hi,
just something i noticed the other day ....
 
If you use immersion media on a slide then try to view the sample
using a xz scan i have noticed that the z step is not quite correct.
I believe that the immersion fluid's viscocity cause the slide to
move slightly. This is quite a problem when registering images or
trying to get unblurred images with an xz scan. I am currently adding
stage clamps to the confocal stage to reduce this problem, has
anybody else had such problems ?
 
To check that this was the cause i taped the slide down with strong
sellotape, low and behold very little blurring in the z direction.
 
I wonder how many new microscopes have good stage clamps ?
 
Hope this has helped,
 
 
 __________________________________________________________________
   Steve Bagley
   The Confocal Microscope Facility
   Cells, Immunology and Development        Voice:   0161 275 6771
   University of Manchester                 Fax:     0161 275 3915
 
 
                   http://gonzo.sci.man.ac.uk/~sbagley/
 
         If you tied buttered toast to the back of a cat and
            dropped it from a height, what would happen ?
   ___________________________________________________________________