My Zeiss microscope

What equipment do you use? Post pictures and descriptions of your microscope(s) here!
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tlansing
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My Zeiss microscope

#1 Post by tlansing » Tue Jan 25, 2022 9:13 pm

I have received much inspiration on this forum so I thought I would share a couple of views of my microscope. I have a Zeiss Photomicroscope III which I purchased on eBay about 15 years ago. I was very lucky with this purchase, as the seller did not know what they had. The scope was equipped with the original DIC system that Zeiss produced, which included the 1.4 NA aplanatic-achromatic condenser with DIC prisms for 16x, 40x and 100x objectives (and phase 2 and 3), the slider (which fits in a slot in the tube head), and the appropriate plan achromats for DIC. The scope also had a Pol nosepiece. Fortunately, there was no delamination in any of these components. I also purchased 16x and 40x Neofluar objectives which work well for DIC; I also had 16x, 25x and 40X Neofluar phase objectives. I am a big fan of the optovar on this microscope, so I was very happy to get this too. I had to replace it, though. because the 2x lens was badly delaminated (can't be too lucky I guess). Here is a picture of the entire scope.
PM3-1.jpg
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I purchased a Canon 1300D camera to take pictures and movies on this microscope, and I have been very happy with the quality of the photos and videos produced by this camera. I use the EOS Utilities software and Live View to take photos/videos, so most of the focusing is done on the computer screen. The camera adapter is an Amscope adapter with a 2x lens which is part of the adapter. I learned about this reading Rob Berdan's web page on photomicroscopy (https://www.canadiannaturephotographer. ... _tips.html); his photos are excellent so I thought I would take his advice. I have been very happy with this adapter. I also wanted to be able to use flash to slow down fast moving critters and was delighted when ImperatorRex shared his use of an old Zeiss beam splitter used for the analog camera of that time on this forum (viewtopic.php?t=5930). I had one of these so I was able to attach a Yongnuo YN568EX flash to this splitter and run it from the camera. Finally, I learned about Nano-dyne illuminators from a post by KurtM (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14318&p=114455&hilit=KurtM#p114455), and I bought one. This illuminator produces a lot of light, which is great for DIC. I wasn't cheap but I really like it. Here is a photo of the flash, splitter and illuminator.
PM3-2.jpg
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One last picture of my collection jars of various ages that provide me with so much interesting fun and adventures!
Collection_Jars.jpg
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Tim

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KurtM
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#2 Post by KurtM » Wed Jan 26, 2022 2:02 am

I know from my own past experience just how big a thrill it can be when a seller doesn't know what he's got, but I think you have the record there -- that's a truly magnificent photon processing machine you have there! I bet if you just happened to want to take a few additional detail pix of various points of interest not too many folks would mind too awful much (heh heh). I absolutely love the Zeiss rotating biological stage, also the Optovar, but that beamsplitter I am in envy of. I didn't know such an animal existed. Wow!!

In the interest of full disclosure, forum member (who we haven't seen in a while) mintakax turned me on to Nanodyne LED illuminators. Yes, the price tag on those things can be a little heartbreaking, but boy do they ever deliver.
Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas
email: ngc704(at)gmail(dot)com
https://www.flickr.com/photos/67904872@ ... 912223623/

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fdupre
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#3 Post by fdupre » Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:42 am

Très beau matériel !
Equipment : binocular magnifier Bresser Biorit ICD x20 x40 / Microscope "Bresser" science infinity / Home macro bench
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first name : Franck

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Wes
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#4 Post by Wes » Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:51 am

That's a great scope you got there Tim. And you have the version with metal coarse and fine focus control knobs plus the metalic field diaphragm, very nice :D

Did you remove the camera control/power supply cables or it came like that? I tried the same Amscope adapter for Canon but it produced a lot of chromatic aberration in my hands. Do you lift the adapter by a ring spacer?
KurtM wrote:
Wed Jan 26, 2022 2:02 am
bet if you just happened to want to take a few additional detail pix of various points of interest not too many folks would mind too awful much (heh heh).
I second that. Would love to see more close up photos of the microscope and its components (objectives, DIC equipment etc.)

Wes
Zeiss Photomicroscope III BF/DF/Pol/Ph/DIC/FL/Jamin-Lebedeff
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tlansing
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#5 Post by tlansing » Wed Jan 26, 2022 2:08 pm

Gosh, you want some more photos? I think I can do that. :D I will also try to answer your questions.
This first photo shows the objective nosepiece and the 5 objectives I usually have on the scope. These include 16x and 40x Neofluar objectives for DIC and 16x, 25x and 40x Neofluars for phase contrast. I also have the 16x and 40x plan achromats which came with the PM3. I use the Neofluars since they have slightly higher NAs. Note that the nosepiece is Pol. The knurled wheel of the optovar can be seen to the right below the tube head.
PM3-3.jpg
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This photo shows the DIC slider and the condenser for DIC and phase. The slider is labeled "II". The one used for standards and WL Zeiss scopes with an intermediate piece is labeled "III" and has a different orientation than the II. The other necessary component is the polarizing filter which can be placed in the field diaphragm or the filter holder. There is also an auxiliary lens beneath the filter holder which has centering screws. While I haven't been able to get much information about this lens, it does appear to be necessary for DIC. If anyone knows anything about this, I would love to know more.
PM3-4.jpg
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@Wes: You asked about the cords that attach to the camera power supply. I cut them off because they would interfere with the beam splitter/flash setup. The cool thing about the photo tube (next photo) is that you can adjust the height by turning it. I haven't parfocalized it with the focus in the eyepieces. You also asked about the adapter. I also have not noticed any chromatic aberration using the Amscope adapter; maybe I got lucky again.
PM3-5.jpg
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Lastly, I purchased another Zeiss phase contrast condenser with a flip-top lens to I could take photos/observations at lower powers. It has phase rings for Ph1, Ph2 and Ph3. I had previously purchased a beautiful wooden box made by Zeiss which was designed to hold these type of condensers. This box also has several slots to hold additional objectives and filters, along with a centering telescope. I have a 10x F-achromat Ph1 lens to use with this. The F designation means that the field is nearly flat but not yet plan. I also have a 63x achromat Ph2 which produces beautiful phase images.
PM3-6.jpg
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Javier
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#6 Post by Javier » Wed Jan 26, 2022 2:19 pm

A thing of beauty!

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Wes
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#7 Post by Wes » Wed Jan 26, 2022 4:54 pm

Very nice, thanks for the additional information and photos. I find your protistology threads quite interesting and its great to see the setup used to document the organisms.
Zeiss Photomicroscope III BF/DF/Pol/Ph/DIC/FL/Jamin-Lebedeff
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ScienceMatters
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#8 Post by ScienceMatters » Wed Jan 26, 2022 7:39 pm

Dialed! Nice to see this beast fully set up for modern microphotography.

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#9 Post by imkap » Wed Jan 26, 2022 7:51 pm

Looks great :D

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#10 Post by ImperatorRex » Mon Apr 18, 2022 8:42 am

Hi Tim,
just have spotted your setup! Looks great, well done.

tlansing
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#11 Post by tlansing » Mon Apr 18, 2022 10:20 am

Hi Jochen,

Thanks to you for your inspiration to use the beam splitter as a flash connection. This was really useful to be able to use flash in a simple way on a Zeiss microscope.

Tim

tlansing
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#12 Post by tlansing » Mon Sep 05, 2022 3:00 pm

I recently purchased a foot switch control to activate the shutter on my microscope camera, and it works so well I wanted to share this information with other users. I am sure many of you already use something like this, but for those who haven't yet incorporated it into you system here is an example of the foot control pedal that I now use (please note that I am NOT endorsing this particular device; it's just the one I bought and there are many different ones available). It is great because you can move the slide around with the mechanical stage, focus and activate the shutter at the same time (no need for 3 arms!); great for photographing those fast moving critters! The one I use connects via the USB port on my computer and is very easy to set up.
Foot pedal.jpg
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NAL3DV6?re ... tails&th=1

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#13 Post by KurtM » Mon Sep 05, 2022 5:23 pm

Yep, I have and use the same USB pedal switch, and also consider it an indispensable "third arm".

However, I dislike the design as I'm forever mashing on one of the molded "surrounds" and not firing the pedal. So I got another type with a fully exposed pedal, as seen in the picture below. But it's so light and flimsy I've gone back to the one like Tlansing shows above. If anyone can recommend a heavier duty version of the one shown below, that's worth having, please do.
Attachments
usb foot pedal.JPG
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Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas
email: ngc704(at)gmail(dot)com
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#14 Post by ImperatorRex » Wed Sep 07, 2022 4:52 am

Great thread about the pedal switch. Good to see what is your experience. There are some criteria that make a perfect pedal switch. I am using a pedal switch that is using a jack plug, conneting directly into the camera. They are nice, but I found that the force to activate the pedal switch was too high, so I removed one internal spring to decrease required force and make it easier to fire. Still could be a bit softer.
So it seems it is not always easy to find the perfect switch.

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#15 Post by viktor j nilsson » Wed Sep 07, 2022 5:12 am

I have one like KurtM's flimsy pedal. Agree that it's too light, so I need to actively raise my foot above it so as to not activate it by accident.. Kind of exhausting. Would like one which takes just a little more force to activate, so you could rest your foot on the switch, and then push lightly to activate. A nice distinct click would be good, too. If anyone finds a perfect one, let us know.

Still love having a foot switch. I built mine like this: https://www.instructables.com/Canon-EOS ... er-Remote/

tlansing
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#16 Post by tlansing » Fri Nov 11, 2022 6:48 pm

I was able to upgrade the photomicrographic setup of my microscope, based on useful information provided to me by a member of this forum (Wes). I had a part that I knew was used for photomicrography but I didn’t know how. It had some kind of lens in it, and this part is shown in the photo below. I posted on another thread in this forum inquiring about the function of this part. I also wrote to Zeiss with the same question, and both Wes and Zeiss provided me with the information that I needed to be able to use it.
Photo Piece.jpg
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As shown in the diagram below (provided kindly by the helpful folks at Zeiss), The component is the combination of item #6 and #7 in the picture from the old manual below (in German). In this case, the two components #6 and #7 are screwed together. #6 is a DSLR camera-specific T2 adapter (black). With this T2 adapter you can mount a DSLR camera body to the “Special objective f=63mm” (#7, gray) from Zeiss which then can be mounted to the “Aufsetzring” (attachment ring) 47 60 05-9001. Fortunately, I was able to purchase an attachment ring on eBay at a reasonable price. The “Aufsetzring” is clamped onto the photo tube. The “Aufsetzring” is height adjustable (as is the phototube) in order to match the focal planes of the camera and the eyepieces. The phototube carries an eyepiece; I use a Kpl 10x/18 eyepiece. You can see that in #10. It works only in the combination with an eyepiece and the “special objective”. The eyepiece directs the light from the intermediate image in parallel light rays to infinity; the “special objective” collects this parallel light and focuses it into its back focal plane where the camera sensor is located inside the DSLR camera body. This significantly improves the image formed on the camera sensor.
image002 (2).jpg
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The complete setup on my microscope is shown below.
IMG-2488.jpg
IMG-2488.jpg (112.83 KiB) Viewed 6753 times

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#17 Post by imkap » Fri Nov 11, 2022 9:55 pm

Great, so this is a 'proper', official way to connect an old Zeiss to a camera?

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#18 Post by Wes » Fri Nov 11, 2022 11:31 pm

Good job Tim, I really like your new upgrade. Roughly how much does the sensor cover from the field of view? I'll keep an eye out for any new photos and videos you post ;)
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tlansing
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#19 Post by tlansing » Sat Nov 12, 2022 1:43 am

@imkap: From the Zeiss perspective, this is a very good way to connect a camera through the photoport of a Photomicroscope, Universal or other Zeiss scope with the appropriate diameter phototube. Other possibilities are shown in chart in my post. The nice thing about this setup is that you can adjust both the attachment ring and the phototube so that the image through the eyepieces and on the camera sensor are at the same focal plane. I think these components provide a means of producing excellent images that can be captured on the camera sensor.

@Wes: Thanks again to you for pointing out to me what the part was and how it can be used! As far as how much of the field can be captured on the camera sensor, it is about half. I am thinking about trying some lower magnification Kpl eyepieces to increase this, but I am really not very limited in what I want to capture in my photos and videos.

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Wes
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#20 Post by Wes » Sat Nov 12, 2022 12:23 pm

tlansing wrote:
Sat Nov 12, 2022 1:43 am
As far as how much of the field can be captured on the camera sensor, it is about half.
OK, that makes sense I guess for a 63 mm objective coupled to an APS-C sensor. If you ever wish to cover more of the FOV you have 2 options, either change to a full frame 35 mm camera or find a lens with a shorter focal length (40 mm for an APS-C sensor would work well). But as you pointed out, and from the video with the stalked ciliates that I saw, at the moment it looks pretty good!
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tlansing
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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#21 Post by tlansing » Sat Nov 12, 2022 5:35 pm

Hey Wes, thanks for the info. I am guessing this is why you use a 40mm pancake lens in your setup.

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#22 Post by MicroscopyUniverse » Mon Nov 14, 2022 8:27 am

Wow !!!

No doubt, this scope is gem.

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#23 Post by einman » Wed Nov 16, 2022 10:19 pm

Wow! I agree. This is a beautiful scope with equally beautiful enhancements.

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#24 Post by tlansing » Wed Nov 16, 2022 10:41 pm

Thanks, MicroscopyUniverse and einamn, for your nice comments! It is amazing to me that a scope of this age produces such excellent images and mechanically works as it does. A real testament to the quality of Zeiss optics and craftsmanship.

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Re: My Zeiss microscope

#25 Post by KurtM » Thu Nov 17, 2022 1:31 am

Go get 'em, Tim! Having a grand old Zeiss in the lab is a lot of fun, isn't it? 8-)
Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas
email: ngc704(at)gmail(dot)com
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