MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

The "185" objectives have a shorter parfocal distance - typically used in older or cheaper microscopes. The "190" objectives have a 45mm standard parfocal distance from where they seat in the turret to where the focus on a specimen would be. Generally you want them all the same parfocal distance to ...

. . . I've found only this but it seems a little bit expensive. >> I have one of those AmScope 2x adapters - and would be delighted with the price IF it provided good images. Sadly, the 2x optics aren't very good. You can get an image of about the right size, but it's not very plan and soft in term...

Greetings. What ages do you teach? I've started a kids' science program ("Micronauts") locally and am always interested in swapping teaching ideas -- and especially how to stimulate both curiosity and a bit of grit and determination. The curiosity may come easily to your gifted students? The willing...

Could be the Zeiss Standard 18 you're thinking of Wes - with interchangeable turrets and a 100 watt lamp? Just as a price comparison, one of these days I'll be selling a Zeiss 18 with full DIC, 100 watt source, Plan NeoFluars, and a trinocular head for substantially less than 2200 Euro equivalent. T...

My guess is that if the house is experiencing +/- 3 degrees C, that a tripod located within feet of a chimney flue, furnace, and radiator pipes may be experiencing even greater temperature swings due to proximity and radiant heat. And since the camera is sitting on something like a meter of thin (an...

With respect to materials for building a time lapse rig, I think the design will be more important than choosing the perfect material. If you imagine your specimen on a short sturdy platform and your camera on another short sturdy platform - with a bit of adjustment on each - same material - and tie...

A few thoughts: 1) You seem to have narrowed it down to thermal changes affecting your tripod, so let's take that as a starting point. I'd just note that there are dozens of possible causes and we sometimes see cause and effect where there is none. Might be best if your thermometer measured the trip...

The dealer you spoke to is correct that the low end Zeiss, Leica, etc. are now often made in China to now higher standard than, say, a Motic. I'd suggest patience and finding a fine used microscope. I don't know the used pricing throughout Europe, but here in the US the equivalent of 2000 Euro would...

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Your budget would buy you a high quality research microscope (used), perhaps even with DIC and top notch objectives in the US. I'd be inclined to see what's available used in your area. As a comparison example, I recently had a Motic BA410 with trinocular head and fluor objectives in new condition; ...

Looks to me like it's meant for a low profile knob, to engage the gear rack. Knob and its gear engagement not present - perhaps meant to be removable for an even lower profile while rotating a specimen? Almost surely not for a LED, needle manipulator, etc. The usual attachment method is with two gui...

A Bertrand lens is usually built in to a microscope - and focused so you can see (and adjust) the alignment of things like phase rings and phase annulli in a phase contrast microscope. A centering or phase telescope - which replaces an eyepiece - does the same thing. Because the focus point is adjus...

Here's an affordable spectrometer that claims to get to 920nm into the near IR range: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Spectrometer-Spectrometre-Spektrometre-with-SMA-connector-Extended-Range-920nm/283947908442?hash=item421c9d3d5a:g:VSkAAOSwGmteke1h I bought a similar spectrometer, similarly priced, from a ...

Sounds like you're off to a great start.

Depending upon your microscope, that field limitation is likely due to the condenser not covering the entire field. Open up all the irises and drop it down to see if that helps. Some condensers will only cover a 10x objective, better ones will go down to 4x. As Phil says, it's often necessary to get...

If you need transmitted light for some reason (as in the Omax type), it should be noted the Ebay BHM model is only for a reflected head. The BHM is a good stand. There are many other fine microscope stands that might be easier to adapt (which a bit more meat on the upright and sometimes a detachable...

The base, illumination, and stage look somewhat like an Omax or another fairly low cost Chinese scope. You might check "Omax" as an example in the $200 to $300 price range. The upright (beginning about 20mm above the stage height) and the head support (held by 3 socket head screws) don't look famili...

The old Olympus scopes are pretty well built. So once you free up the old grease, I think you'll have a good scope. The relatively small footprint should make it a good travel scope. A LED conversion should be fairly easy as well and while the objectives are fairly old "short barrel" models you can ...

I've come across some objectives (not an entire scope - which looks fairly cheaply made). They were usable, not great. If I had $600 to spend on a scope, would probably look elsewhere than a used LX400. Some of the Labomed stuff is made in India. Do you know the origin of the scopes you used at scho...

Chris, Congratulations on the Leica DMLS - it's an excellent scope and looks like the 20x you bought should be superb.

I'd be curious to know what things end up interesting your son (and you) the most.

Patta - PM sent. I don't need the 40x phase. The 50x phase is of possible use and I have the 50/100x annulus; but I already have a 4 place turret full of 10-20-40x phase and a100x fluor phase objectives. The scope will likely go on to a "Micronaut's" family at some point. I just need to find a bette...

FWIW, I believe the original poster's intent in "phasing out" his 50x objective is to just remove the phase ring - and use the rest of the objective. Small loss. This works fine on converting something like a Nikon CFN 4x for inverted phase use to a regular CFN 4x for upright use. A few minutes work...

The parfocal shims, up to about .010", are still readily available for RMS objectives. They're just expensive. Parfocal extenders (threaded both ends) are also available (Ebay etc.) and especially handy for mixing infinite objectives (say Leica 45mm to a Nikon 60mm parfocal scope). As noted above --...

I've just finished adapting a Wild phase contrast set to a Nikon S (actually an L-Ke) microscope. Added simple polarization and LED illumination as well. The Wild phase condenser requires about a 1.5mm a larger holding diameter than the Nikon - but there is enough metal in the Nikon condenser holder...

Is buying a new short barrel 20x from China not an option? The new prices of a "185" objective are very low and China subsidizes the shipping cost to most countries.

John - curious on the bearings used in various Nikon infinite scopes. My limited experience (an E600 and two ME600 series scopes) is it's cross rollers for the Z direction stage and condenser mounts (up and down) and captive balls running along wires backed on one side with an adjustable gib for the...

To add, some differences between Olympus Plan UIS (infinite) and UPlan UIS objectives, the UPlanFl will have: - larger field of view - higher numerical aperture and resolution - better chromatic corrections - better transmission into the UV region - more $$$ A second iteration of the UIS series (UIS...

The spacing between the rack and pinion gears for both x and y are adjustable. This gets out most of the slop - but you do want a bit of clearance. By using a suitable grease and adjusting the gibs you can damp any further "wiggle."

Simple polarization, darkfield, and oblique are other and usually less expensive ways of adding contrast.

Phase contrast is excellent for relatively transparent cells (DIC even more so), but typically adds hundreds to the cost of a microscope. DIC even more.

To add, the corner is more damaged than I thought. You might try embedding a bit of stainless mesh in epoxy for that larger repair. Use a bit of waxed plastic to establish the outside surface. The epoxy almost like stucco applied to mesh.