My new microscope! Leitz SM-LUX-POL

What equipment do you use? Post pictures and descriptions of your microscope(s) here!
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jb89
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 9:09 am
Location: Denver, Co

My new microscope! Leitz SM-LUX-POL

#1 Post by jb89 » Thu Jul 04, 2019 8:59 pm

Finally got my SM-LUX-POL in good condition, recently serviced and ready to put to work!

Currently it has
12v 100w lightsource

Pol condenser

170/- 10/0.25 P
160/0.17 NPL FLUOTAR 25/0.55 P
160/0.17 NPL FLUOTAR 40/0.70 P
Objectives

Microscope
https://i.imgur.com/xc5BahV.jpg
One of the first pictures I took with it -- holding the camera in front of the eyepiece.
https://i.imgur.com/nOJgnRN.jpg
It looks much better in person, very happy with it!

In the future I plan on getting quite a few accessories for it including:
Bertrand lens attachment
Ploemopak for incident light
Mechanical stage if I can find one that doesn't cost a small fortune
I would eventually like to get a lower power and higher power objectives

Do I need to stick with P objectives for polarized light work? It seems like the fluotar's and P objectives are rare and expensive, I'm not sure how much of a difference they make.

geo_man
Posts: 167
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2019 4:54 pm

Re: My new microscope! Leitz SM-LUX-POL

#2 Post by geo_man » Thu Jul 04, 2019 11:06 pm

Microscope and thin section looking good! Congrats!!

luxikon
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 4:14 pm
Location: Northern Germany

Re: My new microscope! Leitz SM-LUX-POL

#3 Post by luxikon » Fri Sep 20, 2019 7:46 pm

I've got an Ortholux II and own a lot of Leitz objectives (Planachromats, Fluotars, Apochromats) without the P for Polarization on them.
I made all my pictures of microcristals in polarized light with them (2,5x to 10x). I cannot compare with P objectives but my pictures look brilliant. With even dark background and no shadows (?) to see.

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75RR
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Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:34 am
Location: Estepona, Spain

Re: My new microscope! Leitz SM-LUX-POL

#4 Post by 75RR » Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:55 pm

Looking very nice. Well done.

As to using specialized Pol objectives - I don't believe that is necessary for the average amateur microscopist,

who is most likely to be interested in the appearance of materials rather than in identifying them.

If however you are studying to become a geologist or are hoping to acquire a geologist's skills, then I think they would be worth the extra money.

This extract is from: https://www.microscopyu.com/microscopy- ... objectives

Polarized Light
Unlike most other forms of microscopy, polarized light microscopy produces the best images when a minimum of optical elements are used in the construction of objectives. It is important to ensure that lens elements, optical cements, and antireflection coatings are free of both strain and birefringent materials that might interfere with quantitative assessment of specimen birefringence.
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

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