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how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2023 3:22 pm
by maguee
I was on my parents House when my dad showed me a toy microscope, now i have a zoom stereo, a kyowa with phase contrast and homemade polarization (with homemade waveplate) and an american optical that i have been cleaning with a fluorescence module that i power with a torch chinese led.
I Will put another homemade polarization on the AO
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 12:24 am
by Polymerase
2 Olympus trinocular BH-2 BHS with complete sets of Dplan, Splan, Splan PL and Splan Apo. 2 achromat aplanat condensers, one Abbe and one phase contrast condenser. RFCA epifluorescence attachment with 100W mercury burner. NFK 1.67x and 2.5x.
1 Binocular compound microscope with generic plan objectives from radical instruments
3 entry level monocular scopes
1 Leitz-Wetzlar from 1928
1 Zeiss from appr. 1908
1 french scope from the 1880s (Nachet?)
1 C.O.C toy microscope - the one that sparked me off as a kid.
That would make 10.
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 1:06 am
by deBult
The correct number of microscopes to own is n+1, where n is the number currently owned.
I’m clearing house, 7 left.
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 5:53 am
by Alexander
I got 9 not counting those I decided to sell.
A Leitz Dialux equipped for fluorescence.
A Leitz Diavert inverted scope equipped for fluorescence.
A Leitz SM-LUX HL for reflected light
A Leitz Laborlux Petrographic
A Leitz SM-Lux.
A Leitz SM.
A Zeiss Stemi 305 with polarization for transient and reflected light.
A Zeiss Axioskope with nice Plan Neofluars equipped for fluorescence.
A Hund Wetzlar Medicus Pro
The oldest is the petrographic Leitz Laborlux Pol from 1961, the newest the Hund Medicus Pro and the Zeiss Stemi both bought new this year.
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 2:10 pm
by apochronaut
Polymerase wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 12:24 am
1 C.O.C toy microscope - the one that sparked me off as a kid.
That would make 10.
COC. Carton Optical Company. More than any other company, they were responsible for sparking the interest in the boomer generation. Still going but they relocated to Thaiand 35 years ago when the cost of production got too high in Japan. One of their clients, Tasco, takes a rub especially where telescopes are concerned being dubbed " Trashco" but if you look at what you got for what you paid for or what your parents paid for, they offered a lot when Skilcraft and other hobby grade microscopes were very poor and uneconomical to make. The stencil brands that they exported were legion, probably numbering in excess of 30 because their products were available in every country in the west. Probably, you could buy off the shelf COC or for a small extra fee have any name you wanted either glued or screwed to the frame.
They are probably facing a tough go of it. The product line hasn't changed for decades and they rely on loupes, magnifiers and other small optics for the bulk of their trade. They maintain an office in Japan but now also in China.
Just two now...
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 3:18 pm
by ZodiacPhoto
I am down to just two: Olympus BX-45 with some nice objectives, and Leica MZ6, which I use for working on electronics.
- scopes copy.jpg (210.16 KiB) Viewed 8123 times
May replace the BX45 with something more compact, but still high quality...
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 10:09 pm
by maguee
maguee wrote: ↑Fri Nov 24, 2023 3:22 pm
I was on my parents House when my dad showed me a toy microscope, now i have a zoom stereo, a kyowa with phase contrast and homemade polarization (with homemade waveplate) and an american optical that i have been cleaning with a fluorescence module that i power with a torch chinese led.
I Will put another homemade polarization on the AO
The compounds are trinocular, one with a chinese usb camera and the other one no camera yet,i am thinking about another usb camera or a dlsr setup.
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 10:18 pm
by maguee
I see you some of you have lots of microscopes. I really think i am fine with 3.
I could save more space for a electron microscope.... XD
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2023 1:21 am
by Polymerase
apochronaut wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 2:10 pm
Polymerase wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 12:24 am
1 C.O.C toy microscope - the one that sparked me off as a kid.
That would make 10.
COC. Carton Optical Company. More than any other company, they were responsible for sparking the interest in the boomer generation. Still going but they relocated to Thaiand 35 years ago when the cost of production got too high in Japan. One of their clients, Tasco, takes a rub especially where telescopes are concerned being dubbed " Trashco" but if you look at what you got for what you paid for or what your parents paid for, they offered a lot when Skilcraft and other hobby grade microscopes were very poor and uneconomical to make. The stencil brands that they exported were legion, probably numbering in excess of 30 because their products were available in every country in the west. Probably, you could buy off the shelf COC or for a small extra fee have any name you wanted either glued or screwed to the frame.
They are probably facing a tough go of it. The product line hasn't changed for decades and they rely on loupes, magnifiers and other small optics for the bulk of their trade. They maintain an office in Japan but now also in China.
It served me well! These days, I regard it as utterly useless - but I am devoted to it, and will never get rid of it. I spent hours looking through its cheap optics, being fascinated beyond reason of what I saw. Therefore, this workhorse of my childhood will forever be part of my collection. Although unsuitable for any serious work, this “toy” changed my life. I am sure many other kids have had the same experience. I never took any pleasure in sports - but I so enjoyed reading latin and studying very small things. And to blow things up with homemade gunpowder (of surprisingly high quality). I was indeed a very strange little boy….
So, to conclude: Give your children a cheap toy microscope. If that sets them off into the world of the microcosmos - great! But let them know when they’re ready for a
real microscope.
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2023 2:36 am
by apochronaut
I remember wondering , how come these Euglena don't have a flagellum ?
The earliest COC scopes were cast iron, then they went to a cast iron base with cast aluminum upper framework, then all cast aluminum, then molded base metal , then molded base metal and plastic. The quality of the hobby scopes really took a tumble after about 1970 but they continued to make lower tier professional scopes which were quite good.
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2023 9:08 pm
by Phill Brown
About 15 ish.
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2023 10:48 pm
by imkap
Olympus BH-2 BHS, Carl Zeiss GFL (and a half), Olympus SZ40, 1920s brass Reichert Wien, so 4.
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2023 12:43 am
by deBult
Translated signature seen on a German forum
“Life with only one black microscope is a possible option, but meaningless.”
Re: how many microscopes do you have?
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2023 1:54 am
by Topcode
I only have two microscopes, a nikon SMZ-U, and a Swift M10T, quadocular and trinocular respectively.
I could really only see myself getting one or two more scopes anytime in the near future. I cant do DIC, that would be a nice capability to have, but other than that, my scopes can do most everything I need them to, or they could with some different objectives.