MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Really grasping for straws here, but... could someone have flipped the prisms upside down? My Nikon Epi DIC prism holders were sealed very hard with thread locker. It would be obvious if anyone had tampered with them.

Haven't tried the titanium ones, but stainless steel forceps are relatively easy to reshape with a diamond sharpening stone. You can make the tip narrower, and you can make new tips if you accidentally drop it and bend the tips.

I hope you got the CFN 40x, because it ended at GBP 38.00 which is a real bargain.

Is there anyone experienced with the older Olympus DIC system that was made for the short-barrel BH microscopes? It used a single objective-side Nomarski prism (in the intermediate tube AH-NA) and three condenser prisms (10x,40x, and 100x) in the condenser BH-NC: BH DIC.JPG Here's the optical train:...

Great job! And the mirror looks pristine.

Nive video, KD! What objective are you using and how have you set up your camera?

...and eBay's "Save this search" function is your friend.

I'm not saying you should buy that, but if you are trying to find an NFK 2.5x at less than market price you might need to take on some risks. Or just pay a little bit more for a known good.

If you decide to put the objectives on eBay: make sure you take good photos of the front lens as well as a nice clear 'through-the-rear-lens' photo. Good photos really help the buyer feel confident and willing to pay a bit more than for a poorly photographed objective. And don't post photographs of ...

To give you an idea of what you're looking at here are eBay ads for the things we've mentioned: BH2-CA magnification changer: https://www.ebay.com/itm/221401059882 (Outrageously priced, but 12 watchers so it's an item that people are looking for) 1.4 Aplanat Achromat condenser: https://www.ebay.com/...

I see what you mean, Phil. These tests do often use tube lenses in configurations that are different from what the manufacturer intended (different distance to sensor, reversed, etc). So they don't really answer your questions. And at least in some cases it seems like the "macro people" try to optim...

I'll second Pete's recommendation, that 40x CFN objective is very nice and often stay somewhat affordable. So do put that in your eBay watch list!

You also have a OLYMPUS BH2-CA on there, which is a magnification changer + focusable bertrand lens. I believe that is a very useful item which is fairly rare and sought-after. That should fetch ~300 USD on its own (at least that's what the two listed in eBay sold items were sold for). In addition i...

That 10x is a pretty good performer. I've used it quite a bit for macro photography. And the black 100x should work well too if you want to look at really small stuff (but it won't deliver very crisp images - only the very best 100x objectives do). It'll probably be some time before you get to the p...

Very nice scope for sure! Definitely something to build your foreverscope on. The objectives looks like a mixed bag, though. I believe I see one 100x 1.25 E achromat (black), and one which looks like a 100x 1.25 SC oil (silver barrel). Is that correct? What is the third objective? The Nikon SC objec...

I use the term corrections rather loosely, because in essence all lenses introduce distortions or aberrations to the incoming light, even if the ultimate result is to cancel out those that it introduces. It would be interesting to see how a Mitutoyo, or Olympus or Nikon objective made it through th...

I've been curious about your strategy to sample and photograph diatoms. Thanks for giving us some hints!

I'm actually looking for one of those Zeiss fluoro condensers, but I think you're in the US? Guess it'll be to expensive to ship to Sweden, unfortunately.

I couldn't help but noticing in some of your earlier posts where you posted pictures of your scope, that your pictures looked heavily altered: http://www.microbehunter.com/microscopy-forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3606&p=77886#p77886 http://www.microbehunter.com/microscopy-forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=904...

Charles wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 26, 2020 10:40 pm

The focus block is in the upper portion and the lower portion has the stage and probably condenser on it's own rail which utilizes the quick connect/disconnect.

Did it come without a condenser and condenser carrier? From the pictures I can't figure out if or how you would attach a condenser.

It is not supposed to output light, it is supposed to input light! Instead of turning off the room lights you need to shine a bright light on the piece of paper. That way you will see your pen and paper when looking through the eyepieces.

To go briefly to your first point i.e. light output The Cree XML2 10W has a Max drive current of 3000mA, so your BuckPuck 1000mA constant current driver will be limiting its output somewhat. There is a BuckPuck 2100mA constant current driver that will help with that. Ah, yes, I'm aware. I didn't kn...

Since we were on the topic of LEDs in another thread, I thought I could post some of the things I have found recently. As many others, I have been using a Cree XML2 10W single-die led in my Wild M20 microscope, using a BuckPuck 1000mA constant current driver. It's been fine, but I have kept looking ...

microb, this preprint might be interesting to you as you continue to collect data on DIC prisms designs: https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.04271 They empirically measured the shear angles of three Nikon prisms: Shear angle.JPG I'm not very familiar with Nikon's infinity systems but it seems like these ones...

iss. As you say, your model is somewhat unusual in having a fixed stage height and the whole arm moving for focus. Fixed stage was good for some types of lab work. Actually, the coarse focus wheel moves the arm. The fine focus wheel moves the stage (within the 4mm limit). It's the same system as on...

Excellent reference, highly appreciated! I've spent a couple evenings reading it through. It has given me a lot of ideas on how to further improve my own DIY DIC project (I am slowly build a DIY DIC system using two identical Nikon Epi DIC "10x40x100x" prisms). I was not aware that it was possible t...

Truly spectacular photos, Håkan.

Inselberg is such a delightful word, too.

At 1000x magnification, with the aperture of the condenser at its smallest, there is not enough light, the image is to dark. I have to open the aperture a bit. Opening to much reduces contrast. (I use a 30W light bulb, at least that's what I think is installed) Based on this, it seems like you begi...

If you print concentric circles on a sheet of acetate and put it in the filter tray you can use a phase telescope to look at it at the back focal plane (with the correct objective in place) and see how large the rings need to be.

I have the non-phase version of the Fluor 40x 0.85 with correction collar. I also have the 10x and 20x Fluor CF objectives from the same series. Unfortunately, I cannot compare them to the Plan Fluor objectives as I have never used any of those. The Plan Fluor were some of the last objectives Nikon ...