Which Mitutoyo 10X LWD objective to buy? (Edmund's has two)

ckatosmith · Post by **ckatosmith** » Thu Dec 04, 2014 11:08 am

I have been saving up for what I thought was 'the' Mitutoyo 10x objective, but now that I am ready to order, I see that EdmundOptics has two listed and I am not astute enough to see which would be 'better' for me. They both seem to have the same specs except where noted below:

A) 10X Mitutoyo Plan Apo Infinity-Corrected Long WD Objective
stock # 46-144 currently listed at $865

Depth of Focus 3.5 micrometers, weight 240g

B) 10X EO M Plan Apo Long Working Distance Infinity-Corrected
stock # 59-877 currently listed at $795

Depth of Focus 3.6 micrometers, weight 250g

I wasn't sure if the way FOV info was listed meant there was a true difference or not.

I plan to use this both on my Nikon D800E (with proper 'attachments')
and if it makes a difference, if one of these could be fitted to my Nikon Eclipse E200 microscope a great plus, but I will purchase anyway even if for only work on a dSLR body via proper 'attachments'.

Does one have higher image quality than the other?

Thanks for any elucidation as to the differences and which is best for me.

Carolina

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Dec 04, 2014 12:38 pm

The Edmund 10X is a Mitutoyo "work-alike" -- same specifications but from a different manufacturer and with different optics. I have never seen a direct head-to-head comparison of performance. The Edmund objectives bear a striking resemblance to Motic objectives as shown in the downloadable catalog linked from Motic's website. (When comparing appearance, note that the picture on Edmund's page for their 10X #59-877 is actually a 59875, the 2X objective.) I have seen one head-to-head comparison of Motic versus Mitutoyo, HERE, which concludes the Mitutoyo is somewhat better.

For the less than 9% difference in prices of these lenses, I would go with the Mitutoyo which is known to be very good.

BTW, the difference in listed Depth of Focus is probably either a rounding issue or a simple typo. For well corrected lenses, DOF depends only on NA, which is quoted as being the same. The difference in the way FOV is listed looks arbitrary.

--Rik

ckatosmith · Post by **ckatosmith** » Thu Dec 04, 2014 2:04 pm

Thank you for your (quick) reply. Although I kept wondering what 'EO' stood for, in my excitement (after saving up for this), it didn't occur to me that EO stood for Edmund Optics, so that it wasn't even a Mitutoyo objective, doh...

Thanks for pointing that out and the other information. I have ordered the Mitutoyo brand!

thomasf · Post by **thomasf** » Sun Dec 07, 2014 10:57 pm

Hi guys,there is another choice for whom with little budget, APO from Shibuya, http://www.shibuya-opt.co.jp/eng/o_lens.html

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Mon Dec 08, 2014 1:45 am

Their very long WD objectives with built-in illumination are intriguing.