Nikon SMZ-10 - attaching camera to trinocular head

[BombusT]

Hi, I've recently acquired a Nikon SMZ-10 trinocular body and have a stand on the way. The body came with the Nikon c-mount TV adapter but no relay lens and has the 0.6x designation on the SMZ-10TP head. I believe the 0.6x should match pretty well with the 2/3 sensor camera I have. I've done some brief experimentation with bits and bobs I had from previous experiments and I'm fairly certain I can't get an image without the relay lens, or easily get it parfocal with the lenses I have, I'm assuming due to the additional optics in the light path, but I've been hand holding the body and manipulating the camera and lenses at the same time since I don't have a stand for this scope yet. Suffice to say it's been a bit awkward.

I've got a copy of the SMZ-10 manual which describes setting up a 2/3 camera with the "TV lens" in the vertical photo tube and the c-mount adapter I have over that, just those two components, so without the "SM" connecting ring required for the microflex (which I don't have anyway). Looking on Ebay I see Nikon 1x/16 TV relay lenses but I can't imagine it fitting far enough down in the photo tube for the c-mount adapter to then slip over. There appears to only be a roughly 15mm gap (guesstimated) between the top of the 23.2mm diameter photo tube and the c-mount adapter when in place. Would appreciate if anyone has this scope or is familiar with the parts and can tell me whether the 1x/16 relay lens the correct lens for this job or is there a more obscure lens I need to find?

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Photo tube (without c-mount adapter)

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C-mount adapter hopefully showing top of photo tube (exposure blown out to see the tube)

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Manual Page

[Scarodactyl]

I'm not really sire why they have a 0.6x designation on the tube. It doesn't seem to actually act that way.

The TV lens should be correct but it does not look like it would fit under that adapter. That said there isn't any more obscure lens to get (the only real rarity in the nikon lineup is the 2x) so it's hsrd to imagine what else it would be meant to work with.

That said it is a non-compensating system so a third party adapter might also be viable.

[BombusT]

Thanks Scarodactyl, yes the 1x16 TV lens is the only one I can find information on, I wonder if it would actually work with the "SM" connecting ring in place. Looking at the manual I get the impression the TV lens there is a similar shape, but with a larger diameter rim around the top (see cut out below). I can't see how it would have fit under the c-mount adapter either, and the c-mount adapter certainly appears to match that on the manual.

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I'm not really sire why they have a 0.6x designation on the tube. It doesn't seem to actually act that way.

I just set up a plastic box stand and chucked in a 10x/18 23.2mm barrel objective to check this out. I had to hold it in the 30mm tube where the normal eyepiece would fit but it gave a nice easy image from the photo tube. It certainly appears that there is some reduction going on in the trinocular head, see the afocal phone image below, on the left is from eyepiece tube, while the right is from the photo tube (image was inverted but I had the phone on an angle and I've flipped the image to make it more consistent). I guess it must be a 0.6x image.

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I'm thinking I might give one of the Chinese 1x relay lenses a go, the camera screws directly on to the lens which is convenient here if I can't use the c-mount adapter.

[Scarodactyl]

Doing a quick eBay search they do seem to have made at least two styles of the tv 1x relay, though the only difference I immediately notice is how the text is put on them. I have one of them here and I can give you some exact measurements if I dig it up.

[BombusT]

Doing a quick eBay search they do seem to have made at least two styles of the tv 1x relay, though the only difference I immediately notice is how the text is put on them. I have one of them here and I can give you some exact measurements if I dig it up.

That would be superb!