New to this: looking to record video on my DSLR

[scoperguy]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the world of microphotography and just picked up a Omax microscope from the thrift store for a couple bucks. It is missing the eyepieces which is a bummer, but I've seen online that they aren't terribly expensive (I have the typical 23mm eyepiece).

Anyway, that aside I'm trying to figure out how to properly hookup my DSLR to the eyepiece so I can record video. There have been a few ways that I've read but I'm looking for an affordable option under $150 if possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The microscope doesn't have a C mount (that's the vertical tube right?), just the binocular eyepieces.

So far I've read these different options:

Setup tripod and set camera close to the eyepiece like a human eye (afocal)

Purchase a c-mount adapter that connects to the DSLR (don't think I can do that since I don't have a c mount right?)

Purchase a special type of eyepiece that modifies the view for cameras (photo protection ocular?) and then do afocal

Create my own t-mount adapter (something like this https://youtu.be/cKxHbIGtXj0)

Get a telescope t-mount adapter (seem to be more common/cheaper) and then a 1.25" to 23mm adapter for the microscope


EDIT: I found these 2 different adapters on eBay. Would either of these work to connect my Nikon DSLR to my microscope? Also the cheaper one looks like it doesn't have an eyepiece built in, how would my camera be able to see anything or is something else needed?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 4395338426

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3545661999

Thanks again for your help/advice!

[david_b]

What model Nikon?
Does it have a Live View option - can it be controlled remotely from a computer via USB or wi-fi?

[scoperguy]

It's a Nikon D3200 and thankfully it has live view and remote shutter control It has Micro USB and HDMI output if I remember correctly as well.

[david_b]

Afocal may be possible assuming you have a suitable lens (usualy 40mm pancake).
You obviously won't be able to look through the eyepiece while the camera is in place and setting up the camera on a tripod and getting it lined up with the eyepiece every time you want to make a video is going to be a pain.
If I were you I would purchase the cheaper adapter in your link (the one without the lens), tether the camera to a computer, focus via Live View and see how you get on.

[scoperguy]

Thanks David! Out of curiosity, if I get the cheap adapter without the lens, how would the camera be able to see anything? When I look through the microscope without an eyepiece it's so tiny and I can't see anything myself haha!

[Scarodactyl]

Your eye has a wide angle lens in front of it. The camera is getting the image straight to the sensor.
In this sort of case you might want to consider a cheap eyepiece camera with a reducing lens. You typically won't get super amazing results but they're easy to set up and not too expensive.

[david_b]

This is a test using my Canon 5D MkII full frame camera, fitted using a t2 ring and 23.2mm adapter (no relay lens) as shown in your ebay link.
Your DX format will have less vignetting; possibly none at all.
I found sharpness and resolution to be acceptable, and better than my Chinese 34mp industrial camera in a direct comparison.
The weak link is the quality of the relay lenses used in the cheap Chinese cameras.

[Scarodactyl]

Nice results. This was not parfocal with the eyepieces, right? Thia does push the optics out of spec but at least at this resolution it doesn't appear to matter.

[david_b]

Correct, not parfocal, which was the reason for checking the camera has live view. OP will need to focus the image on his monitor.
His setup is different from mine of course, but if this method doesn't work out at least the cost of trying is only a few $

[scoperguy]

Wow thank you for the example photo and really everyone chiming in to help!! I ordered the cheap adapter from Amazon (it'll get here tomorrow vs a month from now) and can't wait to start posting some photos and video!

[MichaelG.]

This is a test using my Canon 5D MkII full frame camera, fitted using a t2 ring and 23.2mm adapter (no relay lens) as shown in your ebay link.
Your DX format will have less vignetting; possibly none at all.
I found sharpness and resolution to be acceptable, and better than my Chinese 34mp industrial camera in a direct comparison.
The weak link is the quality of the relay lenses used in the cheap Chinese cameras.

That’s an impressive result, David

May I ask : What objective [exactly] are you using in the microscope ?

The system you describe is simply using the objective as a ‘macro’ lens, so everything is dependent upon the performance of that objective. ... It obviously works very well with your specific item, but we should expect very different results from some other objectives.

Thanks
MichaelG.

[david_b]

I don't recall the objective magnification, but if it helps 1 div = 0.01mm
The microscope I no longer own, but was nothing special - Chinese (Brunel) with plan objectives.

[MichaelG.]

I don't recall the objective magnification, but if it helps 1 div = 0.01mm
The microscope I no longer own, but was nothing special - Chinese (Brunel) with plan objectives.

Thanks ... but no, it doesn't help very much ... I was hoping to positively identify the objective.

Yes we can estimate the magnification, but it was the apparent flatness and lack of CA that impressed me.
... exceptional performance for a 'nothing special' objective used alone.

Is there any chance you could post a full resolution image [dropbox or similar] or centre and edge crops [here] ?
... I think it merits serious inspection.

MichaelG.

[scoperguy]

For us new peeps, what do you mean by the apparent flatness and the lack of CA?

Thanks again!

[david_b]

The objective is presumably a generic example from one of the Chinese factories - there were no markings to identify the source. Who knows, it could even be the same factory as the OP's Omax.
I'm afraid I didn't keep the high res files because the test was redundant after I sold the microscope. I only have the low res versions I uploaded to Facebook at the time.
I understand you are impressed by the performance, but actually this method didn't work out for me because the amount of vignetting meant too much cropping to make a full frame video. I have only suggested the OP might try it because he has a crop format camera which may produce an acceptable result for video.
In case it helps anyone, here are some more comparison images from the test: this is the same slide & camera setup using a 2.5x relay lens. Less vignetting, closer to simul-focal, but not quite as sharp and (hard to see here) slight green colour cast in the tiny air bubbles:



And this is the result using the 34mp industrial camera mentioned above, with the supplied 0.5x Chinese relay lens. Too much cropping for me, all kinds of CA going on and a definite green cast in the air bubbles. But sharpness in the centre is not bad for a camera costing around £100. For some reason this camera stopped working as it should and I gave it away:




The camera:

[MichaelG.]

By ‘apparent’ ... I meant ‘as it appears from the image supplied’

By ‘flatness’ ... I meant ‘flatness of field’ [i.e. same focus at centre and edge]

By ‘lack of CA’ ... I meant lack of ‘Chromatic Aberration’ [i.e. no nasty colour fringes around the lines]

My apologies for not writing more clearly
.
Incidentally, I estimate the magnification to be about 51.7x ... so it’s presumably a nominal 50x objective.

MichaelG.

[MichaelG.]

The objective is presumably a generic example from one of the Chinese factories - there were no markings to identify the source. Who knows, it could even be the same factory as the OP's Omax.
I'm afraid I didn't keep the high res files […]

Thanks anyway

MiichaelG.

[david_b]

Incidentally, I estimate the magnification to be about 51.7x ... so it’s presumably a nominal 50x objective.

Checking the same slide on my current scope, it appears to have been the 40x

[MichaelG.]

Checking the same slide on my current scope, it appears to have been the 40x

Then I didn’t sufficiently allow for the increase in tube length.

MichaelG.

[Hobbyst46]

Checking the same slide on my current scope, it appears to have been the 40x

Then I didn’t sufficiently allow for the increase in tube length.

MichaelG.

If 40X it was, the image seen by the camera (in the top image, where the FOV is round) is probably near the full FOV that is visible through the eyepieces, I think.

[MichaelG.]

Here is my working:

48BB040B-8FF7-42E0-815F-A8103C885CC2.jpeg (72.06 KiB) Viewed 10672 times

E9FBD3C0-4FD9-40B8-A3E6-C7DCA779DF41.jpeg (66.36 KiB) Viewed 10672 times

The ‘nominal 50x’ was just a bad guess

MichaelG.

[david_b]

Just out of interest, I repeated the test using my current scope, this time removing the eyepiece instead of using the photo tube.
Motic 40x objective

[MichaelG.]

That makes sense ... The additional tube length comes with the use of that adapter.

The primary image from the objective should be about 10mm down the tube, but your sensor is considerably higher than that [hence the increase over nominal magnification].

Despite the CA visible in the high-res image, I remain impressed.
... such performance would have been exceptional with any equipment made a few decades ago !

MichaelG.

.

Edit: Just noticed, from your photo, that it’s an infinity corrected objective ...

[scoperguy]

Here we go, my first (best of the bunch) photo from my Nikon D3200! Not bad for a first time trying it out, I would say.

I just used the cheap adapter from the link in my first post (except I got it on Amazon for $15 instead of $5 - worth the faster shipping).

Question though: is it possible to remove the bright center spot without having to do post-processing? I tried a few settings on my camera and adjusting the diaphragm and brightness on the microscope without much success.

Thanks again for all your help!

Note: This is the image from the camera, no cropping. It had much less black border than I thought it would

[scoperguy]

I just thought of another question, so sorry! Since my microscope doesn't have any eyepieces and I plan to use it exclusively for photo/video from my DSLR, I'm wondering if there's a connector that allows some adjustable zoom between the eyepiece hole and the camera? From what it looks like, if I don't have an eyepiece adding zoom I'm only getting whatever zoom the objective has right? (Ex 40x objective is only 40x total zoom, not 400x by adding a 10x eyepiece)

I've seen some that are stuck at 2x, 5x, or 10x zoom and go straight from 23.2mm to T mount but I'm not certain which zoom I want. Is there an adjustable version by chance that allows me to change between something like 5x and 25x for example?

[david_b]

Despite the CA visible in the high-res image, I remain impressed.
... such performance would have been exceptional with any equipment made a few decades ago !

In the Motic example, there is some slight CA fringing towards the edge of the image, which was not present with the Brunel optic.
Also, the air bubbles appear green. I'm not sure why.

Edit: Just noticed, from your photo, that it’s an infinity corrected objective ...

Yes both the Brunel and Motic are infinity corrected microscopes.

[david_b]

Question though: is it possible to remove the bright center spot without having to do post-processing? I tried a few settings on my camera and adjusting the diaphragm and brightness on the microscope without much success.

I'm not familiar with Nikon's liveview - can you not control exposure from the computer at all?
Are you able to adjust the condenser height on the microscope? Is the condenser diaphragm correctly adjusted? What model Omax is it?
Can you try another slide which has a more even sample; i.e. same density all the way across, without bits missing in the centre?
Sharpness in this example is also not great. Is the Liveview image on the monitor sharper or does it appear the same as the photo? Does Nikon liveview have a zoom feature to magnify the image for precise focusing? Are you using the fine focus wheel on the microscope? If so, is it operating smoothly?
Is the microscope rock steady during exposure (no movement around it at all, no breathing!); are you exposing via the computer with the camera's mirror already flipped up?
Have you (carefully!) cleaned the objectives?

[david_b]

I just thought of another question, so sorry! Since my microscope doesn't have any eyepieces and I plan to use it exclusively for photo/video from my DSLR, I'm wondering if there's a connector that allows some adjustable zoom between the eyepiece hole and the camera? From what it looks like, if I don't have an eyepiece adding zoom I'm only getting whatever zoom the objective has right? (Ex 40x objective is only 40x total zoom, not 400x by adding a 10x eyepiece)

I've seen some that are stuck at 2x, 5x, or 10x zoom and go straight from 23.2mm to T mount but I'm not certain which zoom I want. Is there an adjustable version by chance that allows me to change between something like 5x and 25x for example?

You may be referring to stereo microscopes which are lower powered and many can zoom, typically up to around 40x.
Your Omax is a different type of microscope with higher magnification, but no zoom.

[Scarodactyl]

Zoom mechanisms for camera adapters (or for camera and eyepieces both) do exist but they're uncommon. I have an optovar on my labophot that goes from 0.8x to 2x, and it is common on industrial inspection scopes (b&l microzoom, mitutoyo finescope and its imitators) to have a built in 1x-2x zoom. Leitz also had a zooming camera adapter for their orthomat camera. But this does come at a cost, both optically and monetarily, so it isn't standard.