How to mount canon dslr camera to Bausch and Lomb sz7?

[wdm137]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and came here to ask for help.

As the subject mentioned, I own B&L sz7 microscope and want to try mount my camera on it.

Since I'm mostly used microscopes for dissection and inspection but photography, first checked commercial products provided by Martinmicroscope mentioned here: https://www.martinmicroscope.com/bl-ste ... hotoports/ but the costs were too much(if I could not find other options I have to buy those I guess), and Bolioptics https://bolioptics.com/2x-dslr-digital- ... tachments/ sets description is not detailed enough for me including their answers via e-mail.

I recently saw few topics in this forum like viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2688&p=23004&hilit= ... slr#p23004 and viewtopic.php?t=7510, yet still not sure what I exactly needed among vary designs.

So, anyone can recommend me a nice solution? of course, any help or information will be appreciated.

Thanks,

[geo_man]

Hi, I have the older style B&L trinocular camera port with the threaded tube connected to an NDPL adapter to a Canon APS-C mirrorless camera and I like it; here are a couple of my posts to see the quality.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7556&p=66196#p66196

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9184&p=79020#p79020

Of course you can skip the trinocular port and place an NDPL (e.g., from Boli) into one of eyepiece ports. Those adapters are available for less $$ elsewhere, just search NDPL...

B&L SZ7 trinocular ports are relatively common on eBay, already connected to SZ7 heads, but tubes less so. Martin microscope sells the tubes as noted in the post by Scarodactyl.

Good luck!

[wdm137]

Thanks, geo_man!

I'm glad to hear that NDPL adapters working properly, and your images are looking good enough. I'll definitely going to this route(luckly Martinmicroscope still selling MBL7-23) after do more researches about it.

It's little bit weird that proper 1.6x relay lens is costs more than used full-frame canon dslr AND nikom 2.5x relay lens, so I need to look into the later option too.

[Scarodactyl]

If you have access to a 3d printer it would be fairly easy to print your own adapter and much, much cheaper. With plastic it might be mecessary to clamp onto the outside since it needs more thickness than metal.

[Sliding Focus]

Welcome to the forum, wdm137!

...I have the older style B&L trinocular camera port with the threaded tube connected to an NDPL adapter to a Canon APS-C mirrorless camera and I like it...

The above is also what I use. The quality of geo_man's images looks somewhat better than I have been able to achieve (I suspect that I have an issue with the optics in my camera port).

Scarodactyl reported in another thread that the NDPL-1(2×) adapters give better quality on an SZ7 than the Nikon CF PL 2.5× photo eyepiece. I have both, but haven't compared them directly (both seem good enough for my purposes). The NDPL adapter is much more convenient to use, however, and it's also cheaper, so for those reasons I'd recommend that you skip the Nikon photo eyepiece and just get an NDPL adapter.

I don't have any images made with the NDPL adapter on hand, but here are some made with the Nikon photo eyepiece (NB: these are all image stacks):


Cheiloneurus albicornis


Pseudometagea schwarzii


Inostemma sp.


Baeus sp.

As for the tube, I'd probably just get the Martin Microscope MBL7-23, personally. $100 isn't nothing, but to me, spending that to get exactly what I need seems worthwhile vs. trying to figure out how to build a substitute myself. However, I'm not super handy, and don't have access to a 3D printer.

The above being said, I believe (someone please correct me if I'm wrong!) that the silver ring on the adapter on the left in your first image is meant to hold later versions of the B&L Integrated Camera System (which lacked the threads to screw directly into the SZ7's camera adapter) and is supposed to have set screws in the holes in its sides for that purpose. If you could find set screws to fit those holes and you have the ability to fabricate a tube that fits into that ring on one end and fits a photo eyepiece or attaches to your camera on the other, then that might be the simplest solution to your problem. It wouldn't need to be anything fancy—a piece of PVC pipe cut to the appropriate length and painted black on the inside would probably work fine. That could also allow you to cut the tube short enough to do direct projection onto your camera's sensor, eliminating the need for a photo eyepiece and thereby reducing the cost of the setup.

[wdm137]

Thank you Sliding Focus. The suggestions in your reply is specific enough and helpful!

I thought I could get 'one-of-the-best' setup with attached outer ring screw with 27mm internal diameter, but limitaions on my budget and knowledge is biggest determinator(as always).

As you and geo_man said, I'm planning to get NDPI-2 adapter and MBL7-23 for phototube.

Again, I'm really want to give credit to this forum and everyone here!