B&L Stereozoom SZ7 accessiories

[Scoper]

On a B&L SZ7 the accessory lenses use a different mounting system than the other scopes of the SZ series.

Has anyone offered an adapter that allows more commonly available accessory lenses to be used on this scope?

Also are any adapters that allow a LED light ring to be attached to the SZ7?

Finally has anyone resolved which accessory lenses work on the SZ7 other than the unobtainable SZ7 lenses?

Thanks

[Scarodactyl]

They're not totally impossible to get. What magnification are you after? The sz7 is pretty sifferent from the others optically.

[Scoper]

At this time I would be likely looking for a 1.5-2x lens to push the SZ7 upper range.

Actually I am more interested in knowing if other SZ auxiliary lenses work with the SZ7.

Also having an adapter that allows other commonly accessories (lenses/LED rings) to be mounted to the scope would be very useful. I have spent years waiting for the rare bit to surface for older equipment..it is getting old.. so chasing a unobtainable over priced SZ7 accessory. As a designer I have a very dim view of manufacturers using odd interfaces to further their private agendas (the Lightening interface on the Apple iPhone comes to mind).

For those who own a 3D printer, I would think there would be a market for SZ line of adapters/converters.

[Scarodactyl]

In this case there is a legitimate reason for the mount. The SZ7 has like double the reolution of other SZ family members and a fairly different optical system--its max NA of 0.2 handily beats Leica's current offerings in the series (and was equal to the recently discontinued S Apo). A normal SZ lens will not give desired performance, and the bipin mount allows quick mounting and dismounting without any unscrewing.
I have a ring light mount for the SZ7 that might physically allow attaching other sz accessories. I will have to check. I probably also have a couple sz aux lenses.

[BramHuntingNematodes]

I have tried to see if the .5 lens from the regular line would work on the sz7 and it was unsuccessful. It may be that the different attachment points were introduced to prevent mixing the lenses.

The 2x sz7 is decently common, and you could probably find one for around $50 with a bit of patience

[Sliding Focus]

On a B&L SZ7 the accessory lenses use a different mounting system than the other scopes of the SZ series.

Has anyone offered an adapter that allows more commonly available accessory lenses to be used on this scope?

B&L themselves made an adapter that allows accessories for the rest of the StereoZoom series 'scopes to be attached to the StereoZoom 7. It was called the cat. no. 31-27-34 converter, and was offered to allow the use of the 31-34-83 vertical illuminator, 31-36-05 ring illuminator, and probably also the 31-36-15, 31-36-17, and 31-28-18 ring illuminators on the StereoZoom 7. Interestingly, the converter was also used as the mount/housing for the 31-27-35 lens shield for the StereoZoom 7, and so if you cannot find the converter on its own, you can acquire one by purchasing a lens shield and unscrewing the glass.

Here, you can see the converter attached to the 31-34-83 vertical illuminator:



The lens shield looks like this:



I have seen used examples of the lens shield pop up that were missing the black foam seal adhered to the upper surface of the glass visible in the picture above. That seal is required to fully protect the StereoZoom 7's objectives from the environment, but of course is unnecessary if you plan to remove the glass and use only the converter component.

Now, just because you can mount accessories for the other StereoZoom series 'scopes to the StereoZoom 7 doesn't necessarily mean that you should! Based on @BramHuntingNematodes' and @Scarodactyl's experience/advice, I suspect that the supplementary lenses for the other StereoZoom series 'scopes would work poorly. But, accessories that B&L advertised for use with the converter, such as the vertical illuminator or ring light couplers, can probably be assumed to work reasonably well. Which brings us to your next question...

Also are any adapters that allow a LED light ring to be attached to the SZ7?

In combination with a ring light adapter/coupler with a ∅38mm thread (compatible with the other StereoZoom series 'scopes), the 31-27-34 converter can be used to adapt a ring light to the StereoZoom 7, and acquiring those parts would probably be the easiest way for you to attach your LED ring light to your StereoZoom 7 (assuming that your ring light is not so heavy that it would stress the spring that holds the converter in place). This eBay listing for a B&L ring light includes both a converter (actually, a lens shield missing the foam seal) and a ring light adapter (possibly the 31-36-06 coupler?), and $50 OBO doesn't seem like too bad a price to grab it just for the parts you want—shoot the seller an offer and see what they'll take!

Interestingly, the combo of converter/lens shield + ring light adapter/coupler wasn't the only method devised for attaching a ring light to the StereoZoom 7. Here, you can see how one of B&L's earlier fluorescent ring lights (cat. no. 31-33-23) was mounted using a post and bracket screwed into the power pod's illuminator station:



Dolan-Jenner offered similar adapters for mounting certain of their fiber optic ring lights to StereoZoom series 'scopes, including the StereoZoom 7. Here's adapter 360-3 MAP, for mounting ring lights A3739P and A3739M to the StereoZoom 7 (for low magnifications, an adapter 360-3A MAP was also offered):



Some Dolan-Jenner products were rebranded and catalogued by B&L, including a post-mounted 4-point fiber optic ring light specific to the StereoZoom 7; the entire system was sold as cat. no. 31-30-50-05, and its individual components were cat. nos. 31-30-50 (illuminator), 31-30-51 (4-point adapter), 31-30-56 (4-point fiber optic), and 31-30-61 (4-point post and handle).

For those who own a 3D printer, I would think there would be a market for SZ line of adapters/converters.

Actually, someone has 3D printed their own ring light adapter for a StereoZoom 7 and made the design freely available! See this link: Adding some better lighting to a Bausch & Lomb 'Stereo Zoom 7'. (In case that link goes dead, here's an archived version).