivia Lemnaceae Biology 101 Botany Scenic Wildflowers Trains Spiders & Insects Search
 Increase The Size Of Display On Your Monitor:    PCs Type Control (Ctrl) +     MACs Type Command (⌘) + 
 Back To Scenic Index Page     Sony T-9 & T-10     Sony T-9 Images     Sony W-300 On Microscope     Sony DSC-TX5     Nikon SLR 1-9 
      Sony DSC-HX9V         Sony DSC-HX20V         Sony DSC-HX50V         Sony DSC-HX60V  
iPhone 12 Images With Tridaptor Microscope Adaptor
With Some Comparisons With Sony W300 Camera & Microscope Adapter
© W.P. Armstrong Updated 23 October 2025
The purpose of this page is to illustrate how an older iPhone 12 can be attached to the eyepiece of microscopes (& telescopes) to get some pretty remarkable images. With some basic photoshop skills the images can be uprezzed & enhanced to compare with newer model smartphones. Of course, you can always purchase the latest models with improved camera capabilities. I also included 2 comparisons with Sony W300 with maximum tweaking: Monarch butterfly wing & Hibiscus Pollen. WPA 18 Oct. 2025

Tridaptor Smartphone Adaptor: www.moveshootmove.com

Table Of Contents

  1.    Bauch & Lomb StereoZoom Microscope
  2.    Monarch Wing Comparison: iPhone vs. Sony  
  3.    Olympus Compound Microscope
  4.    Pollen Grain Comparison: iPhone vs. Sony
  5 .   Aphid Images With Bausch & Lomb
  6 .   Increasing Microscope Depth of Field
  7.    Conclusion: iPhone 12 vs. Sony W300

1. Attachment To Bausch & Lomb StereoZoom Microscope

Optical Magnification (Eyepiece x Objective) = 20x

President Lincoln on U.S. Penny & Bed Bug

Minute Fig Wasps At Palomar College

Tarantula Fang, Tick Nymph & Fig Wasp

Monarch Butterfly Wing

2. iPhone 12 Comparison With Sony W300
Maximum Tweaking on Both Images

Monarch Wing With iPhone 12

Optical Magnification 20x.

Monarch Wing With Sony W300

Optical Magnification 20x.

3. Attachment To Olympus Compound Microscope

Optical Magnification (Eyepiece x Objective) = 40x

Microscopic Diatoms

Hibiscus Pollen Grains

4. iPhone 12 Comparison With Sony W300
Maximum Tweaking on Both Images

Hibiscus Pollen With iPhone 12

I took this photo with my iPhone 12 on Saturday morning (18 October 2025). I collected the flower & pollen earlier that very same day. With the Tridaptor smartphone adapter I attached my iPhone to the eyepiece of Olympus compound microscope. The optical magnification is 40x. There is also a little digital magnification. As I stated above, with basic photoshop skills and considerable patience & creativity, the iPhone 12 takes very good microscope images. Following image was taken with Sony W300 with Olympus microscope.

Hibiscus Pollen With Sony W300

Optical Magnification 40x.

Clivia Pollen With Sony W300

Optical Magnification 100x.

This photo was taken with Sony W300 through Olympus compound microscope. Since the pollen grains are much smaller than Hibiscus pollen, the optical magnification was increased to 100x (10x eyepiece & 10x objective).
The microscopic, triangular Clivia pollen grains are simlar
in shape to classic Vick's cough drops and the Vick's logo.

This photo was taken with Sony W300 through Olympus compound microscope. The optical magnification was 400x (10x eye piece x 40x objective).

5. Hibiscus Flower Inhabtants Under Petals
Herds of Minute, Hungry, Grazing Aphids

Hundreds of minute aphid nymphs & adults were living & feeding under the yellow Hibiscus petals. I didn't notice them until I turned the flower over. Aphid asexual females typically give birth to live, genetically identical daughters (clones) from unfertilized eggs (parthenogenesis). In the fall males & sexual females are produced, giving rise to overwintering eggs & vital genetic variability, the raw material for evolution. [iPhone attached to B & L StereoZoom for this image.]

Aphids produce sexual males and females primarily in the fall in response to shortening day length (photoperiodism), triggering a shift from their typical asexual, clonal, all-female reproduction. The underlying mechanism is an XO sex-determination system, where females have two X chromosomes (XX) and males have one X chromosome (XO). The O designates no X chromosome. There is no Y sperm with male-determining genes as in mammals. During the asexual phase, females produce live-birth clones (parthenogenesis), while during the seasonal shift, some reproductive (fertile) females undergo special oogenesis (egg cell formation) producing males with a single X chromosome and sexual females with two X chromosomes. Females fertilized by sperm with single X chromosome produce female offspring (X egg + X sperm = XX female). Females fetilized by sperm with no X chromosone produce male offspring (X egg + NO X sperm = X male).

6. Microscope Technique To Increase Depth of Field

Sony W300 on Olympus Compound Microscope.

The dreaded head louse (Pediculus): With compound microscopes, a simple technique to increase the depth of field in thin section prepared microscope slides is to lower the substage light condenser. On lower power objectives there is usually no need for stacking with thin-section microscope slides.

7. Conclusion: The iPhone 12 with Tridaptor compares favorably with the Sony W300 & microscope adapter; however, I think the Sony has a sight edge on the difficult, minute pollination images. The advantage of iPhone is the Tridaptor that fits eye pieces of different sizes, enabling photography through various microscopes, telescopes & binoculars. And of course there are newer models of smartphones with greatly improved cameras.