Anyone with a BH2 able to tell me what they paid for their S plan APO's? + Questions

[Ryanb]

I'm trying to figure out on Ebay and other websites what to expect to pay for various S plan APO's and have seen a range of pricings.

My general consensus is that I should expect:

4x : $120
10x : $180
20x : $250-300
40x : $300
60x : $500
100x : $500

Is this close? What did you all pay for yours?

Apparently there are two 100x versions. One with NA of 0.8-1.3 and one with NA 1.4. Anyone know the difference? Does the variable NA objective have a correction collar or is this for some sort of darkfield application?

I understand the 10x and 20x are great for pond life etc.. what about the 40x and 60x? Are these primarily just used for diatoms and is this superior to using the 20x APO to view the diatoms? I figure the higher NA allows for better resolution and therefore better diatom detail, but the conditions must be perfect, no?

Thank you all in advance for any guidance on this. I appreciate you all!

[PeteM]

If you check eBay's "sold" listings over time, you'll see that it should be possible to spend a bit less. You also probably don't need both 60x and 100x Plan Apo oil immersion objectives, since they have similar resolutions (numerical apertures). Once you hook up a camera, the images from either magnification would hold up more or less equally well.

A 40x or 60x dry objective is useful for lots of things - animal cells, for example. A 60x would want a correction collar. A 40x would want coverslips reasonably close to .17 thickness. Both want well-prepared specimens.

You probably don't need Plan Apos for pond life (the regular SPlans are good). Those critters will be moving through whatever thickness of water you have under a coverslip fast enough that a highly corrected, modest depth of field, superbly color-corrected image won't be nearly so important as something like adding a flash for still photos or having the skills of a micro-race driver to focus and follow them around in a video.

[Polymerase]

4x $243
10x $235
20x $297
40x w. corr. collar $372
100x w iris $420

Total of $1.567 + shipping and 25% import tax.

These are expensive, and the high magnification objectives are not easy to use. Depth of focus is very shallow, and working distance is extremely small. For wet mounts, I personally would not recommend splan apos on a general basis. If you are not experienced, I recommend buying regular Splans. The difference is not as big as you think, unless you are doing high resolution photography. Are you skilled enoigh to tale advantage of these objectives?

If you don’t have a very specific need for Splan Apos - don’t buy them!

[Ryanb]

If you check eBay's "sold" listings over time, you'll see that it should be possible to spend a bit less. You also probably don't need both 60x and 100x Plan Apo oil immersion objectives, since they have similar resolutions (numerical apertures). Once you hook up a camera, the images from either magnification would hold up more or less equally well.

A 40x or 60x dry objective is useful for lots of things - animal cells, for example. A 60x would want a correction collar. A 40x would want coverslips reasonably close to .17 thickness. Both want well-prepared specimens.

You probably don't need Plan Apos for pond life (the regular SPlans are good). Those critters will be moving through whatever thickness of water you have under a coverslip fast enough that a highly corrected, modest depth of field, superbly color-corrected image won't be nearly so important as something like adding a flash for still photos or having the skills of a micro-race driver to focus and follow them around in a video.

Thank you for the guidance! I have been checking ebay fairly often to get a price range, especially on sold ones. For diatoms, it seems most use the 60x oil so I may aim for one of those eventually. I've got S plans right now and am pretty happy with them, but am really interested in the photography bit so I might just start with one APO to see how if the difference is worthwile. I appreciate your info and will use it going forward. Cheers!

[Ryanb]

4x $243
10x $235
20x $297
40x w. corr. collar $372
100x w iris $420

Total of $1.567 + shipping and 25% import tax.

These are expensive, and the high magnification objectives are not easy to use. Depth of focus is very shallow, and working distance is extremely small. For wet mounts, I personally would not recommend splan apos on a general basis. If you are not experienced, I recommend buying regular Splans. The difference is not as big as you think, unless you are doing high resolution photography. Are you skilled enoigh to tale advantage of these objectives?

If you don’t have a very specific need for Splan Apos - don’t buy them!

Wow! Quite expensive with the higher magnifications. Is the import tax because you bought it from somewhere like Japan? Any other fees with buying from places like that? I see most if not all ebay APO's are being sold out of japan and the description always mentions customs fees I haven't researched yet. Thank you for giving me a reference point on prices and for the wise words!

[Polymerase]

Wow! Quite expensive with the higher magnifications. Is the import tax because you bought it from somewhere like Japan? Any other fees with buying from places like that? I see most if not all ebay APO's are being sold out of japan and the description always mentions customs fees I haven't researched yet. Thank you for giving me a reference point on prices and for the wise words!

Yes, they are expensive. Therefore you should either have a lot of money to spend, or make absolutely sure they will provide what you expect from them.
The import tax is because they are purchased from anywhere outside Norway, where I reside. Any and all imported goods require a VAT of 25%. Some may also be subject of other customs duties.
Import taxes vary between countries. Make sure you know what tax obligations apply to your country before ordering. You may be surprised, and rarely in a positive way.

When buying planapos, make sure hou either really need them, or you want them so much that money don’t matter.
I recently realized I’ve spent newrly $6.500 on my scopes this year alone….