Zeiss Standard 18 / Nikon d810 / Nikon F Microscope tube

[IanW]

Some of you will be familiar with my ongoing problems with this set up. Briefly:

1. 1960s Zeiss Standard scope with a trinocular head
2. 1960s Nikon F microscope camera adapter tube which contains a field lens to project image, and holds eyepiece, mine being a Kpl 10X
3. Nikon d810 which is able to lock up mirror and uses electronic front curtain for virtually vibration free shots.

This is the set up, with close ups of the microscope camera adapter below





It sounds good, and I can get quite reasonable images using 10X objective - this is one of Marrow Pollen



But using a 40X objective produces images lacking clarity - any zooming in and no extra detail appears to be there. Here's a shot at 40X



Using an afocal set up is out of the question for me. It is obvious that the present set up is restricted by the projection eyepiece which is creating an overlarge image on the camera sensor. I am also wondering if the Nikon camera adapter field lens might be degrading image quality.

I'd appreciate advice from anyone who knows which type of Projectiv eyepiece lens I need. I have seen 2.5X mentioned for use with Zeiss Standards. Would that produce the entire view on the full frame d810? To confuse matters I've seen Zeiss projectiv eyepieces with markings of 4:1. 5:1. But I can't find information to help on these.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[75RR]

Hi IanW,
if you are using an eyepiece as a projecting lens then you can change the size of the area you can photograph by varying the height of the eyepiece above the trinocular tube and the distance between the eyepiece and the camera.
See this article: http://krebsmicro.com/pdf/parfocal.pdf

Alternatively you can probably get the answers you need at: http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/
There are a lot of very knowledgeable people there. Just a search of the forums could well answer your queries.

[gekko]

2.5x Zeiss projektiv projection lens is correct for a full frame camera. That is what they made for 35-mm film cameras. The 4x, 5x, etc. were for large format film cameras. The 2.5x Nikon projection lens is very commonly found on ebay, but it won't have the corrections needed for Zeiss objectives.

[IanW]

Thanks. I will just wait one to turn up. Let me know if you see one:-)

[IanW]

Is this the correct one?

[url]http://m.ebay.com/itm/151682853092?nav=SEARCH/url]that's not cheap. Any suggestions?

[gekko]

Is this the correct one?

[url]http://m.ebay.com/itm/151682853092?nav=SEARCH/url]that's not cheap. Any suggestions?

Yes, but not cheap is right! I guess they are sought after by Zeiss microscope enthusiasts. If you wish you can get this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MICROSCOPE-OCUL ... 43dbae24d0
that include a 3.2x which will crop your image seen by the camera (I think the image width captured will be about 78% of the field of view; the same with the height). Since it is relatively inexpensive, you can use it and see how much improvement it gives, then wait for a 2.5x hopefully at a more reasonable price. Hard to say what the best approach is...
The quality of the image with the 3.2x lens should not be any different from that of a 2.5x, only the magnification will be higher [added later:], and not necessarily a bad thing, depending on what you like-- you might think you are using an Optovar with 3.2x magnification .

[gekko]

I don't understand what what you call a "field lens" is doing. If you are using the Kpl eyepiece as a projection lens (by raising it a few mm above its normal, fully seated position), then all you need is the camera body. No other optics need or should be used. This may be the source of your problem. In which case you probably don't need to buy another projection lens. Just use your Zeiss eyepiece (raised a bit**) and mount your camera body (no camera lens, no other optic). The eyepiece will do its job in aberration correction. Focus your microscope on a slide (use a low power objective: 3.2x, 4x, or whatever it is you have to focus), then adjust the camera's height to get the image in focus. If the image is a bit too small to fill the sensor, lower the eyepiece a little into the eyetube and readjust the camera height to get the image in focus again. If the image on the sensor is too large (some cropping), raise the eyepiece in the eyetube a little. My guess is that if you try that, you will be very happy with the images you get. Of course, I may be wrong (and it wouldn't be the first time), but I feel pretty confident that you will solve the problem if you just remove that lens from the adapter. Good luck!

**It may be that the adapter (if you remove the lens from it) would hold the eyepiece the correct distance above its fully seated position. If so, well and good.

[75RR]

This is part of an article which I posted separately to highlight two points.

I) He uses Kpl eyepieces to project a image on the sensor
2) Vibration is a problem with this type of camera and setup

Have included the link to the original article so you can see the image quality he achieves with this setup.
There are no intermediate lenses in between the eyepiece and the sensor.

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/ind ... -test.html

[IanW]

Thanks gekko - I made the purchase and will report back once I get the eyepiece. 75RR thanks also - your links are informative and I'll try harder to read and follow the advice:-)

[hnoor0055]

thanks for everything