Olympus CX43 any thoughts ,made in China apparently

[Clifford]

I’ve been looking at used microscopes here in Australia so expensive, found the Olympus CX43 with phase contrast new for not much more than used BH2’s only concern is no field diaphragm a fixed Kohler illumination? and they appear to be sourced from China ?

Appreciate any thoughts
Cliff

[PeteM]

Cliff, there are at least a couple of Australians who sell on US eBay - at least one with reasonable prices. Perhaps one of them can help you find a good used scope?

You'd be paying a premium for the Olympus name. If buying new, I'd suggest something like the Motic equivalent, shipped from China.

[apochronaut]

Also, look up Bestscope. They sell many of the currently made Chinese models branded under their own name or not. They also will source accessories. I bought a supply of of quartz slides and coverslips from them for instance, for peanuts compared to the standard industry suppliers.
They seem to have good and direct factory relationships and were willing to field my questions to the relavent technicsl staff.

[Clifford]

Thank you for the suggestions I don’t know the Aussie sellers on US eBay postage is high from the US.
hadn’t heard of Motic or Best Scopes , I’ve always liked Japanese built gear generally a step up in quality but some of the the Chinese stuff is pretty good these days, might have to go that route

I was going for phase contrast capability but not sure how much I’d use it and it sure adds to the cost.DIC is on another level again

[apochronaut]

You won't find a new Japanese made microscope within your budget. Kyowa and Meiji Techno would be the cheapest. Kyowa has a factory in the Philippines. They may have diversified significantly and the last new ones I saw for sale had either Chinese or Indian made objectives in it. Seemed like a good deal though, at 13,000 rupees . It might have entirely been made in India. Kyowa Getner in India is a dealer. Meiji are too expensive.
The well known brands, Nikon and Olympus have outsourced their entry level up to mid-level microscopes to mainly China for years. Maybe check, Radical Instruments in India. They have everything up to high end DIC research stands.I have dealt with them, mostly successfully.
Amazon Australia?

[PeteM]

Cliff, the point about the Aussie sellers on eBay is that you could probably contact them directly. "Micrographix" in particular has been a helpful and trusted source.

If you're looking for phase contrast, you might also consider a used Zeiss "Standard" as well as Olympus BH2 and Nikon Labophot and Optiphot models. If you find one without delamination and plan fluorite objectives, the phase images are excellent and the cost (here in the US) is two or three hundred dollars less. Because of its slightly smaller size and weight, it could also be less expensive to ship.

[Clifford]

Looks like you are right even my new Denon amp is made in Asia , yes looked at the Radical they seem well priced
So many brands but mostly look the same rebranded as you say.

I actually bought a 4x Nikon objective from Micrographix through eBay, was good to deal with turned out not near par focal but works. Might send him an inquiry see what he has

I found one called a BM2000 ( looks a bit of a Nikon copy) on an Australian site they sell Nikon also.
https://microscopes.com.au/collections/ ... microscope

Looks ok but focus only on left side,

[Clifford]

Forgot to mention Zeiss standard yes will check them out have Zeiss binoculars and they are excellent

[PeteM]

Cliff, FWIW, you can buy parfocal shims to get the objectives on a turret all at about the same focus. These are basically thin washers ranging (US) from about .002 up in thousandths increments. It's rare to find a mix of different objectives parfocal, even if they are all 45mm (DIN standard) parfocal. With the better makers and newer objectives, the tolerances within the same batch are pretty close. In any case, once you've settled on a scope and objectives, you might want to parfocal them.

I'd hesitate to spend $1K, let alone $3K, for the BM2000 scope. You can do better.

[Clifford]

The search goes on looked at Motic but the prices are Olympus like at least with the lousy exchange rates here
Even Radical is not cheap as everything is US dollars
Favouring going back to the CX43 new local warranty 5 years at least a brand name.

The 4x Nikon objective is way out in parfocality 1-2 cm I haven’t measured it yet.
There are spacers like large shims suppose it might work

[PeteM]

If the Nikon is that far out, it's because it's the wrong generation of objective. If you focus your 100x or 40x objective on a slide - and measure the distance from the lens turret to the slide, the newer finite objectives (DIN standard) will be around 45mm. Just the distance from the shoulder of a 100x oil objective to the tip is a good indication, given its short working distance.

If it is an older objective, depending upon the maker, it may range from about 33 to 37mm -- about 1cm. difference from Nikon's newer finite objectives. To get extra space for lenses, Nikon now has 60mm parfocal infinity objectives.

Hard to keep track of all this when just starting out . . ..

[Macro_Cosmos]

The modern CX3 line are all mostly made in china, that does not mean a decrease in quality. As products go, you usually get what you paid for. They are still quite expensive, no more or less when they were produced in Japan.

I cannot imagine a cx43 with phase contrast selling for similar prices to a bh2. There was lab in Queensland that offloaded some CX43 microscopes fitted with a camera. They ended with bids of around $2000 each in greys auctions. That price will get you a decently kitted out bh2 if you are patient and bargain hunt. I might be one of the two Australia based eBay sellers that was mentioned, in any case, I do not have anything suitable at the moment. My last microscope sale was a Nikon Optiphot 2 fitted with brightfield only for $450, it went to a local. I primarily deal with infinity era stuff, I know next to nothing when it comes to finite systems.

[Hobbyst46]

I found one called a BM2000 ( looks a bit of a Nikon copy) on an Australian site they sell Nikon also.
https://microscopes.com.au/collections/ ... microscope
Looks ok but focus only on left side,

Strange that a microscope costing that much does not include the option of 20X Phase contrast, which for general purpose would be more popular than 100X.

[apochronaut]

it's because there are tons of newbie microscopists that know nothing about microscopes. They just know brand names. There are the telescopists, people coming over from astronomy that think they understand optics but they only understand eyepieces, doing things like plunking a 2 1/4" Nagler eyepiece down on a microscope tube and proclaiming a new era in microscope design. How else can you explain the absolute microscope trash with the Celestron name on it. Future bathtub toys. Then there are the newbie, newbies. Ripe for brand worship.Oliver, if you read this, do a how to video on building an altar. Religion isn't dead, it's just become a practice focused on things and the self.

Olympus has been great. They make good microscopes in general but in any era and for any model line they have serious competition from others which on the used market are almost always cheaper for similar or in some cases superior features and quality..
I base my choices and recommendations on the biggest bang for the buck and in some ways Olympus as a company and those that overhype it have been mine and others best friends because that 1-2 punch has allowed wise microscopists the freedom to obtain and use better microscopes by deflating the value of them. I have been able to buy a whole system very economically.
Beside me right now is a 100 watt microscope platform with a 90° rotating stage, trinocular head with 20/80, 100/0, 0/100 settings.
There are 3 sets of oculars. 10X W.F. , 12.5X W.F. and 15X W.F.
There are 5 interchangeable condensers. N.A. 0.90 dry achromat/aplanat condenser, N.A. 1.40 oil achromat/aplanat condenser, a diy apochromat condenser of probably 1.2 N.A.that I use with water, a W.F. oil DF condenser for 100X to 1250X DF, a 4 position phase contrast condenser.
There are 15 filters in a 3 gang carousel.
There are 3 , 6 place interchangeable nosepieces.
There are these objectives, all capable of a 24mm f.o.v. 10X fluor, 40X fluor 63X planachro and 100X fluor glycerin immersion objectives, 10X planachro phase, 25X planachro phase, 40X planfluor phase/DF , 40X planapo phase and 100X planapo phase objectives, 2.5X planachro, 2.5X planfluor, 4X planachro, 10X planachro, 10X planfluor, 20X planachro, 25X planapo, 40X planachro, 40X planfluor, 40X planapo w./iris, 100X planachro w./iris, 100X planfluor w./ iris, 100X planapo w./iris and 100X water immersion. 23 different objectives for 23 different purposes in microscopy.. I can do BF at 11 magnifications through a single nosepiece, Dark Phase Contrast at 7 magnifications and refractive DF at 8 magnifications through a single nosepiece , High resolution oil immersion DF at 8 magnifications through a single nosepiece and Glycerin immersion in BF or DF at 7 magnifications through a single nosepiece. I can also do COL and am working on interference contrast and adopting 24mm f.o.v. 10X eyepieces
The cost was around 2750.00 for the system as it stands. A single set of Olympus highly colour corrected objectives would cost that much.
Anyway, thank you Olympus, you have been a great friend. I love Olympus but would never invite one home for dinner.

[bkt]

You'd be paying a premium for the Olympus name. If buying new, I'd suggest something like the Motic equivalent, shipped from China.

I'm taking an alternate path, bought a Motic, and I'm now thinking about upgrading it with Olympus objectives

I've no concerns with what is made in China, as long as it meets either known or acceptable quality standard. I'm in Europe, since years, a lot of things are made world wide, imported from Asia, from China, from Japan...

Olympus CX43 ... a fixed Kohler illumination?

I chosed a Motic for its adjustable and swapable condenser...

it's because there are tons of newbie microscopists that know nothing about microscopes. They just know brand names. There are the telescopists, people coming over from astronomy that think they understand optics but...

I'm sorry, sincerely. Not jumping in from astronomy, but from photography. Different universes

If ever I buy an Olympus objective, I won't do it for a brand, I'll do it with some warranties:
- of minimal specs, not sure they would be met with a random shop of either new or used parts
- I shall now have a minimal knowledge to evaluate and to return it if it doesn't suite my expectations
- the warranty I could get my money back

In the photography universe, it would be much easier: see online detailed reviews, then enter a shop with a flash card; take some shoots with what is available in there; once home, see the flash card content...

[Clifford]

Thanks for all the feedback, may be I need to look further afield than Olympus, I have a fair understanding of optics and yes come from a photography background and also some Astrophotography
Just want to get something better than my old 70s Japanese Denkar not that there is anything wrong with it but a Trinocular head and perhaps some other bells and whistles.
I saw my first ciliates (tiny paramecium? And a larger almost round type ) for maybe 40+ years yesterday from some rubbish out of my gutter and the scope still performs pretty well not a lot to fail in microscopes
I’ll keep looking , not sure I’ll go all in like some have , just want decent gear live microbes my interest , was back when I was a teen collecting pond water where ever I traveled but have looked at all kinds of other objects
I really appreciate everyone’s suggestions and gives me other avenues to explore , as I said in Australia for the most part even used is expensive.

[PeteM]

I took a look at eBay.au and see what you mean, Cliff. There's not much available and the shipping cost for the US-listed ones is very high.

One possible avenue would be to look for a bare stand in Australia (the heavy and bulky part) and keep an eye out for objectives and eyepieces from elsewhere. Much as "bkt" is considering. The shipping cost on those could be much lower.

[apochronaut]

It needs to be remembered that the Oz dollar is even less than the Canuck dollar, so we see a U.S. price and go, + 35% and those who see an Oz or Canuck price conversion for a U.S. listing think that the price is outrageous. Yes, shipping can be high, when you aren't in the U.S. : I pay a minimum of 25.00 U.S. to move a small item 50.00 miles across the border usually and it would be the same if it was 1/2 mile.
When it comes to scopes though, if you can land an AO 10 phase microscope for 350 or 400 U.S. in working order and have to pay 250.00 or even a little more to ship it down, you are way ahead of the game. These are professional microscopes with old school construction. AO didn't invent phase contrast but they re-invented it beginning in 1946 and took it way farther than Fritz Zernike ever imagined or Zeiss, the early patent holders did . Only Olympus and Nikon caught up by the mid.-70'S. It's one of the tried and true best value microscopes out there.

[deBult]

Clifford: you have PM.

[Clifford]

Clifford: you have PM.

Yep got it thanks