pleuroxus uncinatus and scorpion-like cyclops

Litonotus · Post by **Litonotus** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 11:40 am

Hi there!

I decided to post two images today, they are taken using the simpliest (and the worst as well) way imaginable but their quality is satisfactory for me. It is the best I'm able to do right now. my 'dic-like' custom filter (rheinberg illumination combined with obligue light) is used on both of them.

'scorpion-like' cyclops, Nikon CFN PlanAPo 10/0,45 on a Motic microscope

pleuroxus uncinatus - they are so cute (: these black eyes and their tiny heart beats so fast. and so short... polish 20x achromat objective - works quite well, and gives much better depth of field than the planapo...

Cactusdave · Post by **Cactusdave** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 2:10 am

Some nice subtle contrast enhancement there. It illustrates what can be done to get something approaching DIC without the big expense. Could you say something about your ''dic-like' custom filter (rheinberg illumination combined with obligue light)' please? I'm sure others would be interested.

Litonotus · Post by **Litonotus** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 7:17 am

as you wish (:

the first 'dic-like' filter I saw was showed on microscopy-uk.org.uk, it is quite good but after MANY experiences my final version looks like this and doesn't look a thing like the original one.

it gives much better effect on my microscope, and there is no need to change it - it is a bit universal and fits 3 magnifications. it is placed under the condenser (between the filter holder and the condenser body) it is not fixed so I can move it to achieve the best result. an example is on the left - something like this has to be seen in the eyetube (with the eyepiece removed). It works great on 5x, 10x and 20x, but it is hard to get a good image on 40x. so my goal is to get the real DIC system someday, but it may be hunted for years because so many items has to be completed, and many of them are very rare on ebay.

I will try to make one with grey gradient background soon. the one I show here is made of blue foil (darkened by cd marker), and a piece of thick paper - it is a very simple done thing.

Simon W · Post by **Simon W** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 11:48 pm

Nice quality there, thanks for showing us some alternatives to e pensive setups. Now my decision is made harder. So, the Motic scopes can fit nikon objectives? What diameter is that, 30mm. I'm now tossing up between Meiji 4 or 5 series new, but if Motic can fit nikon lenses, mYbe that's the way to go for microscopy. I don't trust myself re. Second hand..!

Anyone know if it's worth the extra for the 5000 series? The 4 is a nice price now. It is very hard to find comparative opinions out there.

Litonotus · Post by **Litonotus** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:40 am

thank you (:

I confirm that nikon CF objectives work good on a chinese made Motic microscope. I have tested nikon CF plans and planapos - both work great, and much better than the orioginal ones. that is because they do all the corrections in the objective and you do not need dedicated eyepieces for them. some people say that there are some final corrections done in the eyepieces so the image may be a little better than when they are mixed. it is no problem to get nikon cf eyepieces. it would be perfect to have a nikon condenser too it is possible to attach it to motic microscope but it requires some changes in the condenser holder.

the eyetube diameter in motic 160mm microscopes is standard - 23mm.

couple of years ago motic introduced their own CCIS infinity corrected system - so you have to buy an older one from B series to use 160 mm objectives.

I have no experience with meiji microscopes.