Zeiss Universal - I think - Lot's of Questions

[A-PeeR]

Hello all,

A brief intro and then a few questions if you will. I am an avid macro photographer and have delved into the realm of photomicroscopy with a DSLR, tube lens, infinite microscope objective, a stacking rig consisting of a microscope focusing block and a live view feed to a computer monitor. Fairly standard and rudimentary stuff for one interested in the pursuit.

As I plodded along I realized I wanted to observe and photograph smaller subjects, in particular isolated pond specimens. I prefer DIC imagery so I have been weighing my circa 70/80 options Nikon, Olympus, and Zeiss. I finally opted for Zeiss due to the availability of INKO condensers. I will say the availability of INKO prisms is in tighter demand. I've been watching PhotoMicroscopes and Universals on EBay for a while and one finally popped up for a good price and for the most part seems complete (for my purposes). Some questions for the collective:

1) Is it a Universal? The lack of an internal camera roll in the stand suggests to me it is.






2) I suspect It is an newer model with the Zeiss Stenciling vs badge and the plastic aperture ring in the base.




3) I want to use an ASPC camera but it comes with a C-Mount Tube. What Zeiss phototube and eyepiece would work for this application?


4) Condenser is INKO, what objectives/prisms do I need for DIC?



These are the objectives that come with the scope. Thoughts, opinions, experiences with these?




5) From the pictures, does this seem like a versatile illumination instrument? It seemed to me, but this is my first time dipping my toes in the Zeiss pool….











Any other thoughts, opinions, and/or general thoughts are most welcome.


Best regards - William

[75RR]

Looks very nice!

here are links to some manuals to help you ID it and to the 4 types of DIC that Zeiss had for the 160 tube microscopes + tips on cleaning + a useful brochure

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=773

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1543

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1428

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4323


Suggest you get if off the floor, cleaned and under a dust cover asap

[Hobbyst46]

1. This is a research-grade (of that era) fluorescence microscope. Seems to be fully equipped, complete with the two power supplies, for observing DIC/phase contrast and the fluorescence of four popular biological stains, was probably used for live cell studies. As such, it must have costed a fortune decades ago.

Notes: (a) this is a very heavy microscope, even without the power supplies and gadgets.
(b) it seems to have been out of use for a long time, some thumb screws are corroded
(c) and it sadly lies waiting down in a non-inviting surplus storage area.

2. The objectives cover the magnification range nicely, 6.3X-16X-40X-100X, they are Neofluar and phase contrast, which is very good and relatively expensive. The 100X is oil immersion.

Note: (a) For DIC, I think that other objectives, not phase-contrast would be better, but I'm not sure.
(b) I would thoroughly inspect those objectives, for potential fungus and/or delamination.

3. The head is Seidentopf (very convenient) and the eyepieces are 10X KPL WF, very good.

Note: must check the eyepieces for delamination.

4. I would also verify that the field aperture ring rotates freely, since, if it is stuck, repair might be a nuisance.

5. The lamphouses - the bottom one (halogen) and especially the top one (the mercury or xenon lamp) might require some cleaning of the bulbs and mirrors and lenses - according to the appropriate instruction manuals, with care.

6. I am guessing that the bulky phototube on the triangular head was a special modification for a light-sensitive camera or perhaps some other light-sensitive sensor, to acquire fluorescence data.

7. The fluorescence accessories themselves are valuable and expensive, so if fluorescence is not your taste, they could be removed and separately sold.

[photomicro]

Yes, this is a Universal II model. You are right, a camera cannot fit where there is a light train for the incident light set-up (top lamp).

The stand has obviously been set up for fluorescence work at some stage. You need to be careful in relation to any mercury vapour bulb that may be fitted. It may have broken in transit, and in any event, unless you are sure that the lamp has been used with this PSU (there is a counter to give hours used) you can't be sure of the life of the bulb.

Though that is a DIC condenser, it looks quite a late model, which would work with prisms above each objective, which we can't see here. The earlier type worked with a slider that fits in the optovar. Is there one there?

Also, the objectives shown are phase, and Neofluars, so may or may not work well with the DIC condenser. Needs looking into.

Quite a stand, one of my favourites the Universal.

Have fun with it.

Mike

[zzffnn]

Welcome to the forum, William. Glad to see another macro/microphotographer from Houston!

Have you searched/asked at the other forum? There are quite some Zeiss DIC owners there:
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... p?p=182113

Check for delamination very carefully.

Phase contrast objectives usually don't work well with DIC. Zeiss DIC works only for a specific set of objectives. Mismatch may work, but it is a gamble, especially with non-Zeiss objectives.

Take apart that photo tube and see if you can modify it and make light passing diameter wider than 18mm. You need to fit a Zeiss compensating eyepiece, which is required by all older Zeiss objectives.

You can do afocal imaging:
scope objective - scope 10x visual eyepiece , kpl 10x for Zeiss - camera lens equivalent to 60mm full frame lens, when coupled with your camera senor and crop factor (5D Mark III is full frame?).

I don't own Zeiss; I am a Nikon owner without DIC. I thought about getting Zeiss DIC, but gave up on it as I don't want to switch my entire system.

You can reach me at
zzffnn at h0tm8il dot com
if you want to meet casually (again, I don't have Zeiss gear, though I do shoot macro and micro casually). Remove all spaces in that email address and replace "at", "0" and "8" with "@", "o" and "a". I live in 77546 area.

[KurtM]

Yes, very nice to see another Houston area macro/photomicrography enthusiast pop up! I think I may know your San Antonio seller, looks just like his garage, haha. If I'm on the right track, he's a good and honest guy who will likely stand behind what he sells.

For you, I'd say it's a matter of taking the time to go through the literature 75RR and familiarize yourself with all the bits, which is going to take time. You're gonna need objective lens and prism slider sets, plus prism holder/extension tubes for each hole. Then prowl eBay to see what's out there. Then sweat delamination along with the rest of us Zeiss DIC wranglers (I use a WL stand with late style DIC).

Have you bought this thing, or thinking about it?

[A-PeeR]

here are links to some manuals to help you ID it and to the 4 types of DIC that Zeiss had for the 160 tube microscopes + tips on cleaning + a useful brochure

What a treasure trove of documentation, thank you and I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty to download all the documentation. Even the non-universal documentation has worth to the budding Zeiss microscopist.

Suggest you get if off the floor, cleaned and under a dust cover asap

Absolutely, still at the seller's residence, hoping to pick it up this weekend or next. You wouldn't happen to know the dimensions (WxDxH) of the scope. Until I get a proper dust cover, I'd like to get a plastic tote to store it in.

Best regards - William

-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[A-PeeR]

1. {Snip} As such, it must have costed a fortune decades ago.

Yes, I'm sure it did, in today's dollars I could never afford an equivalent scope.

Notes: (a) this is a very heavy microscope, even without the power supplies and gadgets.

I actually prefer it have some weight as the ultimate goal is photomicroscopy. I'm guessing it's around 60 lb's does that sound correct?

(b) it seems to have been out of use for a long time, some thumb screws are corroded

Not sure how long it has been out of commision but I know from the seller it was recently purchased at a surplus auction.

(c) and it sadly lies waiting down in a non-inviting surplus storage area.

Yes it does look neglected on the floor, hopefully that will be remedied this weekend

2. The objectives cover the magnification range nicely, 6.3X-16X-40X-100X, they are Neofluar and phase contrast, which is very good and relatively expensive. The 100X is oil immersion.

I too, thought it was a nice magnification range. It is encouraging to read that they rate "very good" in your opinion.

Note: (a) For DIC, I think that other objectives, not phase-contrast would be better, but I'm not sure.

I'm not sure myself, but I suspect you are correct, given my limited understanding of how DIC works. While the ultimate goal is DIC I am very happy to start out with phase contrast.

(b) I would thoroughly inspect those objectives, for potential fungus and/or delamination.

Agreed - I had the seller inspect the objectives and notes objectives are clear and appear to be free of delamination.

3. The head is Siedentopf (very convenient) and the eyepieces are 10X KPL WF, very good.
Note: must check the eyepieces for delamination.

I'm not familiar with Siedentopf, what makes it convenient? I didn't even think to ask about eyepiece delamination. I'll be sure to inspect them.

4. I would also verify that the field aperture ring rotates freely, since, if it is stuck, repair might be a nuisance.

Didn't think about this either, while not a deal breaker certainly could provide some leverage.

5. The lamphouses - the bottom one (halogen) and especially the top one (the mercury or xenon lamp) might require some cleaning of the bulbs and mirrors and lenses - according to the appropriate instruction manuals, with care.

Noted, I have experience with halogen bulbs and illuminators... Xenon/Mercury not so, while the scope has fluorescence capabilities it's not something I want to delve into right off the bat. That said as I learn the capabilities of the scope and it's various illumination techniques, I can envision (after proper research and understanding) exploring this realm.

6. I am guessing that the bulky phototube on the triangular head was a special modification for a light-sensitive camera or perhaps some other light-sensitive sensor, to acquire fluorescence data.

Not sure if it has special modifications. I'll let you know once I get my hands on it. Best I can tell it's a C-Mount, read microscope video camera. Typically those are CCD sensors which are more sensitive to low light, which I suspect would be beneficial to fluorescence photomicroscopy / video.

Thank you for all the input it has been most helpful.

Best regards - William
-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[A-PeeR]

Hi Mike,

Yes, this is a Universal II model. You are right, a camera cannot fit where there is a light train for the incident light set-up (top lamp).

Question - my understanding of the Photomicroscope series is there was quite an optical train to direct light to the internal camera, the eyepieces and potentially a trinocular head. Does this equate to the PM series need more intense illumination for photomicroscopy via the trinocular head versus the Universal Series?

The stand has obviously been set up for fluorescence work at some stage. You need to be careful in relation to any mercury vapour bulb that may be fitted. It may have broken in transit, and in any event, unless you are sure that the lamp has been used with this PSU (there is a counter to give hours used) you can't be sure of the life of the bulb.

Roger, roger, read you loud and clear. I have no intention or desire to inhale in mercury vapours. If and when I decide to use fluorescence illumination I will purchase a brand new bulb so I know actual hours of operation.

Though that is a DIC condenser, it looks quite a late model, which would work with prisms above each objective, which we can't see here. The earlier type worked with a slider that fits in the optovar. Is there one there?

I do believe the DIC condenser is a later model as it has dual symbols (S and T) on it. As for the optovar, please excuse my ignorance with Zeiss nomenclature, but I believe that is the circular piece directly is sandwiched the "ball" that connects the trinocular head and the III RS. It appears to have two sliders to me. I figured one was an analyzer and not sure what the other was for?

Quite a stand, one of my favourites the Universal. Have fun with it.

Thanks and I look forward to exploring new worlds with it!

Best regards - William
-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[A-PeeR]

Welcome to the forum, William. Glad to see another macro/microphotographer from Houston!

Thank you and to think I thought I was the only one Great to meet you!

Have you searched/asked at the other forum? There are quite some Zeiss DIC owners there:
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... p?p=182113

I am a member but haven't searched there for information. Great thread link (thank you) and I'll be sure to reference that site as well.

Take apart that photo tube and see if you can modify it and make light passing diameter wider than 18mm. You need to fit a Zeiss compensating eyepiece, which is required by all older Zeiss objectives.

Yeah - I plan on doing that. I expect there is an eyepiece or aftermarket optic design to project an image circle on a 1/2" sensor. If that is the case I will probably preserve the tube as I may want to explore c-mount CCD cam video captures in the future.

You can do afocal imaging:scope objective - scope 10x visual eyepiece , kpl 10x for Zeiss - camera lens equivalent to 60mm full frame lens, when coupled with your camera sensor and crop factor (5D Mark III is full frame?).

Yes that is probably the solution I will start out with. That said I would prefer a solution built upon a phototube with compensating eyepiece inside the tube, and the camera coupled directly to the tube, or phototube with eyepiece, focusing helicoid, camera coupling. The latter is actually preferred to me.
You can reach me at

zzffnn at h0tm8il dot com
if you want to meet casually (again, I don't have Zeiss gear, though I do shoot macro and micro casually). Remove all spaces in that email address and replace "at", "0" and "8" with "@", "o" and "a". I live in 77546 area.

I will contact via email, I love to shoot field macro and would love to pick your brain concerning photomicroscopy.

Best regards - William
-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[A-PeeR]

Hi Kurt,

I must admit I am surprised at the Houston area contingency. I thought I was the only macro/miro nerd in these here parts

Yes, very nice to see another Houston area macro/photomicrography enthusiast pop up! I think I may know your San Antonio seller, looks just like his garage, haha. If I'm on the right track, he's a good and honest guy who will likely stand behind what he sells.

Yes, seller is from San Antonio and my email dealings have been excellent. He answered many questions and checked out optics per my request. I didn't want to UPS ship the scope from SA to Houston (to many potential shipping mishaps) so he agreed to meet me halfway in Schulenburg for a "local" pickup. Should happen this weekend or next.

For you, I'd say it's a matter of taking the time to go through the literature 75RR and familiarize yourself with all the bits, which is going to take time.

Completely agree, I started looking through the documentation this evening, what a wealth of information.

You're gonna need objective lens and prism slider sets, plus prism holder/extension tubes for each hole. Then prowl eBay to see what's out there.

Understood, Looking forward to getting the scope and understanding which magnification I like the best, I suspect it's going to be 16x or 40x, but need to see with my eyeballs and the prowl for a DIC set in that magnification.

Then sweat delamination along with the rest of us Zeiss DIC wranglers (I use a WL stand with late style DIC)..

Read you loud and clear and completely understood when I ventured down the Zeiss Path. Isn't that half the fun, pursuing the bits and pieces? Not only that, drips and dribbles are much easier to justify to the wife than one huge purchase

Have you bought this thing, or thinking about it?

Yes, I purchased it...

Best regards - William
-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[zzffnn]

Wow, your macro photos are amazing, William!

I especially like your lady beetle photos. Beautiful light. Please tell me your (secret?) diffusers, when we get in touch with emails.

So sorry to hear your loss to Harvey. We almost got flooded.

Do you still have Olympus E-M1? That may work well on microscope too. I use E-M10 II with an adapted Canon FD 28mm manual lens for afocal microphotography. I had Sigma 30mm but much prefer full manual control for microscopy.

[zzffnn]

Do you have an eBay page for that good San Antonio scope dealer, Kurt or William?

[A-PeeR]

Wow, your macro photos are amazing, William!.

Thank you, truth be told the credit goes to my subjects - they are amazing.

I especially like your lady beetle photos. Beautiful light. Please tell me your (secret?) diffusers.

Secret? I suspect it is much like photomicroscopy. Understanding the subject, and the illumination technique best suited for the subject and environment one wants to convey.

So sorry to hear your loss to Harvey. We almost got flooded. Do you still have Olympus E-M1? That may work well on microscope too. I use E-M10 II with an adapted Canon FD 28mm manual lens for afocal microphotography. I had Sigma 30mm but much prefer full manual control for microscopy.

Yeah Harvey sucked, it's been a complete reset on my end. I lost the E-M1. Truth be told, it was my favorite field stacking camera. I think it would make a great microscope cam - lightweight and silent shutter. Exposure tolerances (dynamic range) is tight but once you got the feel for it an absolute gem. I really want to replace it, just haven't decided if I want to go with a used EM-1 low shutter count or an EM-1 MK-II.

I will contact you via email... Let's go shoot field macro and we can discuss when to use diffusers and when to use a good tripod, natural light, slower shutter speeds, and hope for a good field stack...

Best regards - William
-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[photomicro]

Hi Mike,

Yes, this is a Universal II model. You are right, a camera cannot fit where there is a light train for the incident light set-up (top lamp).

Question - my understanding of the Photomicroscope series is there was quite an optical train to direct light to the internal camera, the eyepieces and potentially a trinocular head. Does this equate to the PM series need more intense illumination for photomicroscopy via the trinocular head versus the Universal Series?

It is a very complicated optical train. In fact, in the photo mode, the light actually goes down to the camera before back up to the eyepieces. This was how they ensured what you saw in focus, was what was in focus on film. Assuming correct calibration. In practice, for most techniques, a 50W or 100W halogen is plenty enough. You will find many have adapted their stands to LED, and these stands do lend themselves to it, as the light train is easy to work with. Some have actually adapted a PM to take a digital camera!

The stand has obviously been set up for fluorescence work at some stage. You need to be careful in relation to any mercury vapour bulb that may be fitted. It may have broken in transit, and in any event, unless you are sure that the lamp has been used with this PSU (there is a counter to give hours used) you can't be sure of the life of the bulb.

Roger, roger, read you loud and clear. I have no intention or desire to inhale in mercury vapours. If and when I decide to use fluorescence illumination I will purchase a brand new bulb so I know actual hours of operation.

Good. Just beware when you pick it up off the garage floor too.

Though that is a DIC condenser, it looks quite a late model, which would work with prisms above each objective, which we can't see here. The earlier type worked with a slider that fits in the optovar. Is there one there?

I do believe the DIC condenser is a later model as it has dual symbols (S and T) on it. As for the optovar, please excuse my ignorance with Zeiss nomenclature, but I believe that is the circular piece directly is sandwiched the "ball" that connects the trinocular head and the III RS. It appears to have two sliders to me. I figured one was an analyzer and not sure what the other was for?

Quite a stand, one of my favourites the Universal. Have fun with it.

Yes, the optovar is the name for the magnification changer (which is what it may say in the literature) and should have some metal knurled rings that turn, plus some numbers, such as 1, 1.6, 2 and Ph. The large slider comes out, though you may need to loosen the large screw on the opposite side. It is probably an analyser. If not it would say Type I or II, but being a later DIC, this function is played by separate prisms that fit between *each* objective and the nosepiece. But they are for very specific objectives, and not the ones on the stand. Worth asking the seller if he has a box of bits...you never know. A second slider would be smaller, and is for a wave plate or similar. It might just be a plastic dust plug.

Thanks and I look forward to exploring new worlds with it!

A new world opening up to you....

Mike

PS. BTW, not sure if I have handled the quote system properly here...

PS2. I have...just looked, it just doesn't show on the preview.

[Hobbyst46]

I'm not familiar with Siedentopf, what makes it convenient?

Its advantage, over the older head model is well explained here:
http://www.microbehunter.com/forum/micr ... free-head/

The xenon/mercury lamps

My concern about these bulbs is that they are high-pressure bulbs, not so much the vapors inside, but they can explode under mishandling. Also, they are sources of harmful UV. Proper handling and use is explained in the Zeiss HBO manual.
Good luck on your acquisition!

[MicroBob]

Hi William,
you bought a very nice microscope there!
It is equipped with a lot of very special components for fluorescence, DIC and phase but he question is whether one or more of these setups are complete as it stands there. You might only have a very good start to a fully equipped research microscope but also a longer (and expensive) parts search to do.

Photographers starting with microscopy often have the same problem: They view the microscope just as a big and heavy new camera lens!
In fact photo micrography is a complicated topic itself and it is impossible to get more than documentary quality without learning microscopy technique first. So I would suggest to start with bright field (your phase objectives will do acceptably) and get used to slides, cover slips and sample preparation befor you dive into DIC and fluorescence.

Bob

[ChrisR]

That's a super thing to have and to get working nicely.

As y'all know I'm an admin at "the other foum" amateurmicrography.net but since this is all here now and afaik many people visit both, there's maybe not a lot of point splitting it. By all means post links to this forum.

OTOH it may be that some specialists in exactly this beast, never visit this forum, or that one.
It's great to be part of communities where there aren't battles for supremacy in one thing or another!

Photographers starting with microscopy often have the same problem: They view the microscope just as a big and heavy new camera lens!

Tame compared with what their wives say.....

[zzffnn]

William,

I have considered E-M1 II, but decided to get Panasonic G9 instead (though am still saving up for it).

On a microscope, there is minimal difference between the two, though G9 is bigger.

For field macro, G9 has a much faster (~2 seconds 60 frames) post focus (bracketing) mode by using 6k photo frames:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=37904

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 49&start=0

I think G9 has full res (slower) focus bracketing too, though I am not positive. It does have sensor-shift high res and better video specs. Its regular 6k photo mode can run for a long time (30min?) too and it has full res feature similar to E-M1 II's pro capture.

E-M1 II has phase detect AF for speed, but it still lacks behind many Canon or Nikon APSCs. If you have Nikon lenses and like to shoot BIF or sports, Nikon D500 is a better choice for almost the same price.

[A-PeeR]

Its advantage, over the older head model is well explained here:
http://www.microbehunter.com/forum/micr ... free-head/

Thanks, I understand now.

My concern about these bulbs is that they are high-pressure bulbs, not so much the vapors inside, but they can explode under mishandling. Also, they are sources of harmful UV. Proper handling and use is explained in the Zeiss HBO manual.

Noted and I was aware they do produce harmful UV. I will be sure to go over the HBO manual with a fine-tooth-comb.
Best regards - William

-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[A-PeeR]

Mike -

Yes, the optovar is the name for the magnification changer (which is what it may say in the literature) and should have some metal knurled rings that turn, plus some numbers, such as 1, 1.6, 2 and Ph. The large slider comes out, though you may need to loosen the large screw on the opposite side. It is probably an analyser. If not it would say Type I or II, but being a later DIC, this function is played by separate prisms that fit between *each* objective and the nosepiece. But they are for very specific objectives, and not the ones on the stand. Worth asking the seller if he has a box of bits...you never know. A second slider would be smaller, and is for a wave plate or similar. It might just be a plastic dust plug.

Again please excuse my ignorance, I am trying to learn. As I understand it in layman's terms - the prism in the condenser splits the light into 2 beams. The transmitted beams pass through the subject and into the objective. A second prism attached to the objective recombines the beams. The combined beam travels to the analyzer, which is perpendicular to the prism in the condenser which introduces interference and produces DIC, correct? THe second slider, waveplate is used for polarization, correct?

Thanks for all your help.

Best regards - William
-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[A-PeeR]

Hi Bob,

Hi William,
you bought a very nice microscope there!
It is equipped with a lot of very special components for fluorescence, DIC and phase but he question is whether one or more of these setups are complete as it stands there. You might only have a very good start to a fully equipped research microscope but also a longer (and expensive) parts search to do.

Understood, I'm hoping it's mostly complete but I won't know for sure until I pick it up. I read an article a while back that noted getting the most complete scope you can to start off with. I have been watching Zeiss Scopes for a few months and this was the most complete scope I could get in my budget. I fully realize there will be more money involved in the future but for know I think this is a good start. First and foremost I want to get the phototube sorted out so I can start taking some really bad photos

Photographers starting with microscopy often have the same problem: They view the microscope just as a big and heavy new camera lens!
In fact photo micrography is a complicated topic itself and it is impossible to get more than documentary quality without learning microscopy technique first. So I would suggest to start with bright field (your phase objectives will do acceptably) and get used to slides, cover slips and sample preparation befor you dive into DIC and fluorescence.

Duly noted and advice I plan to follow.

Best regards - William
-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[A-PeeR]

That's a super thing to have and to get working nicely.

Thanks Chris - I look forward to getting it up and running.

Tame compared with what their wives say.....

I'm afraid if I quoted what my wife said, I'd be banned from the forum

Best regards - William
-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

[photomicro]

Mike -

Yes, the optovar is the name for the magnification changer (which is what it may say in the literature) and should have some metal knurled rings that turn, plus some numbers, such as 1, 1.6, 2 and Ph. The large slider comes out, though you may need to loosen the large screw on the opposite side. It is probably an analyser. If not it would say Type I or II, but being a later DIC, this function is played by separate prisms that fit between *each* objective and the nosepiece. But they are for very specific objectives, and not the ones on the stand. Worth asking the seller if he has a box of bits...you never know. A second slider would be smaller, and is for a wave plate or similar. It might just be a plastic dust plug.

Again please excuse my ignorance, I am trying to learn. As I understand it in layman's terms - the prism in the condenser splits the light into 2 beams. The transmitted beams pass through the subject and into the objective. A second prism attached to the objective recombines the beams. The combined beam travels to the analyzer, which is perpendicular to the prism in the condenser which introduces interference and produces DIC, correct? THe second slider, waveplate is used for polarization, correct?

Thanks for all your help.

Best regards - William
-----------------------------------
https://www.macrospheres.com

Yes, that is right. In the earlier Zeiss system, there was a common (Wollaston) prism, that worked with all objectives, and also contained the analyser. In the later system, with objectives having their own prism, an analyser above this is required in the large slider. A wave-plate is for polar effects yes.

see: https://www.flickr.com/photos/66189529@ ... datetaken/

for an example of this (use of wave plate)

Remember, the population of Neofluar phase lenses and the fluorescence bits suggest that this stand may have been used for all sorts of techniques.

Mike

[MicroBob]

Tame compared with what their wives say.....

I'm afraid if I quoted what my wife said, I'd be banned from the forum [/quote]

The microscopists big distant goal has to be to get his wife interested in microscopy!

Around 1960 is was absolutely common that the meetings of our microscopy group were attended by the wives too. When members died the widows were taken to the countryside for the very regular pond collecting trips. There are a couple of pictures at the end of this document about the history of our group: http://www.mikrohamburg.de/Tips/GESCHIC ... 0MIKRO.pdf

Today we have a record of two attending wives. And of cause we have some female members too. I now have to convince them to bring their husbands or boyfriends!

Bob

[Hobbyst46]

Remember, the population of Neofluar phase lenses and the fluorescence bits suggest that this stand may have been used for all sorts of techniques.

In microscopical research of live cells in biology/medicine, fluorescence is often combined with phase contrast or DIC, for example to correlate cell fluorescence with cell morphology. This nice Universal seemingly has or had the cube for the Hoechst stain,which is excited with UV. The other three stains are excited with visible light. These Neofluar phase objectives would be excellent for BF and phase contrast, and good for fluorescence, although for the latter, higher NA would be preferred.