Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

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stjepo
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Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

#1 Post by stjepo » Wed Apr 17, 2019 6:53 pm

How much would it be a good price for a second hand nikon E200?

Is it a good microscope?

Thanks

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75RR
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Re: Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

#2 Post by 75RR » Thu Apr 18, 2019 5:20 am

In general a second microscope (assuming you are upgrading because you have sufficient experience at this point) is good only if it meets your needs.

For example, if you wish to take photographs then it should either have a trinocular head or you should ascertain that one can be obtained for it at a price you are willing to pay.

It should have or you should be able to procure for it those illumination techniques that you wish to obtain. I refer to Phase and say Darkfield at high magnifications.

The illumination should be suitable for these techniques or again can be made so.

There should be a range of objectives available that would allow you to upgrade if you wish.

Depending on where the microscope will be sourced, shipping charges and if it applies import taxes should be taken into account before deciding on the purchase.


Note 1: To obtain the average price of a microscope (what they actually sold for) enter the Advanced Search in Ebay, enter search terms and then tick the Sold listings box. Press Search.

The prices will be in green, these are the actual prices paid for an item.

If there is a line drawn through the price it means that the seller accepted an offer. The amount of the offer is unfortunately not disclosed.


Note 2: A quick look through the brochure at the Nikon website would indicate that the E200 is a Student Microscope.

Student Microscopes are usually designed to be student proof and therefore tend to have limited upgradability.

Not all E200's have a Field Diaphragm, I gather that only the E200-F does.

A second microscope should have a field diaphragm.
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PeteM
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Re: Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

#3 Post by PeteM » Thu Apr 18, 2019 7:20 am

If you're looking for a stand to host Nikon 25mm objectives with a 60mm parfocal distance, you can probably get a Leical DMLS cheaper than an E200 -- and it's a somewhat better stand IMO. Same 200mm infinity tube length, objectives screw right into the turret, enough room for the 60mm parfocal objectives. For some reason, perhaps brand loyalty, the E200's seem to go pretty high.

As 75RR notes, the E200 is not really a very expandable scope, not especially well illuminated, etc. Find an E600 cheap and that's a whole 'nuther story.

stjepo
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Re: Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

#4 Post by stjepo » Sun Apr 21, 2019 7:34 pm

Thank you 75RR and PeterM. Excuse my delay in answering.

Yes I do want to take pictures and agree that the trinocular Microscope is a must.

I agree that the Nikon Eclipse I was offered for 600€ is not a good choice. I have now two more microscopes that I would like to receive your advice, both trinoculars:

1. Nikon Labophot 2 with EPLAN 100X /1'25 oil 160/0'17, 10X /0'27, EPLAN 20X/0'4 160/0'17 y 4X/ 0'27 400€
2. Olympus BX-40 10X/0,25, 10X/ 0,25 PH1, 10X/ 0,65 PH2, 40X /0,65 700€
I agree wit 75RR “It should have or you should be able to procure for it those illumination techniques that you wish to obtain. I refer to Phase and say Darkfield at high magnifications.”

Thank you again for your advice.

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Radazz
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Re: Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

#5 Post by Radazz » Sat Jul 13, 2019 2:59 pm

Sorry for the late post, I just ran across this thread.
I have a couple of Nikon Labophot 2 scopes and a BX40.
The Nikon is 160mm and the Olympus is infinity.
IMHO, if you can swing it, the Olympus BX40 would be the better choice.
Probably way too late, but relevant nevertheless.
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Scarodactyl
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Re: Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

#6 Post by Scarodactyl » Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:23 pm

While we're at it, doesn't Leica apply corrections in their tube lens? How would you account for that using Nikon objectives on a Leica stand? Is it possible to put a Nikon head on a Leica stand?

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Re: Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

#7 Post by PeteM » Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:28 pm

Scarodactyl wrote:While we're at it, doesn't Leica apply corrections in their tube lens? How would you account for that using Nikon objectives on a Leica stand? Is it possible to put a Nikon head on a Leica stand?
Yes, it's possible to adapt a Nikon infinity head to a Leica stand - I've done it with good results. What I use is an intermediate piece (holding a polarizer and optionally a DIC slider) that has a male dovetail to match the Leica and a female dovetail recess to match the Nikon. Fairly simple job with a metal lathe. Because the intermediate adapter is in the "infinity" space, all's well.

Both Leica and Nikon use the same 200mm tube length to the telon lens, so magnifications shouldn't be affected. My understanding is that Nikon does all its corrections in the objectives. Not entirely sure how much correction, if any, Leica now does in the telon lens (see note below) -- but swapping heads makes it irrelevant.

FWIW, I've used old Leica (aka Reichert) trinocular heads on a DMLS and have had (visually, without extensive evaluation) good results up to 20mm field size. It doesn't seem to me that Leica changed much from their Leica-labelled 410 and 420 microscopes to the early Leica generations like the DMLS. Phil might better know the evolution of AO>Reichert>Reichert renamed Leica>Leica Delta, and Leica HC,HCX etc.) corrections.

Anyhow, the Leica/Reichert 200mm infinity heads (as used on the MicroStar and DiaStar) don't seem significantly different from the Leica 200mm infinity optics adapted from them ("Delta" optics?) and of the DMLS age.

There was a still later generation of Leica infinity optics (HCX), sometimes backward compatible. See, for example, this:

https://www.leica-microsystems.com/prod ... bjectives/

Far as I can tell the field got larger (18mm in series 10 up to 20+ a smidgen in the MicroStar age, then 22 and now 26mm in somethong like a DMRB) and the 200mm infinity telon lens and eyepieces still did a bit (perhaps less over time) of corrections. Again, Phil or someone else might now what changed in the telon lens from generation to generation (e.g. AO series 10, series 100, series 400, Leica Delta, HC, and HCX). I'd be curious to know.

As noted earlier, the Leica DMLS is a nicely built scope - better than a Nikon E200 and maybe equivalent to an E400 IMO - and often cheaper if you can come up with a Nikon head and adapt it. Equipped with a Nikon head it seems (to me) as good a stand to host Nikon objectives as either a Nikon E200 or E400. The E600 is another story, since it has a brighter lamp, removable noses, and an integrated slot for a DIC slider. But here the prices climb even higher.

The glut of 20x Nikon Plan Apo DIC objectives for under $150 is near sufficient reason (IMO) to find a trinocular stand capable of hosting 25mm thread objectives with 60mm parfocal distance. A DMLS adapted to a Nikon telon lens is one possibility.
Last edited by PeteM on Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

#8 Post by Scarodactyl » Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:38 pm

It's cool you can just adapt the head that way. I saw someone selling adapters to put Leica stereo heads on other brand zoom bodies, which surprised me (especially since they appeared to have Leica part numbers) but my own rough experimentation suggested it would work. I gotta get me one of those metal lathes someday...
I don't have much firsthand experience with Leica compounds. I only know that because the guys over at Photomicrography never seen to use Leica objectives on their rigs because of those tube lens corrections, so it must be noticeable in that context--Leica also doesn't hook their own well-corrected objectives onto stereos or macroscopes as high resolution lenses, again presumably because of the correction mismatch (they sell a relabeled Optem lens for the purpose or recommend their own lwd achros).

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Re: Microscope Nikon second hand price advice

#9 Post by PeteM » Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:49 pm

I think you're likely right about Leica objectives not being preferred as macrophotography lenses due to some slight uncorrected (in the objective) aberrations. However, they also seem to be even more expensive than Nikon and Olympus -- so fewer people may be willing to take the plunge.

My own limited experience with Leica infinity objectives from about 1990 on is that they have excellent contrast when used with the matching head and eyepieces. And even when used with a previous generation infinity head. And, apparently some professionals swear by Leica as the best optical microscope system among the Big Four (as opposed to confocal, etc. where other makers apparently dominate). They also seem to be pretty well organized in terms of DIC, though at a price. So, they're doing something right.

All that said, I've never seen a Leica 20x plan infinity apochromat with a 26mm field for $150 -- and the Nikon equivalent IS out there. Apparently because they were used on a now-obsolete gene sequencer, resulting in a glut of them on Ebay.

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