MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Hi I have An old microscope that is branded as kent tokyo, it has a 100x oil objective that says EPOI Japan on it. I've been doing some research and am coming up empty handed. Does anyone know what EPOI stands for. I tried to put these objectives on my swift 380t however the stage won't raise up high enough.

I believe Epoi was old branding for Nikon microscope parts in the US back when they were Nippon Kogaku.

I think Scarodactyl is correct. Parfocal height of old Nikon or EPOI is 33mm or 34mm, while your Swift may be default at 36mm or more. That may be why you cannot focus.

An acronym for Erenreich Photo Optical Industries, which was the first U.S. importer of Nippon Kogaku optical products in 1953, however they had some other stuff prior marked EPOI, in fact just EPO too. I have one 2X EPO objective that is suspiciously not Nikon.
In 1981, Nikon bought the company and thereafter distributed themselves.

I don't know. I'm thinking Kyowa on that one.

https://ibb.co/FXj81nZ
https://ibb.co/NFHWCzL

Literally the same microscope sabatanii.

I wonder if the epoi emmersion oil objective is worth anything. Sadly the light went out on this scope and I can't get it to work. I even found the exact bulb. I just bought the swift and I'm glad I did because it's alot nicer of a system.

Looking at the pictures I suppose there are some slight differences. I think these were probably both made around the same time by the same china manufacturers and then different companies slapped their names on them and sold em

There were virtually no Chinese mIcroscopes when those were made in the 50's and 60's. All of the budget stuff was Japanese. It is not uncommon to see similar but not the same microscopes with different names from that era out of Japan because many companies used parts made by a foundry. You see that stage on a lot of brands from that era in Japan. That EPOI stand is basically a Nikon S but seems s bit Kyowaish. Likely Nikon wouldn't make off the shelf Nikon scopes and badge them EPOI but they might have altered them some with jobber components. Kyowa was a big supplier of components and stencil brands.
That looks like a Nikon S with Kyowa objectives.

I wish I could get it up and running. Does this scope have any resell value? Its basically just sitting in my closet. It doesn't even compare to my current set up

Not much but as with all older microscopes above the toy level, they could be useful to someone. That would be a perfectly useable microscope in a hospital anywhere for fecals. I live in a G7 country and until 8 years ago, my local hospital still used a similar instrument in it's lab for something.

I am wondering if it needs a trafo. Can you provide a picture of the plug? I'm sure it could be nade healthy again. Those are quite good objectives, even if not plan. Kyowa are no schlubs.