4 different 40X Reichert phase infinity objectives used in an AO 10 stand.

[apochronaut]

This is a thread branched off of another recent AO/Reichert/Leica thread.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8625&p=143035#p143035
Four images of the same Fragillaria diatom taken through 4-40X phase contrast infinity objectives with the 182.5mm reference length that was used by both AO and Reichert.

1) AO cat.# 1213 40X .66 Dark Phase Plan Achro, made in around 1970. 34mm parfocal. about a 65% crop
2) Reichert Austria cat.# 489 191 Plan Ph 40X 0.75 made around 1975. 45mm parfocal. same crop
3) Reichert Austria 40X 0.70 Ph Plan Fl. Apo., made around 1985. 45mm parfocal. same crop
4) Reichert Austria Plan Apo 40X 1.00 Oel Ph made around 1990. 45mm parfocal. same crop.

Each was adjusted for use in a circa 1970 AO 10 stand with a cat.# 1240 phase carousel and cat. # 1242 .90 achromat phase condenser .
The slide is a 100 year old J.D. Müller strewn diatom slide with a very thick cover slip, not the best for higher N.A. imaging.
I'm trying to learn how to utilize this cell phone I seem forced to use otherwise, as a microscope camera. I even found a free compressor on-line that says they delete images from their server in 10 days. We'll see. I am guessing that if these were pictures of Kate Middleton and not Fragillaria, they would end up in the Daily Mail sometime.

[apochronaut]

I decided to check the specs. on the slide. The total thickness is 2.12 mm with a .21 coverslip, so it definitely stresses the condensers capability to project the diaphragm accurately, not to mention the overripe sample thickness.

The point of this excercise was to illustrate that the 45mm Reichert system was a spawn of the 34mm AO system and they both achieve similar functionality in an AO 34mm parfocal infinity microscope.
For reference, there are 17 individual segments to the Fragillaria (?). Each one is about 5 microns. The entire community is just shy of 90 microns long

[Hobbyst46]

Very nice images. IMHO, No. 3 is better than the others, resolution-wise. The others suffer some from the halos.sharpness.
Would be interesting to see those (at least one of them) photographed with a fixed camera on the microscope rather then a phone.

[apochronaut]

# 3 is a bit of a unique objective. It has a very thin and wide annulus, not at all like the annulus in it's two companion objectives and it is situated deeper in the lens stack. It will not work with the 40X condenser annular diaphragm. I have to use the 100X and manipulate both the annular diaphragm and condenser lens center to achieve a sort of COL illumination. It never develops a typical dark grey phase background but has greater relief than most phase objectives. The optics seem identical to those of the 40X .70 Planfluor that was available for the series 400 but with the ca corrections of the Austrian system. I received it from someone that could not make it work in a Univar.
It's imaging is much more striking through the eyepieces.