ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some guidelines on selecting which optical microscopy method is best suited for a specific application. Financially they range over a thousand times in cost, indeed if one includes the latest generation of “webcam” microscopes this becomes over ten thousand times. Making a commitment in optical microscopy is an important decision. A classic example occurred with the introduction of multiphoton microscopy in the mid to late 1990s. The microscope is then “un-zoomed” and the original area imaged at low excitation intensity again. An option is via an embedded optical fibre or micro-LED but generally the samples are placed on an optical microscope and imaged while the light activated process takes place. Through the use of a modified Selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) microscope, light was introduced to the sample through the imaging objective. SPIM has recently been shown to provide excellent extended imaging of plants during the early stages of root development.
