Neat scope: Swift cycloptic clone (?) (Old swift)

Everything relating to microscopy hardware: Objectives, eyepieces, lamps and more.
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Scarodactyl
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Neat scope: Swift cycloptic clone (?) (Old swift)

#1 Post by Scarodactyl » Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:18 am

Get a load of this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325225728943
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I don't think I've seen this one before. In broad strokes lots of scopes are similar to the cycloptic (the Wild M3 could even be considered a copy of sorts) but boy this one looks very similar. I wish it were cheaper.

dtsh
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Re: Neat scope: Swift cycloptic clone (?) (Old swift)

#2 Post by dtsh » Sat Jun 11, 2022 7:22 pm

Quite interesting, though one could get the real deal for that much!

apochronaut
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Re: Neat scope: Swift cycloptic clone (?) (Old swift)

#3 Post by apochronaut » Sun Jun 12, 2022 7:07 pm

The head mIght be but the stage and base are ripped off from the 1930 - 1960 era AO series 25 to 28 3 objective changer Greenough microscope, which was also still included at the back of the early Cycloptic catalogues.
The Cycloptic base is plain with an opaque black/white or interchangeable glass stage plate and an xy control add on. To effect transmitted illumination the Cycloptic is tightened onto a transillumination base with two knurled wheels and the illuminator nose fits into it like a rear entry high wattage Diascopic microscope lamp does.

It's like someone cherry picked the convenient designs from a 1965 AO stereo microscope catalogue. For some reason I doubt that the Common Main Objective is plan apochromatic nor were there 1/5X, 1/3X, 1/2X, 2/3X or 3/4X accessory plan apochromatic Common Main Objectives. Nor do I suspect that it is infinity corrected so that a trinocular photo tube, coaxial illuminator body or teaching bridge or comparison microscope bridge be fitted.

Scarodactyl
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Re: Neat scope: Swift cycloptic clone (?) (Old swift)

#4 Post by Scarodactyl » Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:20 pm

Here's an ad for it from 1960
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And it was conveniently adjacent to an ad for the real cycloptic.
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Gross specimens indeed.
Anyway it is a neat footnote in microscope history, alongside more recent Chinese clones of eg the Leica GZ4 and GZ6 or the MZ8 ane the numerous Meiji and Olympalikes.
I'm a little curious about its performance, but certainly not 2/3 of original retail price curious.

Hobbyst46
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Re: Neat scope: Swift cycloptic clone (?) (Old swift)

#5 Post by Hobbyst46 » Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:24 pm

The eyepieces shown in the eBay listing do not appear attractive to me. As if they are low eyepoint. Are they 25x perhaps ?
I much enjoy the WF high eyepoint 10x eyepieces on my own stereo microscope.

apochronaut
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Re: Neat scope: Swift cycloptic clone (?) (Old swift)

#6 Post by apochronaut » Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:57 pm

" No annoying in between powers" EEEEEEEEK : 11.4X :o

PeteM
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Re: Neat scope: Swift cycloptic clone (?) (Old swift)

#7 Post by PeteM » Mon Dec 05, 2022 6:41 am

One of these recently came my way - formerly in a Univ. of California ag and parasite research program - and I can add a few details. It's built like a tank, weighing in at 14 pounds. Working distance is a bit over 3 inches. The eyetubes are non-standard at around 31mm ID.

Mine came to me with signs of a ding or drop sometime in its past life, but the paint in otherwise clean shape. It was missing eyepieces, a lever for the stand extension (a to handle very thick objects), and has a broken detent spring. The detent spring is easily accessible by removing the head (3 screws). It is a simple flat strip of 3/32" or so wide and thin spring steel with a V indent to correspond to ball locators on the drum. Even without the spring, it's pretty easy to just move to the next magnification and stop in the middle of the field. Repair should be easier than the corresponding detent on a Cycloptic though it, too, works without it.

I was able to cobble together some 10x WF eyepieces for this and get them parfocal through the entire range. Wonder of wonders, the scope was still aligned. The missing lever (a two part extension gives up to about 8" working distance) was also an easy fix.

The optics aren't as good as a Cycloptic in good shape, but still very good, especially at the lower powers. Part of this may be several scratches in the center of CMO objective. The magnifications available, in a smooth operating Galilean drum, are 7.5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, and 30x.

I ended up using 20mm FN Chinese stereo eyepieces (wrapped in tape to take up the space from 30mm to 31mm ID tube) to find ones that could easily be made parfocal. 22mm ones didn't vignette, but sat too high in the eyetubes to be made parfocal. To answer Hobbyist's concerns, the 10x eyepieces had to sit deeply into the tubes somewhat like Meiji. It could be that the OEM 10x eyepieces were on the scope Stephen found and were also WF and high eyepoint?

All in all a pretty decent scope, with good contrast (better than most used B&L StereoZooms from that era), a wide field of view, and good ergonomics. The current Swift web site has manuals for several older Swift models, but not this one (the "SBWV"). I suspect it cost too much, even from the Japanese at that time, to build, ship, and sell for a competitive price - and that not many were sold in the US.

Scarodactyl
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Re: Neat scope: Swift cycloptic clone (?) (Old swift)

#8 Post by Scarodactyl » Sun Jun 11, 2023 8:06 am

I got one recently on shopgoodwill for cheap. The head is jammed in a slightly cockeyed position which ruins the image at lowest mag but otherwise I am in total agreement and pretty impressed with it--it is a rather credible copy of the cycloptic, which tracks with its high retail price. It came in a nice oldschool wooden box with a few accessories too. Once I get the head fixed I will find someone to give it to.
Edit: just needed a tiny bit of percussive maintenance. The edges of the image aren't amazing at low mag but overall it's a very nice scope.

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