New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

What is your microscopy history? What are your interests? What equipment do you use?
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Entomo
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New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#1 Post by Entomo » Mon Dec 27, 2021 11:56 am

Greetings to all forum users. first of all I apologize for my bad English. I am Antonio from Catania (Sicily, Italy) I am a former entomologist. I have always used the stereomicroscope for work but now to realize my project (I would like to make artistic photos of insect parts) I got a biological microscope the laborlux D. My camera is a MFT Panasonic G90. I didn't think it was so complicated to use it (I still not able to use the darkfield) and make the correct setup. The variables are infinite !!!! . The topics I addressed concern the photographic method (direct and projective focus), photocamera adapter, objectives, contrast techniques and focus stacking / stitching. The pieces that I have to observe / photograph are, on average, of 3 mm (but also less), they can be observed with the transmitted light (but the best technique would be the incident light). After spending months reading forums and articles (now I have even more doubts and questions) it is time to ask for advice from more experienced people.
My setup (direct projection on the sensor)
My setup (direct projection on the sensor)
setup 1024.jpg (83.32 KiB) Viewed 3945 times
Hello everybody, Antonio. IG: https://www.instagram.com/simurgh.medon/
Leitz Laborlux D - Lumix G90

Hobbyst46
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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#2 Post by Hobbyst46 » Mon Dec 27, 2021 12:33 pm

Welcome. What a nice microscope.
The variables are several, not infinite. Some of them are more important than others.
Anyway, success is very likely.

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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#3 Post by viktor j nilsson » Mon Dec 27, 2021 1:52 pm

Now that is a beautiful microscope, with wonderful optics (all PL Fluotars?). Looks like a great setup with the stepper motor, too.

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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#4 Post by Entomo » Mon Dec 27, 2021 3:06 pm

viktor j nilsson wrote:
Mon Dec 27, 2021 1:52 pm
Now that is a beautiful microscope, with wonderful optics (all PL Fluotars?). Looks like a great setup with the stepper motor, too.
Hello, thank you. Unfortunately no. only the 25x is fluotar, EF the others
Hello everybody, Antonio. IG: https://www.instagram.com/simurgh.medon/
Leitz Laborlux D - Lumix G90

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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#5 Post by viktor j nilsson » Mon Dec 27, 2021 3:17 pm

Entomo wrote:
Mon Dec 27, 2021 3:06 pm
viktor j nilsson wrote:
Mon Dec 27, 2021 1:52 pm
Now that is a beautiful microscope, with wonderful optics (all PL Fluotars?). Looks like a great setup with the stepper motor, too.
Hello, thank you. Unfortunately no. only the 25x is fluotar, EF the others
Smart move to put it in front :D

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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#6 Post by Entomo » Mon Dec 27, 2021 3:38 pm

Hobbyst46 wrote:
Mon Dec 27, 2021 12:33 pm
Welcome. What a nice microscope.
The variables are several, not infinite. Some of them are more important than others.
Anyway, success is very likely.
I hope that with a little luck I will be able to realize my project. In the meantime I look at the hundreds of topics in the forum. I tried the method a) projective with the eyepiece supplied with the phototube (Leitz periplan 10X red dot) and b) direct focus to the sensor. The first (a) gives me clearer images with vivid colors similar to the specimen but with a non-optimal resolution (I think it is due to the chromatic aberations that are compensated by the eyepiece, while the resolution gets worse because I used two optics)
the second (b) gives me a better resolution but colors do not correspond to the sample.
Maybe I need to set the parameters better. Does anyone know if there are 1X projective eyepieces for Leitz objectives (which compensate for aberations but do not lower the resolution?
Hello everybody, Antonio. IG: https://www.instagram.com/simurgh.medon/
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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#7 Post by patta » Mon Dec 27, 2021 11:40 pm

Guess then that you have to try also c), afocal over the Periplan 10x;
Need to mount a standard lens on the camera, like 30 or 50mm for your m4/3, and it looks into the periplan. I have an older Leitz and that's the only way it collaborates. More glass, but also better resolution!
To know you're doing the right thing, check that the image is in focus both on camera and on eyepieces
You can try with the phone camera first if mounting rhe real camera is an hassle.


A cheap incident light, shine a lamp INTO one eyepiece and look with the camera; maybe decent results. Or since the insect pieces are quite large, with the 4x it is possible and perhaps better to use diffuse lightning from the sides, maybe even with the 10x.

Look/ask also on Photomacrography, a whole forum about focus stacking insect parts & diffuse lightning!

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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#8 Post by Entomo » Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:50 am

patta wrote:
Mon Dec 27, 2021 11:40 pm
Guess then that you have to try also c), afocal over the Periplan 10x;
Need to mount a standard lens on the camera, like 30 or 50mm for your m4/3, and it looks into the periplan. I have an older Leitz and that's the only way it collaborates. More glass, but also better resolution!
To know you're doing the right thing, check that the image is in focus both on camera and on eyepieces
You can try with the phone camera first if mounting rhe real camera is an hassle.


A cheap incident light, shine a lamp INTO one eyepiece and look with the camera; maybe decent results. Or since the insect pieces are quite large, with the 4x it is possible and perhaps better to use diffuse lightning from the sides, maybe even with the 10x.

Look/ask also on Photomacrography, a whole forum about focus stacking insect parts & diffuse lightning!
Hi patta, thanks for the advice, I'll try the afocal method. I can't use a simple incident light because the piece is very small and I use 10X to 40X lenses. here an example of specimens.
10X
10X
prova10X.jpg (39.65 KiB) Viewed 3848 times
it is an edeago (male genital) of a Staphylinidae beetle
I don't know if the chromatic reflections at the edges of the specimen are due to defects in focusstaking or chromatic aberrations due to not having used a compensating eyepiece.
Hello everybody, Antonio. IG: https://www.instagram.com/simurgh.medon/
Leitz Laborlux D - Lumix G90

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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#9 Post by patta » Tue Dec 28, 2021 1:49 pm

Maybe; the leitz periplan was supposed to correct color, astigmatism and curvature; but since you're stacking the latter two are not so important.

The image looks good to me...
would some more hint of the internals be interesting (vessels, muscles)?
And maybe some homemade darkfield, lateral or COL illumination can give a more 3D effect.

Is it in water mount?
If you can afford ($$$) a "water immersion" leitz, that would be great, specially high mag, high NA like 25 or 40x, since they can look better through 1mm or so of stacking in water. Otherwist the 40x will always look a bit mush. Standard 10x should do fine I guess.

Maybe you know already the "blog" ante litteram of Sini & Carboni:
https://www.funsci.it/microscopia-ottica.html

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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#10 Post by Entomo » Tue Dec 28, 2021 3:42 pm

hi patta, I have read some of your posts. very interesting, I will have a lot to learn from you :)

yes it's true, thanks to the focus stacking the last two are not so important so I can concentrate on the color and contrast techniques that I will try as soon as I have the right accessories (my condenser does not have a filter holder, I bought another one with a filter holder for the dark field etc., then I have to try the polarization). Inside the genital there are muscles and tissue. The piece is made partially transparent by putting it for a while in acetic acid, then it is mounted on a slide with an Euparal resin (other entomologists use Canada balsam)
Is it in water mount?
The piece is made partially transparent by putting it for a while in acetic acid, then it is mounted on a slide with the Euparal resin (other entomologists use Canada balsam)
If you can afford ($$$) a "water immersion" leitz, that would be great, specially high mag, high NA like 25 or 40x, since they can look better through 1mm or so of stacking in water. Otherwist the 40x will always look a bit mush. Standard 10x should do fine I guess.
I don't know about water immersion objectives, but the specimen immersed in water does not move? For now I have used at most the 40X which has a working distance of 0.40 mm and I was able to focus all the depth of the piece. I don't know if it can be done with working distances of 0.1 mm typical of immersion objectives.
Maybe you know already the "blog" ante litteram of Sini & Carboni:
Yes, I already know the site has a lot of useful things. unfortunately Professor Sini is gone, he died last year
Hello everybody, Antonio. IG: https://www.instagram.com/simurgh.medon/
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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#11 Post by TonyT » Tue Dec 28, 2021 4:58 pm

Unless you want to study the internal musculature, insect parts are best processed by soaking in 5% potassium or sodium hydroxide. Overnight at room temp. or 1 hour at 60 C.
This will dissolve all the soft tissue and leave a transparent appendage. Mounting in Euparal, as you do, will enhance the transparency.
himd-tarsal-claws-768px.jpg
himd-tarsal-claws-768px.jpg (68.73 KiB) Viewed 3806 times
New Brunswick
Canada

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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#12 Post by Entomo » Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:59 pm

thanks tony i'll try it.
what types of insects do you study / photograph?
I saw some photos you posted in your post. they are very beautiful, that's what I'd like to get with polarized light
Hello everybody, Antonio. IG: https://www.instagram.com/simurgh.medon/
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Re: New user: photomicroscopy - Leitz laborlux D - photographic catalog of insect parts

#13 Post by patta » Sun Jan 02, 2022 1:31 pm

Thanks and have fun! Euparal, you're more advanced here...

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