A viewer device for observing and recording images of materials, such as chemical and biological materials is described. The viewer device includes a housing that provides a chamber for receiving a sample container that contains a sample of a material (e.g., chemical or biological material). The housing includes a viewing window for observing the sample, a port through which the sample can be introduced to or removed from the chamber, and a coupling mechanism configured to removably and replaceably couple the housing to an observational device, such as a camera equipped device.