My new stereoscope

[Pat Thielen]

I just bought a C&A Scientific Premiere SMZ-07 stereoscope. It has zoom capability from 7x to 45x and it also has a trinocular head. So, my next mission will be to figure out how to mount my Nikon dSLR to it. I'll probably order an adapter I found on Amazon for around $90.00, but I'm not sure of the lens quality in the adapter. But someone did point out that Amazon does have a good return policy, so if it doesn't work out it shouldn't be too difficult to send it back.

I'm looking forward to working with this scope -- The optical quality seems to be very good; the image it produces is very sharp and clear at all magnifications. I do wish it had a bit more light -- And LED light source would have been much better, I think, than the halogen light it comes with. But in any case I think I'll be quite happy with it.

[billben74]

Looks very hansome.

[Pat Thielen]

Looks very hansome.

Why thank you! Thank you very much!

[mrsonchus]

That looks to be a beauty! Congratulations.

[einman]

Very Nice. Up to 45X most Chinese manufactured scopes, regardless of label, have very good optics. I agree with you that the halogen lighting on this type of stand is a bit lacking. You will probably want an external halogen fiberoptic or LED illuminator. There are some really good deals on E-bay if you look. Depending on the subject your best bet is a dual pipe LED/Halogen illuminator rather than a ring light. Ring lighting eliminates shadows but by its very nature also minimizes differences in texture etc. I have multiple forms of light and the Dual pipe approach is my favorite.

Alternatively, depending on where you live IKEA offers a 6 w LED lamp for $10 that is incredible for the price. It is comparable to many of the much more expensive offerings from Amscope and other microscope vendors.

I have purchased 5 fiberoptic illuminators for less than $50 each from E-bay all of which performed excellently, though some better than others. You can also switch out the dual pipe for a ring illuminator should you wish to use that option. Though purchasing ring lights and/or dual pipe accessories after the fact tends to cost more. It is cheaper in many cases to simply purchase another entire illuminator with the accessory you are after.

Here is one of my set-ups which uses three forms of lighting; Dual pipe Halogen, a ring light, and Transmitted light via the stage.

[Pat Thielen]

Thanks for the suggestion on the lights -- I'll need to get some of those for my other microscope as well. I'll take a look at Ikea and see what I can find. Or, I could use LED pocket mag lights; they make one that has 245 lumins that would work quite well too.

I discovered a rather interesting thing while looking at a dead dragonfly I found earlier this spring. I wish I could get a photo to show everyone; hopefully soon. Anyway, the dragonfly has small patches of these strange white crystals on it. Each crystal is (I'm guessing) around 50 microns in size and they seem to grow in clumps attached to the dragonfly. I wonder if anyone may have an idea of what they might be. I know -- Without a photo it is nearly impossible.

Something new every day!

[einman]

Here is a photo using the Ikea lamps.

[Dale]

I just added a dual fiberoptic, and it is truly great. The Ikea lamps sounded too good for the price, but now
I have them all over the place. They are sometimes on sale for $8. My ring light just got in the way, but only
because of the way it was attached to the scope. It works better on the dslr camera macro lens.
Dale

[Pat Thielen]

I think there is a trip to Ikea in my future.

Thanks for the tips!

[Dale]

Here is a link:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658/#
The base is really heavy, and is not required for 'flexible lighting' setups.
Dale

[Pat Thielen]

Here is a link:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658/#
The base is really heavy, and is not required for 'flexible lighting' setups.
Dale

Just curious -- This light is only 88 lumins so it isn't super bright. Do you find it bright enough to use for photography? Or would I need something brighter like a mag light attached to a similar stand?

[Dale]

Sorry, can't help you there. My scope is binoc only, even though I have the hardware to
hang my Nikon on it. I have not tried diffusing my Ikea lights. Experience can be a humbling
thing, as much effort as I expended to get 120X, I use the 7 to 30X most often.
Dale

[einman]

Here is a link:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658/#
The base is really heavy, and is not required for 'flexible lighting' setups.
Dale

Just curious -- This light is only 88 lumins so it isn't super bright. Do you find it bright enough to use for photography? Or would I need something brighter like a mag light attached to a similar stand?

If you use 2 it is sufficient. As you can see in my earlier photo I use ping pong balls as diffusers.

Here are some examples





Another scope using the IKEA lights

[CaptainKirk]

I just bought a C&A Scientific Premiere SMZ-07 stereoscope. It has zoom capability from 7x to 45x and it also has a trinocular head. So, my next mission will be to figure out how to mount my Nikon dSLR to it. I'll probably order an adapter I found on Amazon for around $90.00, but I'm not sure of the lens quality in the adapter. But someone did point out that Amazon does have a good return policy, so if it doesn't work out it shouldn't be too difficult to send it back.

I'm looking forward to working with this scope -- The optical quality seems to be very good; the image it produces is very sharp and clear at all magnifications. I do wish it had a bit more light -- And LED light source would have been much better, I think, than the halogen light it comes with. But in any case I think I'll be quite happy with it.

Grats on your new scope!

Also wanted to send you a link for reference: http://www.amscope.com/7x-45x-trinocula ... ights.html $369, vs. I see $392. Then again, it does come down to where you are located and shipping costs.

[einman]

I just bought a C&A Scientific Premiere SMZ-07 stereoscope. It has zoom capability from 7x to 45x and it also has a trinocular head. So, my next mission will be to figure out how to mount my Nikon dSLR to it. I'll probably order an adapter I found on Amazon for around $90.00, but I'm not sure of the lens quality in the adapter. But someone did point out that Amazon does have a good return policy, so if it doesn't work out it shouldn't be too difficult to send it back.

I'm looking forward to working with this scope -- The optical quality seems to be very good; the image it produces is very sharp and clear at all magnifications. I do wish it had a bit more light -- And LED light source would have been much better, I think, than the halogen light it comes with. But in any case I think I'll be quite happy with it.

Grats on your new scope!

Also wanted to send you a link for reference: http://www.amscope.com/7x-45x-trinocula ... ights.html $369, vs. I see $392. Then again, it does come down to where you are located and shipping costs.

That is for the entire scope. He only needs better lighting.

[Pat Thielen]

I did get the lights from Ikea and they seem quite good and do add nicely to the light that came with the scope. I may see about doing something similar with an LED mag light; I think that may help a lot when I try taking pictures with it.

Which brings up the second point: I did (finally) order the camera adapter from Amazon and I should get it on Monday. I'm still rather dubious of the whole thing as I don't think you can really buy a quality camera adapter for $90.00 but you never know. I'm also not sure if it will work properly with my full-sensor dSLR. I can always send it back, but then that would leave me without camera capabilities.

I'm sorry I can't remember the member's name, but his hydra video is what did it for me. Thanks for the inspiration... And for making me spend $90.00!

I'll let you all know how everything goes hopefully very soon. I look forward to using my camera with this microscope.

[Johann]

I'm sorry I can't remember the member's name, but his hydra video is what did it for me. Thanks for the inspiration... And for making me spend $90.00!

Hehehe, sorry Pat
Looking forward to see some of your pics and videos.

[Pat Thielen]

I'm sorry I can't remember the member's name, but his hydra video is what did it for me. Thanks for the inspiration... And for making me spend $90.00!

Hehehe, sorry Pat
Looking forward to see some of your pics and videos.

It was you! Sorry I couldn't recall your name when I wrote my last post. I'm still amazed at your video -- It really is inspirational. Of course, if I fail miserably I'll know who to blame!

[Pat Thielen]

The adapter I bought from Amazon seems to be a little better than I was expecting. I think it's made of metal, and it fits my camera just fine. The only thing is it can't be locked down as there isn't a locking screw so the whole thing is capable of turning, which may make using the camera a bit interesting. Otherwise, it seems quite nice.

I did manage to mount my camera to the stereoscope and found that the scope comes with an adjustment screw that allows the camera mount to be raised. This enabled me to calibrate the camera to the eyepiece, which is really quite nice. So far so good.

The real problem I've run into is that I don't have a USB3 cable that is long enough to go from the computer to the scope. So, after work this weekend I'll be off to Microcenter to find a suitable cable. I hope to have some photos to share next week if all goes well.

Fun stuff!