Agonizing over a BX60

[SoftMachine]

There's a Olympus BX60 for sale near me for $1500, I went and looked at it today. I've never owned a microscope so this would be a big leap into the hobby. The seller didn't know much about it as it was her fathers. I was hoping to see a bunch of nice objectives on it but they were a mixed bag:

Olympus UPlanFL 40x/0.75 (oil)
Olympus ACH 10x/0.25
Unbranded 10x/0.17
Olympus Plan 4x/0.10

I really wanted to find a 100x and/or some high NA objectives for photography, so I decided against it. But it seems like such a bargain regardless of the objectives. I can't stop thinking about it. Should I go back? How easy is it to find a decent 100x objective in the $500 price range?

[Gatorengineer64]

Ebay is your friend here for valuations...... That sounds like a great deal based on Ebay....

Alot of great 160mm non infinity stuff can be had for a great price right now, $2k would buy you a rig with all of the toys, DIC, POL, Phase, EPI etc......

[PeteM]

You should be able to find a decent 100x objective for well under $500. You might be happily surprised to learn how good even a new import 100x plan achromat infinity oil objective might be - and that would run $175.

That said, $500 should get you a very nice microscope to start.

[farnsy]

Sounds like a solid deal to me. Also, almost all generic infinity-corrected objectives from China are compatible with the Olympus system. Shouldn't be hard to find a good 100x for under the budget you suggest. Aliexpress is lousy with them, as I'm sure ebay is as well.

[ImperatorRex]

If it is finally a good deal depends also on the condition of the scope. A scratch here and there on oculars and objectives...and you will end up buying another stuff. And buying piece by piece certainly can then add up to quite a bunch of money. I am sorry, this certainly makes your decission not easier, but just like to mention this.

[Hobbyst46]

The important advantage of the story is that you could personally see and touch the microscope.

If the microscope is binocular, photography will be much less convenient than with a trinocular. A trinocular head will cost hundreds ($$).

If the microscope is trinocular, and the illumination is OK, and the mechanics are smooth (check all of them: stage, focus, fine focus, interpupilary distance, condenser up-down, condenser centration, field aperture) - very good. Then, if a decent image is seen with at least one of the objectives (and eyepiece of course; you did not mention which eyepieces are there) - it would be a bargain, regardless of scratches on the mechanical parts.

Do not test it with 160mm objectives. Finite tube (160mm) objectives do not give a decent image with an infinity scope like the BX. And vice versa.
Infinity-corrected objectives are marked with the infinity symbol.
Unfortunately, Olympus infinity-corrected objectives tend to be expensive.

Are you sure that the 40X0.75 objective is oil immersion ? unlikely IMHO.

[SoftMachine]

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/for ... 71070.html

Here's the post if you'd like to check it out. It does have a trinocular head but it looks like it's set up only for bright field right? So I would need additional expensive parts in order to do darkfield and phase contrast?

As far as the image goes, I was able to get a clear albeit dusty picture with the 10x objective but not the 40x, but that could well have been operator error. Hence why I thought the 40x was oil immersion after seeing similar 40x oil objective ls on eBay.

[sinabro]

Hi, SoftMachine.
I guess, It's polarization microscope.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154571899203?h ... Swxkpdr0bA

[Tom Jones]

The Olympus BX-60 is a very nice microscope. It's set up as a polarizing scope. Easy to do other things with; DF, BF, phase, DIC with the right condensers, etc. Good objectives (U-PlanFluorites), are not cheap, but easy to find.

For perspective, last year I paid about $1350 for the U-CPA Conoscopic POL adapter (just under the trinoc head), and my U-AN360 rotating pol slider (inserted in the U-CPA) was $300. Those alone cover the cost. The U-POC pol condenser (not visible or mentioned) that it probably has, based on everything else, are at least $500. The rotating stage is worth $500+.

I already own one, and if I was near Portland, I'd buy it myself!

[SoftMachine]

Oh, interesting. That makes sense because the previous owner was a research chemist and there are a bunch of mineral samples included with the scope. Seems like polarization is used to study molecular structure? Cool stuff.

[SoftMachine]

I guess what it comes down to is that this microscope doesn't meet my (beginner) needs any better than a cheaper scope, but has a huge upside if I were to pursue the hobby long term. And in many respects a cheaper scope would be better for me. Ultimately I would love to just be able to make nice biological pictures and wonder at the microcosmos as a complement to my undergrad bio studies. $1500 is way more than I would initially consider spending, so the prospect of spending more to set it up for my needs is discouraging, but obviously the value is there. If anyone on here wants to buy it, by all means make my decision easier, but until then I will continue to brood about it haha.

[BramHuntingNematodes]

Mineral samples included eh that sweetens the deal as good thin section mounts are dear as well you may be surprised though and the interesting things you can see in the crystal structures...

[SoftMachine]

There were a couple cases of various prepared slides of simple organic and inorganic materials but the mineral samples were all vials of fine powders, not mounted. I have been reading up on polarization microscopy and it is really fascinating, looks like it has some use enhancing contrast in biological specimens. I am pretty keen on chemistry but ultimately I think my main interests lie in biology and medicine.

[Scarodactyl]

That's a badass microscope at an amazing price. You can resell it for at least as much if you don't end up using it which makes it a better value than a cheaper scope.

[microb]

As mentioned before, the U-CPA with 360 Pol, the U-TAD with DIM slider, the centering objective turret, the rotating stage all make that a great purchase for that price.

Do note though, that the frame you pictured does not have an epi. The reflectance axis is empty on that frame. On ebay there is someone selling the insides for a BX60 epi, but I don't know that dealer or how hard it is to put in a reflectance axis, plus I don't think that includes the filter cube turret. Those are hard to find by themselves. AXs can be found though, but not many BX filter cube turrets for any of those models.

[SoftMachine]

Do note though, that the frame you pictured does not have an epi. The reflectance axis is empty on that frame. On ebay there is someone selling the insides for a BX60 epi, but I don't know that dealer or how hard it is to put in a reflectance axis, plus I don't think that includes the filter cube turret. Those are hard to find by themselves. AXs can be found though, but not many BX filter cube turrets for any of those models.

Sorry I don't fully understand the parts you're talking about. Are you referring to equipment for reflected light microscopy? It will still do standard bright field transmitted light by removing the polarizers correct?

[microb]

Do note though, that the frame you pictured does not have an epi. The reflectance axis is empty on that frame. On ebay there is someone selling the insides for a BX60 epi, but I don't know that dealer or how hard it is to put in a reflectance axis, plus I don't think that includes the filter cube turret. Those are hard to find by themselves. AXs can be found though, but not many BX filter cube turrets for any of those models.

Sorry I don't fully understand the parts you're talking about. Are you referring to equipment for reflected light microscopy? It will still do standard bright field transmitted light by removing the polarizers correct?

That frame is missing this: (https://www.ebay.com/itm/280855413232) This is a dealer I don't know, but it shows the insides of what is needed to hook up a top lamp.

Polarizer in or out, you can totally do transmission work (petrographic for example), and do so in an awesome manner using that microscope you pictured.

You just can't do reflectance bright field, reflectance darkfield, or epi-fluorescence with out adding the beam split filter cube and the epi optics above the objectives.

[SoftMachine]

Thank you all for the advice, I just went back and bought it
I'm sure you'll be seeing more of me on this forum as I try to figure out how the heck this thing works. Obviously it is a lot of microscope for a newbie, but I see this as an investment in my education. I am pursuing a degree in medical lab science and potentially further specialization after my undergrad.

[microb]

Hey, is that a brightfield/darkfield lever? I put a green arrow pointing to it. I hadn't noticed that. Attached is the picture you shared with an ebay listing shown in the upper right.

So can you remove that cartridge and take a picture of what you actually have. Since the back top is blocked off, and all the adjustments have sticker covers, I doubt you have an epi for BF/DF, so I'm surprised to see that little lever there.

Anyway, it's an awesome set-up. You'll save time having gotten this one over like an older BH2 model that needs fixing up because this or that issue.

[SoftMachine]

Not sure what you mean by remove the cartridge. I am weary of breaking something in my complete ignorance here haha. Here's a head on photo at least. Sure seems to be a BF/DF lever though nothing changes when it's switched.

[farnsy]

Lots of goodies on that scope. Congratulations. Bertrand lenses are pretty handy, especially if you end up doing phase at some point.

[microb]

Not sure what you mean by remove the cartridge. I am weary of breaking something in my complete ignorance here haha. Here's a head on photo at least. Sure seems to be a BF/DF lever though nothing changes when it's switched.

So it's an empty cartridge. If you had an epi set up for reflectance. your microscope would have that assembly that I had linked in a previous post. You would also have two dichroic mirrors in that front loading cartridge that you could switch between.

So on the back right of your frame on top, there is a circular head of an Allen wrench. You can lift up and out and use it on the marked spot right side to loosen the set screw for the filter cube cartridge. You can then pull that cartridge forward. Pictured is what a BX60 frame looks like when that cartridge is pulled off. It’s built well. You won’t hurt it.

[microb]

This item (don't know the dealer) shows you what a four cube holding turret looks like. (https://www.ebay.com/itm/174670110858)

If you ever upgrade to epi-fluorescence, this will hold some beam splitters and filters.

[microb]

I had thought yours look like this one, with no lever. So it's interesting that yours has that, but the cubes were removed.

(https://www.ebay.com/itm/264639594411)

[SoftMachine]

Neat, ya it is empty. I feel like I am a long ways from any serious upgrades but that is good to know. My immediate need is to be able to hook up a camera. It came with an ancient 4mp nikon and a c-mount adapter but I would love to use something modern. I'm doing my research but will probably make a new post in the camera section.

[Scarodactyl]

Curious about the slider on the nosepiece above the objectives. That is an expensive nosepiece btw because it can be used for DIC.

[microb]

Curious about the slider on the nosepiece above the objectives. That is an expensive nosepiece btw because it can be used for DIC.

You mean the U-TAD with the DIM slot? It can hold a polarizer, but no DIC.

Here's a picture of one:

[Scarodactyl]

The slot can take a dic slider as well, right? Or am I misremembering?
Nice suite of attachments for sure.

[microb]

The slot can take a dic slider as well, right? Or am I misremembering?
Nice suite of attachments for sure.

Oh if that's what you meant. Sorry. I though you were talking about the slider itself.

[eKretz2]

Very nice grab. I picked up a BX40 with U-URA and a bunch of spares for an embarrassing price about 6 months ago, somebody was going to toss it in a dumpster while doing a cleanout of a business that went under and abandoned all their property.