New arrival direct from Moscow
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
New arrival direct from Moscow
My "new" LOMO Biolam L-2-2 finally arrived this morning after it's long long trek half way around the globe. You can see that I have some work ahead of me in putting it back together. The seller did a superb job of wrapping and packaging; even though it spent more than 2 months in transit, so far I see no evidence of any shipping damage.
From the serial number I think it was built in 1997. Looking everything over I see very few signs of wear. Everything that is supposed to turn or moves does so smoothly, no frozen tank grease here.
So far I am very optimistic.
I'll post more photos tonight, after I get it assembled.
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
It wasn't difficult to assemble at all, I managed it during my lunch break. Everything went together smoothly.
Tonight I'll upload a shot of it sitting next to it's little cousin Biolam for comparison.
I hope the MFN-11 trinocular viewing head is compatible with this scope. Mechanically it should go right on, I just don't know about optically. I'll find out and report back.
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Congrats on your new scope. Great feeling to unpack and assemble. Looks like it is in great condition.
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/micromundus
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Web: https://hakankvarnstrom.com
Olympus BX51 | Olympus CX23 | Olympus SZ40 | Carl ZEISS EVO LS 10 Lab6 | Carl Zeiss Jena Sedival
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micromundusphotography
Web: https://hakankvarnstrom.com
Olympus BX51 | Olympus CX23 | Olympus SZ40 | Carl ZEISS EVO LS 10 Lab6 | Carl Zeiss Jena Sedival
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Congratulations! That looks a really classy piece of kit - built to last & perform! You must be on cloud-9 ...
Can't wait to see more as you get to know the beauty - keep us posted, it's very interesting and enjoyable to see a lovely 'scope such as this start it's new life with yourself!
Sleepless nights (for all the best reasons) are surely coming your way - adrenalin on max!
Can't wait to see more as you get to know the beauty - keep us posted, it's very interesting and enjoyable to see a lovely 'scope such as this start it's new life with yourself!
Sleepless nights (for all the best reasons) are surely coming your way - adrenalin on max!
John B
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Impressive! Agree with mrsonchus. Sleepless night ahead
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Wow! Very nice!
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Worth the wait. Looks like a very nice microscope in very good condition. Well done.
Love the rotating stage!
Love the rotating stage!
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Thanks all! It did come with a power supply after all, but it runs on 220 volts, and of course here in the US our wall power is 110. I tried my power supply, but it just barely lights the bulb, clearly this is a much higher wattage bulb than in my other scope. I'll have to do some fiddling, but I'll get it going yet.
CE
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Here are the two cousins sitting side by side. Hmmm... looks like I need to tidy up my lab area a bit.
Looking at the Polam specs on the LOMO PLC site (same or similar base and frame), this illuminator should have a 12 volt 100 watt bulb in it, so it's no wonder my little power supply wouldn't light it past a dull orange glow. Not to worry, I have all the parts to put together a supply for this lamp. It's just frustrating that I didn't think of this sooner. Now I have to wait until tomorrow night for first light, as all my parts are in town.
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
They're a fine sight lined up like that! What beautiful instruments. You're in for a really good time with these two. Congratulations.
John B
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
That is a thing beauty- and very sturdy looking. Congratulations with the new scope. I notice its quite a bit taller - I hope your chair adjusts
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Congratulations! Well worth the wait. A well-built and versatile instrument. And it is beautiful! I cannot say it as well as mrsonchus, so I'd like to quote him:
mrsonchus wrote:Congratulations! That looks a really classy piece of kit - built to last & perform! You must be on cloud-9 ...
Can't wait to see more as you get to know the beauty - keep us posted, it's very interesting and enjoyable to see a lovely 'scope such as this start it's new life with yourself!
Sleepless nights (for all the best reasons) are surely coming your way - adrenalin on max!
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
So, my first impression after my first glimpse through the eyepiece... Wow! Just... wow!
The included objectives are 8x, 40x, and 90x, with one empty position on the turret. I set up the 8x and put in a slide containing filamentous algae from one of my culture bottles. Very clear, very sharp image. I know 8x isn't all that challenging, but the difference in clarity between this 8x and the 10x on the other scope is impressive. Now I know that I will have to fiddle with the illuminator to achieve proper Koehler, but I had to swing in the 40x objective anyway. Again... wow! And I know it will be better once the illuminator is properly adjusted. That might take some work though, because one of the mirror tilt adjustments doesn't do anything, it might have been knocked out of kilter during shipment or something. And the mirror itself looks a little marked up, it might improve with some careful polishing. I assume it should be a first surface mirror, shouldn't it? If need be I can replace it.
A few minutes of observing produced some significant eye strain, that makes me think that the binoc might be slightly out of collimation. I'll have to run some tests on that to make sure. In the meantime, I swapped out the binoc for the trinoc I got a few weeks ago. The view through the trinoc is noticeably dimmer, which I suppose I should have expected due to the extra optical elements for the beam splitting... even though I had it in "straight through" mode. Other than that though, I didn't notice any image degradation, so it looks like the trinoc is indeed optically compatible with this scope. I'll have to do some real testing once I get the illuminator sorted.
Overall I am very pleased at this point.
The included objectives are 8x, 40x, and 90x, with one empty position on the turret. I set up the 8x and put in a slide containing filamentous algae from one of my culture bottles. Very clear, very sharp image. I know 8x isn't all that challenging, but the difference in clarity between this 8x and the 10x on the other scope is impressive. Now I know that I will have to fiddle with the illuminator to achieve proper Koehler, but I had to swing in the 40x objective anyway. Again... wow! And I know it will be better once the illuminator is properly adjusted. That might take some work though, because one of the mirror tilt adjustments doesn't do anything, it might have been knocked out of kilter during shipment or something. And the mirror itself looks a little marked up, it might improve with some careful polishing. I assume it should be a first surface mirror, shouldn't it? If need be I can replace it.
A few minutes of observing produced some significant eye strain, that makes me think that the binoc might be slightly out of collimation. I'll have to run some tests on that to make sure. In the meantime, I swapped out the binoc for the trinoc I got a few weeks ago. The view through the trinoc is noticeably dimmer, which I suppose I should have expected due to the extra optical elements for the beam splitting... even though I had it in "straight through" mode. Other than that though, I didn't notice any image degradation, so it looks like the trinoc is indeed optically compatible with this scope. I'll have to do some real testing once I get the illuminator sorted.
Overall I am very pleased at this point.
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Looking good! Love the 'chunky' and very ingenious power-supply! Keep us updated, it's really interesting to see you commission the mighty beast!
John B
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Fantastic!
What did you pay?
What did you pay?
Zeiss Jena NF, Zeiss Standard 18 and WL
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Yes, looking very good. I hope you get the mirror and collimation problems solved, and we will start to see beautiful images!
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
The power supply has the virtue of having cost me nothing. However, I will have to return the transformer eventually, I borrowed it from the "sample" shelf at work. I'll put something else together eventually, but for now this works quite well.
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Swank!
--- If you're in the Kansas City area and you need help with an Olympus BH-2 scope, PM me. I love to work on these things ---
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
So I finally sat down and completely stripped Boris down to the bare frame in prep for working on the mirror tilt controls. Everything had to come off because I had to turn it upside down and take the cover off the underside of the base to get to it. This is what I found (above). The aluminum platform on the right is the underside of the mirror holder. It is spring loaded on the center pivot, and is supposed to ride on the two adjusting screws on the left. You can see that the holder has been jarred out of position.
It was a very simple matter to pull the mirror holder back just a bit and drop it back into position. You can see that it now rides on the adjusting screws as it should. Proper mirror tilt function is now restored. That was a bit of an anticlimax, it took much longer to strip down to the frame than to actually correct the problem. Now to put it all back together again and run through the Koehler alignment... I can't wait to put it into service.
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
A good inaticlimax to have . Very nicely designed and made microscope.
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Agree with gekko. A solid, well designed, no nonsense microscope.
Also have to say that "Boris" is a perfect fit. Say hi from me. ;)
Also have to say that "Boris" is a perfect fit. Say hi from me. ;)
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
I'm sure if he could, Boris would say HI back, as would his younger cousin Natasha.75RR wrote:"Boris" is a perfect fit. Say hi from me.
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Looks like yours is the upgrade version. Very nice scope Eddie!
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Bonjour.
Très belle bête je trouve ce microscope vraiment génial.
Très belle bête je trouve ce microscope vraiment génial.
Microscope Leitz Laborlux k
Boitier EOS 1200D + EOS 1100D
Boitier EOS 1200D + EOS 1100D
- AllMicroscope.com
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Fri Apr 03, 2015 6:50 pm
- Location: The Nimrud Palace
- Contact:
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Great microscope! I am just curious - how much did you pay for the microscope and for the transportation?
Microscope Books Library - it is updated daily with new microscopy books, Manuals, instructions and more. I hope you find this useful.
- Crater Eddie
- Posts: 1858
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
- Location: Illinois USA
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
I'll send you that information in a PM.AllMicroscope.com wrote:Great microscope! I am just curious - how much did you pay for the microscope and for the transportation?
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
I have always wanted a LOMO... This makes me want one even more....
Re: New arrival direct from Moscow
Congrats Crater Eddie! Borish and Natasha are sweet! charlie guevaraCrater Eddie wrote:I'm sure if he could, Boris would say HI back, as would his younger cousin Natasha.75RR wrote:"Boris" is a perfect fit. Say hi from me.