B&L/Leica Monozoom 7 --anyone familiar with this scope?

[Scarodactyl]

Hello everyone. I hope this is OK to ask here. Many times while searching eBay and other sites for accessories for my stereozoom 7 I have come across listings for its apparent distant cousin/bizarro world counterpart, the monozoom 7. It is generally rather inexpensive, and I have been wondering if it's any good and if it could be used for photography. It sort of looks like it might offer a smooth zoom range without some of the issues of a stereoscope, similar in some respects to an M420 (though obviously not as great). That said, the fact that nobody seems to have one or post about them suggests to me that they might not be that great. Has anyone ever used one?

[apochronaut]

I've never used one but am somewhat familiar with the concept and applications that the microscope was designed for. Portability and a linear optical path were the key points......what you get is what you see. It was an industrial microscope, with the same optical zoom system as the stereozoom 7, so they can't be too shabby. A lot were used for video , and there were a multitude of supplementary lenses in order to fine tune the magnification and f.o.v.

For the price one is available for, it would seem to me that if the concept suits your needs, one would be worth a try. B & L weren't exactly optical dummies and in the 1980's, the level of colour correction their achromat systems had attained, were second to none.

[Scarodactyl]

Thanks! I've added it to my saved searches on eBay and if I see one that's anomalously cheap I'll probably pick it up. It's kind of interesting that it's described as a camera lens a few places--I suppose it does kind of blur the line more than usual, even if it's available with a stand and eyepiece attached. The downside as I see it is that it's set up with a c-mount which seems like it might be difficult to adapt to a dslr? Maybe just stick it on a Nikon 1 series?
But if it is basically a less ergonomic SZ7 that's better for photography it seems like it could have a nice little niche, especially given its small footprint and price.
If I ever get one I will report back with a review.