Mitutoyo objective lens coins

abpho · Post by **abpho** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 12:37 am

Hello RockyCarter. You were asking about a setup to start focus stacking with. It started with me when I received my first linear stage with micrometer. See link for an idea what I had. With the camera attached to this I was able to start. With this I managed all the way up to a 10x objective lens. I had to fabricate two aluminum blocks in order to attach the linear stage to my tripod, and my camera to the linear stage. All camera increments were done manually.

rockycarter · Post by **rockycarter** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 10:10 am

Thank you all for the information. here Chris is the 20 mitutoyo mounted the same way. i like to know what you think. i had to turn the ruler in order to get 1mm. the coin image is on a 10 cent coin. the designer initial as you can see there is a die chip in the center of the H.

Abpho, I think I will learn to do it manually first. i was looking at one here and on another forum called a wemag. really all i want is the driver and the controller. i do not need a rail. one step at a time have a great one

s58y · Post by **s58y** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 11:50 am

I just do manual focus stacking for coins, in the infrequent cases where it's necessary. I use an old Zeiss WL (or Ultraphot) focusing block, where the step size can easily be as small as 2 microns. In my case, 10x is the maximum magnification, so 5 microns is OK, but with the 20X Mitutoyo, you might need 2 microns step size. Over at CCF, I've posted pics of my coin imaging setup, but this was at least a year ago.

Unfortunately, the Zeiss fine focus block only has 2mm of vertical travel. This is good enough for 10x shots of RPMs, etc., and also for small flat coins (like the "Panama Pill"), where the magnification gets up to 1X or more. For some ancient coins (like the early Paphlagonian Drachm), 2mm is not enough, so I have to hook up a depth gauge to measure the stage position (with 10 micron readout sensitivity) and use the coarse focus wheel.

In rare cases (2014 US baseball dollar), with a macro lens, I've had to resort to stacking by variable bellows extension, where the rear bellows standard is pulled upward using a stage micrometer and various connecting arms, etc.

rockycarter · Post by **rockycarter** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 4:28 pm

abpho thank you. that looks like a great tool.
s58y thank you for the information. i watched a couple of videos by Helicon and zerene. i think they are both good. if i remember correctly i think most of the members on the other forum used Helicon. i may try that one. which one do you use. if you do not mind my asking.

rockycarter · Post by **rockycarter** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 9:06 am

my first attempt at stacking. i thought i would try zerene stacking. what i did was first i got my camera all squared up leveled, shimmed straight. i took 9 images of a coin face. the steps was .01 on a micrometer. i still have a learning curve here. any thoughts greatly appreciated.

austrokiwi1 · Post by **austrokiwi1** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 9:17 am

Rocky=>. I started with Helicon as, for me, it had an easy to understand interface. However I kept having issues with the program after upgrades so I switched to Zerene. After Helicon, Zerene took a little getting used to.

rockycarter · Post by **rockycarter** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 9:57 am

austrokiwi. i think my steps are to big for the mitutoyo 10x. i think a step might need to be 0.001. i tried the mitutoyo on an enlarger lens. i like the results from that setup. once you found some thing you wanted a stack of. you just screwed on the mitutoyo. stop the apecture on the enlarger down. you could almost get top to bottom. my thought on that. it is like putting a magnifier on the enlarger. take your shots, unscrew the mitutoyo way you go again.
yes i can see this zerene program is different. i used photoshop but now. they want payed for that part of the program. you have to rent that part now. have a great one

rockycarter · Post by **rockycarter** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 8:30 pm

well tried zerene again 43 images. this is of the lions head on the Canadian half dollar. i am getting there with the 10x. i can not wait to try the 5 x mitutoyo. here is the image any thoughts greatly appreciated

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 9:02 pm

Looks like things are coming along for you. There seems to be a blurred section in the middle of this last image, on the lion's cheek, like maybe you didn't bring focus quite far enough forward when shooting the stack.

If you have any difficulties with Zerene Stacker, you can either ask for help here in the forum, or write to support@zerenesystems.com . That's me, wearing a different hat.

--Rik

rockycarter · Post by **rockycarter** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 9:40 pm

rjlittlefield yes you are correct. i think i never started high enough. i have never used one of these mitutoyo until now. i find its DOF is as thin as paper. but i got to thinking. where the lens has been altered. maybe that would be the difference been it and the original. just a thought thank you. i am here to learn. i have picked up quite a bite from here. the members here know there stuff as do you. again thank you so much.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 10:10 pm

rockycarter wrote:i find its DOF is as thin as paper.

Worse -- it's about 10 times thinner than most paper. The nominal DOF of a 10X NA 0.28 objective is only about 7 microns = 0.007 mm < 0.0003 inch. Stacking with these things is not simple unless you have a very good screw rail, or something even finer like a microscope focus block.

--Rik

s58y · Post by **s58y** » Thu Feb 16, 2017 7:19 am

rockycarter wrote:... if i remember correctly i think most of the members on the other forum used Helicon. i may try that one. which one do you use. if you do not mind my asking.

I currently use Zerene Stacker. I started out with the Photoshop focus stacking support, but it didn't work well. Then I tried Helicon Focus, which worked well, but it was very expensive, unless you just got a 1-year license. When 1 year was up, I switched to Zerene Stacker, which had a reasonably-priced basic long-term license. I never use any of the advanced features, anyway.

Over at CCF, I think rmpsrpms uses Helicon, but Austrokiwi and I (pepactonius) use Zerene Stacker. I think rmpsrpms likes some sort of 3D option which Zerene Stacker doesn't have.

BTW, I'm a bit confused by your setup -- are you using a 200mm enlarger lens focused at infinity as your tube lens? Does your micrometer do .001mm steps? (1 micron steps are even a bit too small for my microscope focus block.)

rockycarter · Post by **rockycarter** » Thu Feb 16, 2017 2:18 pm

s58y sorry for the confusion. here is a thread i have read this thread 10 times plus a member by the name of saul is the owner. i liked the way he was doing things. so i basically copied him in ways. http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 731#195731

what help me with zerene stacker is a youtube video. done by a gentlemen that is very easy to follow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui35Q_BkDdw . he give you step by step making it very easy to follow him. here is a image of my set up right now. i am going back and trying the rodenstock again.

s58y · Post by **s58y** » Thu Feb 16, 2017 6:06 pm

here is a image of my set up right now. i am going back and trying the rodenstock again.

Nice setup for various magnifications. It looks like you have 3 levels of focusing with your setup: 10 turns per mm for fine focusing (microscope block), 2-4 turns per mm for intermediate focus (Z stage), and 1 turn = many mm for coarse focus (microscope block).

rockycarter · Post by **rockycarter** » Thu Feb 16, 2017 7:16 pm

i did a stack using the rodenstock enlarger lens. i attached the 10 X mitutoyo. here is the results using zerene stacker. the image is of the lions head on a silver half dollar.