DIY: Turn Your Smartphone Camera Into a Microscope with A Drop of Water

| Published: Tuesday, August 16, 2016, 17:27 [IST]

Have you ever felt the need to read tiny prints on the banknotes or taken a close look at the fibers that fabric is made of? Well, to do these, you need a microscope.

DIY: Turn Your Smartphone Camera Into a Microscope with Water

Fortunately, you have one in your pocket or bag right now. The modern day smartphone cameras can shoot great photos and we have seen the photography features that are arriving on such phones nowadays.

Also Read: Coolest DIY: 10 iPhone Stands You Can Make At Home

Though the smartphone cameras cannot replace a microscope, you can use one for the same purpose by adding an extra lens to help them get the desired magnification. If you don't want to invest in the extra lens for your phone, you can use a drop of water to get the magnification.

Also Read: 8 Easy Tricks for Great Smartphone Photography

Things you will need

You will need a cup of clean water, a flashlight, and two books or cardboards to support your phone by about half an inch about any flat surface.

The setup is as simple as this

Arrange the phone as shown in the setup. The banknote or any subject should be placed below the phone's camera on a flat surface and in a stationary way.

This is the trickiest part

You need to dip your finger in the cup of water to make sure the drop forms on your finger's tip. Then you need to touch the drop to the camera lens. The droplet that is of the right size will be as spherical as it can and it will not drip off when you flip the phone around. It should be perfectly centered on the lens.

Place the camera above the subject

Place the smartphone in such a way that the camera is right above the subject. The water will let the lens to focus onto the subject from a closer distance. If you either use the manual controls to set Macro or tap to focus the subject or get the other controls.