AliExpress for Amscope Objectives?

[LouiseScot]

I've been mulling over maybe getting a 40x PlanF objective. Amscope UK (in the Netherlands...) don't sell them. Not on Amazon UK either. Can get them on Ebay from the US but the price is high with shipping and duty. However, can get them at a reasonable price from the AliExpress 'United Scope' outlet. But they don't take PayPal so that means giving AliExpress my card details, and I find it a bit hard to trust Chinese sites... Anyone any AliExpress experiences they can relate?

Thanks

Louise

[Alexander]

Bought from Aliexpress twice. The first time and the last time. It was a low value item, some adapter ring RMS to M42. It was explicitly advertised as RMS to M42x1 but what I got was RMS to M42x0.75 (aka T2). The printing on the adapter stated M42x1 but the thread was 42x0.75. Aliexpress asked me to send photos demonstrating the issue as a proof. How does one demonstrate such a subtle issue by a photo considering the wrong printing on the item? Had to throw that adapter into the trash bin and lost my money. I learned my lesson and steer well clear of Aliexpress since.

[LouiseScot]

Bought from Aliexpress twice. The first time and the last time. It was a low value item, some adapter ring RMS to M42. It was explicitly advertised as RMS to M42x1 but what I got was RMS to M42x0.75 (aka T2). The printing on the adapter stated M42x1 but the thread was 42x0.75. Aliexpress asked me to send photos demonstrating the issue as a proof. How does one demonstrate such a subtle issue by a photo considering the wrong printing on the item? Had to throw that adapter into the trash bin and lost my money. I learned my lesson and steer well clear of Aliexpress since.

As I understand it, AliExpress is like Ebay so it's many different sellers. If it's United Scope i.e. Amscope then it should be fine from a product point of view. I was more concerned about card security but presumably yo didn't have a problem in that respect?

Thanks

Louise

[Scarodactyl]

Aliexpress is big and reputable*, so certainly not an immediate security threat to buy through them.

*in the sense that it's a real marketplace but there is a lot of misrepresentation etc.

[smollerthings]

I buy from them all the time. Works well.

[LouiseScot]

I buy from them all the time. Works well.

Ok - do you pay by card? I know they have this thing called Alipay. I wish I could use PayPal. Maybe Alipay is ok... Or maybe credit card would be ok too...

[LouiseScot]

Aliexpress is big and reputable*, so certainly not an immediate security threat to buy through them.

*in the sense that it's a real marketplace but there is a lot of misrepresentation etc.

As I mentioned, United Scope/Amscope (China) is probably ok.

Louise

[smollerthings]

Ok - do you pay by card? I know they have this thing called Alipay.

Yes, I use credit card, never had a problem. Aliexpress is part of Alibaba, the biggest e merchant in China. Think Amazon size. So they are pretty reliable.

[LouiseScot]

Ok - do you pay by card? I know they have this thing called Alipay.

Yes, I use credit card, never had a problem. Aliexpress is part of Alibaba, the biggest e merchant in China. Think Amazon size. So they are pretty reliable.

Yeah, I know - but it's still in China and I don't altogether trust them! Of course I've bought a fair few items from China but via Ebay/PayPal. I suppose I could just give it a go with a credit card. I should get some protection from Barclaycard - fingers crossed!
Louise

[Hobbyst46]

My own experience with AliExpress customer support is negative. Bought a ~80 USD item that never arrived, and their buyer protection turned out to be seller protection, vs dozens of shoppings from eBay, of which several demonstrated excellent buyer protection.

[apochronaut]

Those Amscope PlanF objectives are a weird lot. I own the 3 lower magnifications and I can' t quite figure out what system they are corrected for. You can buy the 40X .75 for a little over 100.00 from an Indian supplier, so it isn't going to drag you down that much, the resolution is characteristic of a fluorite type at the specified N.A. but I have struggled to rid the 3 of a small amount of annoying lateral c.a. My reference point for assessing such objectives are mostly Reichert infinity corrected planfluors and planapos, which are within the pack of excellent objectives out there, when used according to directions. I don't own a planapo 4X, so I used the AO/Reichert U.S.A. 4X .12 planachro as a comparator.

At the regular prices most suppliers want for them, they are not worth it but with careful buying they aren't too expensive and in the right infinity corrected system, they might be o.k. It would be nice if there was a 20X: better yet a 25.

As for Alibaba, I have used it recently and had excellent results. An illuminator purchase was spot on using paypal and the most recent arrangement was a large TT payment for a BS-3090. In this case the factory in China arranged for invoicing in $CDN, rather than $US and payment through Alibaba( turned out to be the cheapest method). When I went to the sight I was surprised to find invoicing in both $U.S. through Chase and $CDN. through a Canadian bank branch in Toronto. They made everything easy and I didn't even have to enter any information into Alibaba. I took the details to my bank and paid there.

[Scarodactyl]

Has that baby come in yet? I'm very curious about it.

[LouiseScot]

My own experience with AliExpress customer support is negative. Bought a ~80 USD item that never arrived, and their buyer protection turned out to be seller protection, vs dozens of shoppings from eBay, of which several demonstrated excellent buyer protection.

[LouiseScot]

Those Amscope PlanF objectives are a weird lot. I own the 3 lower magnifications and I can' t quite figure out what system they are corrected for. You can buy the 40X .75 for a little over 100.00 from an Indian supplier, so it isn't going to drag you down that much, the resolution is characteristic of a fluorite type at the specified N.A. but I have struggled to rid the 3 of a small amount of annoying lateral c.a. My reference point for assessing such objectives are mostly Reichert infinity corrected planfluors and planapos, which are within the pack of excellent objectives out there, when used according to directions. I don't own a planapo 4X, so I used the AO/Reichert U.S.A. 4X .12 planachro as a comparator.

At the regular prices most suppliers want for them, they are not worth it but with careful buying they aren't too expensive and in the right infinity corrected system, they might be o.k. It would be nice if there was a 20X: better yet a 25.

As for Alibaba, I have used it recently and had excellent results. An illuminator purchase was spot on using paypal and the most recent arrangement was a large TT payment for a BS-3090. In this case the factory in China arranged for invoicing in $CDN, rather than $US and payment through Alibaba( turned out to be the cheapest method). When I went to the sight I was surprised to find invoicing in both $U.S. through Chase and $CDN. through a Canadian bank branch in Toronto. They made everything easy and I didn't even have to enter any information into Alibaba. I took the details to my bank and paid there.

I have a 10x PlanF - seems to work ok with no correction? I presume they are based on Olympus as they have a 'reference focal length' of 180mm. Not sure what the relationship of the Amscope PlanFs is to the Olympus UIS2 objectives. I have a 40x UIS2 Plan N which seems ok without any correction. I thought Alibaba was only for wholesale commerce? Or maybe you meant Aliexpress?
Anyway, I'm kindof looking at a Nikon CFI60 40x PlanF now - secondhand, a bit more expensive, but probably a lot better than the Amscope version!

Louise

[smollerthings]

I'm kindof looking at a Nikon CFI60 40x PlanF now

What system do you plan on mounting them on?

[LouiseScot]

I'm kindof looking at a Nikon CFI60 40x PlanF now

What system do you plan on mounting them on?

I have a custom diy rail-based infinity setup - it is versatile It complements the Swift 380T.

Louise

[LouiseScot]

Those Amscope PlanF objectives are a weird lot. I own the 3 lower magnifications and I can' t quite figure out what system they are corrected for. You can buy the 40X .75 for a little over 100.00 from an Indian supplier, so it isn't going to drag you down that much

I've seen them on Ebay Uk/Radical India. They want £205 for the 40x/0.75 PlanF compared to £196.24 from Aliexpress, so not a lot in it. The second hand Nikon CFI60 40x/0.75 plan fluor is obviously a bit more expensive at about £341. Same resolution but maybe better overall? I'm not sure if it's still available though. (They are over £1200 new from Edmund Optics!) I'm still mulling over it.

Louise

[apochronaut]

Has that baby come in yet? I'm very curious about it.

Not yet. It's entangled with a bunch if other optics and some quartz stuff, plus a week long holiday this week. Should be soon, I guess. Farnsy has his.

[LouiseScot]

Just for fun, here is a size comparison between a CFI60 (20x/0.75 Apo) and the Amscope PlanF 10x/0.30. The latter actually has an outer barrel. As you can see, the diminutive inner Amscope objective seems a bit underwhelming! More glass in the Nikon But, the Amscope 10x is ok in itself.

PlanFluor_CFI60_comparison.jpg (42.14 KiB) Viewed 4157 times

Thinking (out loud) about it, as the 20x Apo that I have and the possible Nikon 40x Plan Fluor, as well as the Amscope 40x Plan Fluor, are all NA = 0.75, is there actually any point in getting a 40x plan fluor at all? Hmm... I'm thinking the APO 20x will do the job just through a 2x enlargement of the 20x objective image.

Louise

[Scarodactyl]

Yeah, the 20x apo holds up very well at 40x if you have a convenient way to push it up like a mag changer.

[LouiseScot]

Yeah, the 20x apo holds up very well at 40x if you have a convenient way to push it up like a mag changer.

I was just thinking in terms of resolution coupled with digital magnification e.g. https://www.microscopesinternational.co ... ution.aspx.

Louise