parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

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henryr
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#31 Post by henryr » Tue Sep 01, 2015 1:52 am

Thanks the info is a big help. I looked at your link and it's very interesting and enlightening.

However I think I will buy a fairly high quality USB 2.0 camera and after a while may upgrade to much better 40X dry and 97X oil objectives.

Will the objective image get flatter, and better near the edge, with a better quality objective. Would it still be a plan type or be defined by some other name/markings? What about brand and will they all screw into the AO objective turret?

The QCC
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#32 Post by The QCC » Tue Sep 01, 2015 2:03 am

Objectives labelled as PLAN should give you a flat field across the field of view.

I have no idea what the mounting thread of your objectives is for your microscope. Someone who knows your microscope can better discuss objectives .

I have three microscopes, all from different manufacturers. All are Plan objectives. All the objectives on my microscopes are made in China. I have no qualms about recommending quality Chinese objectives.

henryr
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#33 Post by henryr » Tue Sep 01, 2015 2:29 am

Can anyone tell me if objective threads are standardized? Will Zeiss, or other quality brand objectives like Nikon or Olympus, screw into the AO Spencer turret?

Thanks,
henryr

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zzffnn
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#34 Post by zzffnn » Tue Sep 01, 2015 3:14 am

henryr wrote:Can anyone tell me if objective threads are standardized? Will Zeiss, or other quality brand objectives like Nikon or Olympus, screw into the AO Spencer turret?

Thanks,
henryr
Most objective threads are standardized RMS thread. AO uses RMS thread. Most people selling non-RMS objectives would mention specific thread size.

So yes, most should screw in AO's objective slot. But:

Please note objectives of different brands may have different parfocal distance (I.e., distance from obj thread to specimen when in focus). Mixing different objectives of different parfocal distances can be very inconvenient.

New Nikon, Zeiss and Olympus use DIN 45 mm parfocal distance (PFD) and have both finite (e.g., 160, 170, 190, 250 mm) and infinity tube length. New AOs are of infinity design, though pfd is 34 mm. Infinity optucs of different brands should not be mixed, unless you know they are specific optical matches.

Old Nikon and old AO use 34 mm pfd and finite 160 mm tube length, IIRC. Old Zeiss Jena has PFD a little longer than 33 mm, probably close to 34 mm and finite 160 mm tube length. Not sure about old Olympus.

henryr
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#35 Post by henryr » Tue Sep 01, 2015 12:13 pm

Thanks for the help. I looked on ebay and was amazed to see objectives in the thousands of dollar range. I want to stay at or below $100.

There are many in that range with markings like plan, planachromat, phase, ph1, ph2, plan-neufluar, ect..

What tpye will work dry and provide the flattest and/or best edge corrections? What type would be oil with same qualities?

Thanks,
henryr

Rodney
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#36 Post by Rodney » Tue Sep 01, 2015 12:47 pm

I have one of those Canon point and shoot cameras that has the 60x zoom thing which I find is a big joke.
But I do use it for the time being with all the photo`s I have posted. How good they are may be all over the place.
I use this camera to take pictures through the eyepiece held in place with an adapter. All of my eyepieces and objectives work with it, the widefield oculars work better for me.

Rodney

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zzffnn
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#37 Post by zzffnn » Tue Sep 01, 2015 2:57 pm

henryr wrote:Thanks for the help. I looked on ebay and was amazed to see objectives in the thousands of dollar range. I want to stay at or below $100.

There are many in that range with markings like plan, planachromat, phase, ph1, ph2, plan-neufluar, ect..

What tpye will work dry and provide the flattest and/or best edge corrections? What type would be oil with same qualities?

Thanks,
henryr
Henryr,

I suggest that you read some basic books about microscopes. People here can answer your questions, but you would learn a lot more when you read a bit about the basics. To get the best images, a knowledgeable operator is more important than anything else. I was a professional biology researcher, but I knew nearly nothing about microscopes until 2 years ago when I started reading/searching extensively in books, forums and online resources.

If you have done research on specific objectives (just google their names) and still don't find an answer, please feel free to post a thread and ask specifically.

Objectives with NA (numeric aperture) higher than 0.9-0.95, mostly magnification above 60x, would be used with immersion (oil, water, glycerine). Around NA 0.9, or magnification at around 60x, it is hard to tell (could be dry or immersion). Below NA 0.85, or magnification at 55x or lower, most are used dry.

But there are many exceptions, you can find 100x dry objectives (but their NA would be less than 0.95), or 30x water immersion objectives (with NA of 0.9). NA is the best indicator, as air/dry objective can not achieve NA of over 0.95.

Phase or ph1 or ph2 is for phase contrast. Those objectives may or may not work well in bright field, oblique or darkfield. It depends on the specific objective.

Plan or semi plan objectives provide good flat image. Plan Achromatic, plan fluoride or plan apochromatic with matching compensating eyepieces provide the good correction. The later two can be expensive (>$100) though. I think for beginners plan achromatic objectives are more than sufficient. I am still using some non-plan achromatic objectives myself (and selling my more expensive semi-plan objective to save money). And I do not feel the need to upgrade (in some applications and/or for some users, one would not notice or bother by that much aberration).

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gekko
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#38 Post by gekko » Tue Sep 01, 2015 3:45 pm

I completely agree with zzffnn. I would advise against buying any objectives or other components right now, but use and enjoy your microscope as it is at present. Take the time to follow zzffnn's suggestions regarding reading about microscopes and microscopy (books, websites, etc.) and ask questions on the forum. Oliver has extensive and very useful information about using the microscope on the main MicrobeHunter website:
http://www.microbehunter.com/the-beginn ... icroscopy/
Other excellent web sources:
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.h ... uk/primer/
http://zeiss-campus.magnet.fsu.edu/
http://www.microscopyu.com/articles/optics/index.html
Once you have had a good understanding of microscopy and microscopes, and having had some experience using your current microscope and having learned its limitations in terms of your objectives, you can then decide how you would like to expand your system (whether by adding objectives, light source, etc., to your microscope, or get a whole new or used microscope, etc.)

apochronaut
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#39 Post by apochronaut » Tue Sep 01, 2015 5:10 pm

If you use a microscope eyepiece as a tube lens, you will have the option to capture the entire microscope field that the eye sees through the eyepiece. From there ,you can either keep the image as is, or crop it. Cropping will potentially remove the edge distortions and out of focus areas that average microscope optics are prone to but with optics which include better corrections for those distortions, you can maximize the size of the field that your camera can capture. I think where a lot of novices get confused, is in looking at photomicrographs , rectangular photomicrographs that have been cropped to remove the edges of the field or are just showing a representative section of a microscope field. That gives the illusion that all microscopes produce a completely flat in focus image. This is only true for certain classes of microscope optics.
If you use a U.S.B. camera, they are usually designed based on the realization that those edge distortions exist and the area imaged is that portion of the field that is relatively free of those distortions, so you will get a rectangular image but only the center portion of the microscope field. This is for off the shelf, generic U.S.B. cameras.The more purpose built the camera is and matched to a specific set of optics, the bigger will be the field captured and also of generally higher quality.

Follow the advice given before me. An older microscope like yours , with mix and match optics can be made to work well but you need to be clear headed about the performance parameters of the various microscope and photographic components, in order to make a qualified decision.
Sorry, if I have confused you in any previous posts but my intent was to clarify.

henryr
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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#40 Post by henryr » Wed Sep 02, 2015 5:19 am

You certainly don't have anything to be sorry about. The options are many and varied along with cost which goes from small to very large. I'll take the advice and begin reading.

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Re: parts to mount a camera on a ao spencer series 15

#41 Post by zzffnn » Thu Sep 03, 2015 3:48 pm

This is one of the T mount to microscope eyepiece clamps that The QCC mentioned previously:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OGY ... dp_summary

It accepts eyepiece up to 1.5 inch in diameter and has a male T2 mount at the camera end.

For my 46 mm Sigma micro4/3 lens (and mirroless camera), I would use 46-42 (T2=42 mm) stepping down ring/adapter:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009SG ... dp_summary

I have ordered both items. I have been using an Orion SteadyPix Pro adapter. The QCC adapter should allow more secure and precise adaptation with a lighter overall package.

Note a mirroless camera still has significant shutter vibration, even though it has no mirror shake. At least my Olympus E-PM2 does that and it affects high magnification image (at 65x NA 1.1 objective). If that is bothering, tripod coupling or flash/prism/shutter delay/long expoaure should be used.

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