Old Bausch & Lomb...

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Joe Henry
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Old Bausch & Lomb...

#1 Post by Joe Henry » Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:42 am

Hello, I'm interested mostly in looking at aquatic life. My budget is low only 1-2 hundred. I see quite a few of these old B&L from the 30's and 40's, etc. for sale for decent prices, My question is are these old timers a good choice for me? Thanks, Joe.

BramHuntingNematodes
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#2 Post by BramHuntingNematodes » Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:58 am

Yeah love those old scopes. Good quality built stands, you can use later model eyepieces to good effect. There are farkfield and achromat condensers, phase turrets available. Apochromatic and fluorite objectives were made, and a ton of misc accessories. Check out also though AO offerings either contemporaneous or later from the sixties and seventies are good. AO was an early adopter of infinity optics and also had superior phase options. Higher color correction objectives are slightly more difficult to find.

Talk to us before buying anything from B&L that advertises "flat field"
1942 Bausch and Lomb Series T Dynoptic, Custom Illumination

apochronaut
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#3 Post by apochronaut » Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:33 am

Many of the older microscopes, Bausch & Lomb included are monocular. Monocular microscopes will do the same job as a binocular and many people find a binocular more comfortable to use but not everyone.
You should easily be able to find a good sturdy older microscope within your budget
I am curious about what your specific uses will be? Aquatic life is much more than half the planet and very diverse. Almost every microscope type and technique is used to study aquatic life.
There are some well experienced microscopists on the forum. Perhaps if you describe your requirements in a little more detail, one or more of the participants can further refine your choices. Bram who responded earlier is well informed about Bausch & Lomb, for instance.

Joe Henry
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#4 Post by Joe Henry » Mon Jan 17, 2022 2:07 am

Thanks for the replies. More specifically about what I want to look at... aquatic life that is living in the freshwater swamps near me. About these old B&L Scopes...are there any problem areas that I should watch for on these when buying? Thanks again, Joe.

apochronaut
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#5 Post by apochronaut » Mon Jan 17, 2022 2:30 am

That is a great resource. Lot's of hours can be dedicated to that . So. breaking your budget into low and high and ballparking what you can likely get for those.
100.00 for sure a monocular and likely a binocular. 3 objectives. mechanical stage, mirror illumination . good sturdy stand . you will have to add an illuminator in addition. an led can be had for about. 30.00

200.00 . binocular for sure. 3 or 4 objectives. built in illuminator., mechanical stage, good sturdy stand. likely W.F. viewing.

None of that is brand specific. There would definitely be some Bausch & Lomb available in that price range with those features. You would likely have to do some prep./ maintenance upon receipt of the instrument unless otherwise noted in the sale.

Joe Henry
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#6 Post by Joe Henry » Mon Jan 17, 2022 3:07 am

Thank you very much for the replies...

BramHuntingNematodes
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#7 Post by BramHuntingNematodes » Mon Jan 17, 2022 5:25 am

Here are some swamp critters as a comparison to look at what the difference between these real old lenses and somewhat more modern one. To compare we got the last of Nimon's finite lenses a CFN achromat made I think sometime in the 1990s compared with a B&L lens made maybe in the teens or 20s. By '31 at the latest they had switched objective styles and 19th century lenses have the equivalent focus in imperial, so somewhere between there. Neat thing is that either of these work on this B&L finite era scope, although ideally not both at the same time as they very different parfocal lengths. Probably 80 or so years separate the manufacture of these lenses. I bought the B&L for $15, which is about what they cost, and the Nikon for $37, which is about a $100 less than you or I might expect to pay.

Image
Image

The pictures are in the same order, with the Nikon first.
Image
Image

Image
Image

So the later lens benefits a lot from the coatings, better color correction, and a little better depth of field from the lower NA. On the other hand, beginners often I think worry too much about some of the finer details when it would be easier to start out with a very cheap older scope that might need a little greasing and cleaning but is in good shape otherwise. The difference is noticeable, sure, but both lenses get the job done of looking at small things. The major details are illustrated well in either. Anyway, you start looking at stuff, you figure out how to manipulate the instrument, you see where things live around you, you read a bit. The language makes more sense and eventually you get the idea. There are a lot of old, good scopes out there and ppl are throwing them out all the time it seems. Anyhow, if you want to get just a tiny bit more complicated, here is fluorite lens from B&L, and a bit closer to your stated timeframe of the 30s and 40s.

Image
Image

This would require a matching type of eyepiece, also not too difficult to obtain, and obtains an image quality approaching the Nikon, particularly in the pond life setting where there is significant depth of relief. In any case, this performance is typical of fluorite objectives of this era from both AO/ Spencer and B&L, although I hear tell that Spencer lenses have a touch better resolution at the expense of a little contrast, not much more than a hair's breadth apart in either case. I'm sure Zeiss or Lietz lenses of the same specifications from this time would also be about equivalent, although I am less familiar with those. You can get some good performance from these old lenses!
1942 Bausch and Lomb Series T Dynoptic, Custom Illumination

apochronaut
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#8 Post by apochronaut » Mon Jan 17, 2022 2:32 pm

B & L also sold a lot of 4mm .or 43X .85 achromats and 1/6 inch ..85 achromats. They are more common than the 4mm dry fluorite objective.

Bram. I have looked through quite a few 4mm .65 Bausch & Lomb achromats from way back to the 60's and there is something not right about the image quality through your objective. In comparison to the Nikon .65 , I have seen and would expect similar resolution, lower contrast , poorer planarity and slightly more lateral ca but not the dramatic resolution difference your images display.
Have you looked down through that objective from both directions with a stereo? It seems something might be going on in there. Even a tiny amount of de-lamination could account for that.

BramHuntingNematodes
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#9 Post by BramHuntingNematodes » Mon Jan 17, 2022 3:42 pm

It doesn't look like there is delamination, but you're right it's a bit fuzzier than I would have expected, even in green light. Maybe it's a bad example. I should probably have posted results from the old standard .65 I have from the fifties, which compares more favorably. There is that strain free achromat which I don't have an example of but I bet would challenge the fluorite in this setting.
1942 Bausch and Lomb Series T Dynoptic, Custom Illumination

apochronaut
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#10 Post by apochronaut » Mon Jan 17, 2022 4:26 pm

Yes. The strain free 43X .85 is really good. Due to the age difference , it might be better than the .85 fluorite. It is flatter. It isn't as good an obective as the 40X 1.0 oil, though. My camera system is still in limbo, otherwise I would post some comparative images.

BramHuntingNematodes
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#11 Post by BramHuntingNematodes » Mon Jan 17, 2022 5:12 pm

Oh yeah the 1.0 fluorite is very good and even with the oil may be easier to use than the .95 apo.
1942 Bausch and Lomb Series T Dynoptic, Custom Illumination

charlie g
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Re: Old Bausch & Lomb...

#12 Post by charlie g » Thu Jan 20, 2022 4:29 am

Hello Joe, hello group...I can offer your a personally enjoyed/ personally evaluated vintage black enamel Spencer/Buffalo ,USA serial # 236901 monocular stand...setup for pond life/wetlands studies/ enjoyment..this my microscopy, Joe.

First off...do you reside con-US lower 48? I once shipped Apochrounaunt an item...and though he resides close to me...he being in Canada..the ship-fees terribly high! So where you reside,Joe, determines shipping fees.

My sense of ship-fees for a quality microscope total pkg about: $50 USD...for the con-US, lower 48.

I personally enjoyed this stand as a travel microscope for years when we go on holiday far from home. I have added optics to use with this stand over the years. A few months ago I observed fixed diatom slide with all the optics combonations...this setup is terriffic for pond life/ wetland..or other types of bright-field microscopy...dark-field, and COL microscopy may be configured into this setup easily.


Here are the specs:Spencer/Buffalo black enamel monoc stand: serial #236901, substage condenser with iris/ works fine, mirror on fork ( removable if you use a substage illuminator).

9X occular, 15X occular, 20X occular ( all oberved with and function great with pond life wetmount slides, and with the fixed diatom slide).

10X/0.25 Na, 20X/0.40na, 44X/0.66na, oil: 95X/1.25 na, and 'scan lens' approx 2X objective..

If you , or other forum members con-US/ lower 48 want this ready to use setup...please give me a holler!

all the best, charlie g, finger-lakes/US

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