MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

I would support some of the advice already given in this thread: one should stay the heck away from Chinese scopes. Compared to a used scope from the big four/five makers from 80ies or even 70ies, the Chinese new scopes are expensive garbage. Quality/price ration is very different.

I finally had some time to do some quick testing of the Leica Planapo 2.0x Corr. objective (on a Leica M205C) on specimens that are in ethanol/water. I am very happy to tell that the resolution gain is very clear even for the naked eye. I did not test at low magnifications but starting from 50x onwa...

Bump.

This is the darkfield, reflected light nosepiece that I am looking for. It's a quadruple turret.

I have a Olympus NFK 3.3x LD with a SZ-PT if you are interested.

I am looking for the nosepiece mentioned in the topic.

Thanks Pete, that was super-informative! A bummer about the lack of DF capability as I do not have a darkfield condenser either. But I will have to keep searching for both a DF condenser and DF turret/illuminator. Regarding the Orthoplan DF turrets/illuminators I seem to have read that there are two...

What to do to check for darkfield capability? Anyone?

I also happen to have the Leitz Orthoplan Vario Tube About Variotube: is it really usefull or is it empty magnification? Any experiences? Well, my Orthoplan system is still missing one major component so I am not yet very close to having an informed opinion on pretty much anything Orthoplan related...

Thanks guys for the info. Also, those tips were music to my ears as as I happen to have very good stereos at my disposal. Based on apochronauts tip, I will try both BF and DF on the Wild stereo base as it has both options. Lovely base in general, the only drawback being the current draw of the 100W ...

What technique do you guys use when inspecting microscope objectives for fungus, haze, delamination or scratch damage? Would a stereo microscope with brightfield transmitted light be the best tool & technique? On the other hand, I've read that some people use a phaco telescope lens but how is that d...

Seems pretty impressive to me, even if the output isn't quite up there yet!

I conversed with a long-time microscope dealer from whom I have bought many parts, and he confirmed that the Leitz filter cubes are indeed universal and work across all the Ploemopaks. Wasn't sure about later Leica cubes compatibility with the Leitz Ploemopaks but said that Leica manufacturesd cubes...

There is OrtholuxII, yes. However, it seems there is much more both Orthoplan stands and accessories in the market. For me, the high quality and modularity, especially easy attachment of fluorescence device Ploemopak is of high value. Large field of view is nice ( I have 30mm wide field eyepieces),...

DrPhoxinus, I think your Leitz condenser is actually a 402aa which is used for fluorescence microscopy. I have one that has the red, purple filters in it. It's probably easier to just get a 402a condenser from ebay. Charles, do you know whether the 402aa is better or worse than a darkfield condense...

Pete, here are finally the photos of the nosepiece I have. Sorry for the delay!

What can be gleaned from them regarding the darkfield and other usage possibilities?

Congratulations! If that one is indeed perfect - and I see no reason to think it isn't, you're in for a real treat. I think the price is a really good one indeed - in my opinion this objective is easily worth say £60-£90 considering just how good the Leitz 170mm TL objectives are, and this one, for...

BramHuntingNematodes wrote: ↑

Wed May 06, 2020 8:16 pm

I don't know about robbery--that seems like a fair price.

Well, I did check Ebay for 'sold' listings and recently several have sold for prices north of 160 euros. So...maybe highway robbery was a bit much but seems like a bargain at least!

Hi, I can comment a little, having had a set of 170mm TL planapo objectives on a Leitz (170mm TL) Orthoplan 'scope. The quality of those objectives is, in my experience, superb - sharp and with excellent colour and corrections, as long as the rest of the system is properly and optimally set-up, inc...

Hi, As to the comparison between the two lens families, I don't know. Actually, this question is also on my mind. 170mm tube length objectives are cheaper because they are from an older system. Also, lots of 170mm scopes were made and sold back in the day so they are flooding the market now after ha...

As the Laborlux is not a super-widefield scope and the K4 lens is specifically intended to cater for that aspect, one would imagine that there would be some difference in light quality. Perhaps it doesn't manifest itself in all situations? Could it be that things like aperture, magnification, bright...

Thanks for that very helpful note, Rorschach I don’t have any present need for a K4 ... but who knows What I do have, however, is an ‘academic’ interest in how Leitz designed and implemented these variations on the condenser theme. The picture that John B posted is quite intriguing, because it appe...

In a couple days I have been able to source two K4 lenses for very reasonable prices. One goes into the 602 condenser and the other will rotate between the 402a and a to-be-purchased polarizing condenser for the Orthoplan. Reading on it and listening to people having used them, it seems clear that t...

Thanks for this, highly interesting!

I have a few different Nye synthetic lubricant products for my scopes. They seem to be well regarded but I have no long term experience yet.

Thanks Pete, sounds promising! I'll take some photos of the nosepiece and lenses tomorrow. I am missing a few more parts from my Orthoplan system so a direct check is not possible quite yet. How have you liked the quality of the NPL Fluotar DF lenses in comparison to other high-end lenses? Edit: one...

I have a couple of these and tried to find information by searching the forum but to no avail. Nobody seems to have these darkfield versions, which is a bit surprising. Being infinity lenses and obviously for epi illumination, they should work perfectly with my Orthoplan/Metalloplan 0.8x/infinity no...

I am in possession of quite a few of Wild Fluotar objectives. I assume these are pretty good quality? They seem so tiny and light compared to some other high-quality lenses that I have seen. I intend to keep at last one set, especially the couple phase contrast fluotars. They are 160mm tube length o...

How much the K4 lens really improve the image? It is not mentioned in the older Orthoplan manuals or brochures. So it must be some kind of improvement made later? I hope I can live without the K4 lens... Several people who have it, have told me that it is either useful or important. One was of the ...

Opps, I'll see if I can import the images into the forum's host, back soon! :oops: Should be OK now folks. It is, thanks John! By the way, same problem in the old thread where you discussed the installation of this same K4 lens (the protruding screw). None of the images are visible here in the thre...

MichaelG do you still have the K4 and would you sell it? I did send a question to Perl already at the other forum. Edit: the images in your latest message are visible ! Crossed lines, I think ... I have never had a K4 My images are just a screenshot of what mrsonchus posted MichaelG. Ok. I take ful...

MichaelG do you still have the K4 and would you sell it?

I did send a question to Perl already at the other forum.

Edit: the images in your latest message are visible !