BH2 Received

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Simon W
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BH2 Received

Post by Simon W »

So, took delivery of Craig's Olympus BH-2, very impressed with it! I think Craig did the best packing job I've ever seen, he must have a lot of bubble wrap lying around :D

Very daunted now, so much to learn and explore. I only just read the manual to work out how to adjust the interpupillary distance.

I have no slides, nor cleaning equipment, so the eyepieces need a good clean as you can see. The 2.5X NFK works okay, I held my 40D over it, not the best quality without a tripod!

In the last pic you see my sophisticated setup for a quick test - my bike LED light actually helped, a little..

Pana. LX-3 into the eyepiece - reveals my cleaning job. I think Craig works in an asbestos factory?:

Image

Obviously this handheld pic into the eyepiece doesn't do it justice - a simple newspaper cutout positively glows with all its particles, the 4X S Plan is a wonder, so much more visual information than my crappy Vero scope!
Image


Image
Simon W
EOS 5D Mk 3; Olympus BH-2; Zerene Stacker
Melbourne, Australia

Charles Krebs
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Post by Charles Krebs »

Simon,

Microscope dust can drive you nuts... just trying to figure out where it is located in the optical "train". One thing you should be aware of is that as you radically change focus (and de-focus off the subject), you can bring into sharp focus dust that is sitting on internal microscope optical surfaces (field lenses, condensers, ...) but yet is essentially "invisible" when the subject is in correct focus. So it is best not to become too obsessed with eliminating all dust that can only be seen when the subject is grossly out of focus. After all it is a microscope... and therefore pretty good at finding dust! :wink: Obviously you want to keep things as clean as practical, but the dust that either bothers you in your viewing, of shows up on your pictures is the stuff to go after earnestly.

Eyepiece dust is probably the most annoying and obvious, but it is fortunately the easiest to remove and clean.

You want to keep the upper surface of the projection eyepiece clear of any dust as well... it can show up as an indistinct "shadow" in your pictures.

Also, be prepared to discover every speck of dust on your camera sensor :cry: , pieces that you will never see in conventional photography.

NikonUser
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Post by NikonUser »

That looks like an excessive amout of dirt in the eyepiece. Unless the seller specifies excessive dirt there is an expectation by the buyer that the optics would be be 'clean'.
Often ebay sellers will state "optics dusty, need cleaning".
NU.
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No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
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Craig Gerard
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Post by Craig Gerard »

Simon,

The dust on the viewing eyepieces is only on the surface and possibly a consequence of the packing process. A Giotto rocket-blower should take care of that problem, and possibly a wipe with a microfibre cloth. You will find that 95% of dust associated with that scope is external. I did give it a 'puff' before shipping.

Craig (the seller)
To use a classic quote from 'Antz' - "I almost know exactly what I'm doing!"

Simon W
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Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Post by Simon W »

Yes Craig, it only looks superficial dust, since I gave the eyepieces a light clean With a lens brush after human powered blowing. Much better now. Plus I'd accidentally focused on the dust rather than the true image, very hard holding a light, camera and focussing at same time.

Thanks Charles for more info. Even without a good blower, it's a lot cleaner, although I need to get a Giotto rocket too, at least for my 5yo!
Simon W
EOS 5D Mk 3; Olympus BH-2; Zerene Stacker
Melbourne, Australia

Craig Gerard
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Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 1:51 am
Location: Australia

Post by Craig Gerard »

Simon,

Did you find the power cord? It was in a plastic bag at the bottom of the box hidden under bubblewrap.


Craig
To use a classic quote from 'Antz' - "I almost know exactly what I'm doing!"

Simon W
Posts: 153
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:15 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Post by Simon W »

Yes Craig, with all that wrap I was worried I might accidentally discard something, so found it at the bottom. The light and condenser seem excellent, now need to get used to it.

I only used that led light for top lighting. Gotta go to Ikea soon, they have some excellent flexible LEDs, I might try one of their solar ones, if only to save on cords.
Simon W
EOS 5D Mk 3; Olympus BH-2; Zerene Stacker
Melbourne, Australia

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