I'm desperate for a decent "low cost" 10x FINITE..

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Yawns
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I'm desperate for a decent "low cost" 10x FINITE..

Post by Yawns »

I'm looking for a decent "good" quality 10X FINITE, .. yes, FINITE .. I have the good Nikon 10 CFI Plan 0,25 10,5WD and I'm happy with it but I want to abandon the INFINITY system ...

after almost 2 years doing photostacking now I know what I want (and don't want ) to do ...

1. I want to keep in the 1-10X range .. I don't have gear to go above that. It's not a question of only lenses.. it would imply to change all my homemade system (I keep shooting manual with a Manfrotto 454)

2. Honestly I don't feel very fod of magnifications above 10x.. I don't particularly like eye clusters and beetle claws shots (details) .. I like full head or head + 1/2 bodypictures ..

3. My vision is degradating very fast .. i'm having more and more troubles to mount a beastie in the pin .. even for a house fly I need to use a Raynox 202 (24 diopters) to pin the fly .. so tinny things are out of question ...

4. I'm tired to "experiment" this and the other ... and play in the "lottery" with obscure cheap lenses and I want to settle down on a system based on bellows (because I like a lot enlarging lenses) and abandon "tube lenses" and stop to have to mount / dismount parts of the rig and the lighting system to change from bellows to "tube lenses" ...

etc...

so i'm looking to cover the 1-10 range with lenses who can work on bellows ...
I have a good elarging lens... for (1-4x .. 5x at the most)

Recently I bought the Zeiss Luminar 25mm and it was a good "flop" and a waste of good 400 euros...

Going straight to the point ...
My current budget is 200euros --- 300 euros at the most ...
It's a good time I'm scanning eBay for a:

- Nikon M plan 10X 0,25 /210
- Nikon E plan 10X 10X 0,25 LWD

but never found one in Europe... the few ones I found on USA blow my budget for the taxes and shipping ... it adds around 45% to the listed price, so anything above 150 USD is out of question...

Do you have any other suggestions with same quality as the above Nikon objectves .. .. ?
I'm fine with WD as short as 5mm .. but not less... I tried the Nikon E plan non-LWD but with only 2,6 mm WD to focus in the arista I touch the eye of the fly :) .. not usable at all. (only good for flat subjects)

is the Olympus Splan 10X 0,30 a good option? I can buy it in Europe for around 150 euros, but I'm reluctant to buy one because I read part of the chromatic correction is done by the eyepice .. and it's not RMS and I should buy another adaptor .. same for the Nikon BD plan...

It's ages I'm looking.. I would like to buy something decent and get this out of my system and settle down for good ..... :) :)

Thank you...

António
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rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Consider the 10X NA 0.25 Nikon Finite Conjugate objective sold by Edmund Optics, Stock #59-935.

There's a test report at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... php?t=9393 . Working distance is 5.6 mm, with a nicely tapered tip as shown at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 7809#57809 (in that same thread).

The objective is currently listed at https://www.edmundoptics.co.uk/microsco ... objective/ for £75.65 .

--Rik

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Post by ChrisR »

I was about to say the other one which Rik mentioned , the Nikon CF 10 x 0.30, which used to be considered about the best. The Nikon 10x 0.25 Mplan is decent too. There was also a 160mm tube length version is also good. It was intended for biology applications with a cover slip but at NA 0.25 that doesn't matter.

The corners are a bit off, but whether that matters, depends on the subject. With finites, you can generally go higher magnification with fewer coverage problems than lower.
Chris R

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

ChrisR wrote:you can generally go higher magnification with fewer coverage problems than lower.
True, and one of the reasons I suggested Edmund's Stock #59-935 is that on APS-C it does scale gracefully to lower magnifications, keeping good corners down to about 7X in my tests. In contrast, the 10X NA 0.30 CF N that I tested at the same time did not hold up at all well when pushed down. See the comparison at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 7815#57815 (again, in the same thread).

Being available new from a reliable source is not a bad aspect, either.

--Rik

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Post by Chris S. »

Yawns,

You could send me a PM. I have lenses that suit, and have been thinking that my lens hoard is bigger than it needs to be.

These include two Nikon M Plan 10x/0.25 finite objectives, and two Nikon N Plan 10x/0.30 finite objectives (this is the model ChrisR said was once considered about the best--and I would say that it still is among the best). The former has 9mm working distance, the latter, 9.2mm working distance.

As ChrisR said, any of these lenses are likely to vignette if used at magnifications significantly under 10x. I don't recall how far down one can successfully go.

BTW, you need not justify working entirely on a bellows--it is a perfectly rational approach, even for much higher magnifications than 10x.

--Chris S.

Yawns
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Post by Yawns »

rjlittlefield wrote:Consider the 10X NA 0.25 Nikon Finite Conjugate objective sold by Edmund Optics, Stock #59-935.

There's a test report at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... php?t=9393 . Working distance is 5.6 mm, with a nicely tapered tip as shown at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 7809#57809 (in that same thread).

The objective is currently listed at https://www.edmundoptics.co.uk/microsco ... objective/ for £75.65 .

--Rik
Thank you .. I will buy that one.. :) it's well under my budget limit ...

I saw that post before, I also was at the Edmund UK website and saw that item...
but since they don't a have a picture I was not sure about the exact objective they are selling .... now I know.. Thank you.

António.
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ChrisR
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Post by ChrisR »

For those in EU I have excess optics much as Chris S....
Chris R

Yawns
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Post by Yawns »

Chris S. wrote:Yawns,

You could send me a PM. I have lenses that suit, and have been thinking that my lens hoard is bigger than it needs to be. ...

--Chris S.
It's very kind and generous of you .. but I have to decline .. and the only reason is ... the customs .

I had problems before with private sales and gifts, for not having a receipt....
Twice I had items returned back to the USA because the customs retained the parcel and asked me for a receipt or a proof of the value of the items ... money transfers and emails were not considered as "proof" and things were returned back...

Nowadays I only buy things on eBay (USA), if the seller sends it by "The global shipping program" .. I don't run risks anymore and immediatly pay all the taxes in the origin and things come to my hands smooth and safe. Better safe than sorry ... :)
It's very depressive to have things returned.

Recently Robet O'Toole was selling amazing stuff for unbeliveable low prices and I was drooling over a few items... but I had fear to buy whatever for the same reason .. customs and lack of receipts.

Antonio.
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ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

I'm particularly fond of the venerable B&L 10x 0.25. I did a comparison with my favorite 10x, the Nikon M Plan, and the B&L did very well against it, see here:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/good-a ... ve.277336/

You should be able to find one for $25 or so on eBay, and someone is bound to do the global shipping for you.

There are a few types.The one I prefer is the one marked "16mm" like these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BAUSCH-LOMB-16 ... Swol5Y3qep

or this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bausch-and-Lom ... t2gSPa_n6w

or this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OPTICAL-MICROS ... SwbqpT75~C

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Post by zzffnn »

The above options should be safer than this one. But just in case you want to buy more than one and run a comparison test:

This version of LOMO 9x plan iris pol objective has good CA control and longer working distance than its biological siblings. This one is $45 USD shipped to US, but search around and see if you can get better price:

https://m.ebay.com/itm/LOMO-Microscope- ... SwT5xZTK1j

But I have not pixel peep or examine its corner performance/sensor coverage (I only have small micro four thirds sensors).

As you may have read from RoberOToole 's recent 4x comparison, its 3.7x non plan biological has good performance to sensor edge, though that may or may not translate to this 9x pol version.
Last edited by zzffnn on Tue Dec 12, 2017 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
Selling my Canon FD 200mm F/2.8 lens

Yawns
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Post by Yawns »

Thank all who replied .. just a quick answer as I am at work ..

This morning I ordered Bausch & Lomb 10X 0.25 16mm, from ebay

and the Nikon 10X E plan 0.25 /160 new from Edmundoptics europe.

Thank you .. I hope I can publish results in a couple of weeks
(The mail will delay for sure.. it's almost Christmas...)

António
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ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

Yawns wrote:Thank all who replied .. just a quick answer as I am at work ..

This morning I ordered Bausch & Lomb 10X 0.25 16mm, from ebay

and the Nikon 10X E plan 0.25 /160 new from Edmundoptics europe.

Thank you .. I hope I can publish results in a couple of weeks
(The mail will delay for sure.. it's almost Christmas...)

António
Antonio...did you get your objectives? I'm curious about your results...Ray

Yawns
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Post by Yawns »

yes.. i got 2 ...

Got the Nikon 10X at Edmund's and got the Bausch & Lomb 10X 16mm
Published here a picture sometime ago ...
...

I'm happy with the Nikon .. the Bausch & Lomb was very disappointing, but I only gave it one try and part of the "flop" it was my fault . I bet it can do better ...I wil try it more as soon the insects are back ..my frezzer stock is over :)

Nikon 10X 0,25 160 / - Edmund's version ...

Image2017-12-20 #230 photos_C by antonio caseiro, on Flickr

this one not so good.. my fault.. bad lighting , horrible background...
Image2017-12-16 #200 photosedited by antonio caseiro, on Flickr
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Yawns
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Post by Yawns »

and I have the Lomo 3,7X ... for smaller magnifications...The Edmund's 10X and the Lomo 3,7X have quality enough for me ... I'm happy, thank you.

Image2017-08-20 #94 photos by antonio caseiro, on Flickr
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tevans9129
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Post by tevans9129 »

Great images and very interesting photostream. My Nikon 10x should be here tomorrow.

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