My Christmas present.

[harisA]

When i saw it i immediately knew that i'm gonna buy it. It came with a lot
of accesories such as epi fluorescence , dark field ultra oil condenser a spare binocular head 5 plan objectives , an mc63 phototube with m35 film camera etc.....

Although i'm using modern microscopes i find out that this is a very good microscope but to use it with a dslr is a big pain.After a lot of trial and error i came to the conclusion that the only way was the afocal method.

I don't own a ff dslr which can be used with the mc63 tube so i used my small pen epl-1 with a 35mm lens just above the zeiss s-kpl 10x eyepiece. This method gives adequate coverage and results similar to nikon objectives.

A problem i have is that the light in my optical field is not uniform althought i centered the lamp and the condenser.



As you can see the 4 corners are darker than the center althought the image is not deteriorated at the corners.(it's not visible in this image because there is only background)
I would also like to thank Wim van Egmond for giving me a lot of information about the microscope .
By the way this is a standard 18 zeiss.Also sorry for the mess in the first picture.

[Cactusdave]

There is no mess in the first picture. It is a perfectly normal working bench! ! .

With regard to attaching a DSLR to a Zeiss Standard trinocular head, I have found a two part M42 threaded adapter such as this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pentacon-Micr ... 460b6b4fc1 or the similar one made by Pentax, together with a X8 or X10 KPL eyepiece gives good results and is simple to use. An adapter from M42 to your camera mount is obviously needed as well. There are other methods. Check these posts http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... +phototube and http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... +phototube if you've not already seen them.

[harisA]

There is no mess in the first picture. It is a perfectly normal working bench! ! .

Thank you Cactusdave.....The working bench is in my bedroom.

[Cactusdave]

Ideal!!

[canonian]

There is no mess in the first picture. It is a perfectly normal working bench! ! .

Apart from the microscope I recognise my own workbench in this picture, you have the same organisation system as I have: everything within reach!
I do like your aircooled computer!

[Chris S.]

Agreed with Dave and Fred that this is no mess. It looks like a happy place where productive hours beyond count would pass unnoticed. Specific items in my own debris field differ, but the general effect is the same.

It was surprisingly interesting to gaze at this photo and see what items another practitioner keeps at hand. Your Christmas present to us!

--Chris

[Pau]

Haris, what a wonderful present!

... i find out that this is a very good microscope but to use it with a dslr is a big pain.After a lot of trial and error i came to the conclusion that the only way was the afocal method.

I agree, it's a very good classic instrument.
As others said there are other methods to couple the camere but I agree with you that the best one is afocal: be aware that the original Zeiss adapters like the MC63 and the T-mount I have work afocal.
With the camera adapters like the Pentacon, Pentax and similar chinese ones you do "eyepiece projection" and to get adequate coverage you need to raise the eyepiece over its designed position. It will work but not without problems like distorsion, spherical aberration and lack of parfocality. I dont'n know how significative this issues would be in real life work, some members use this approach with very good results.

I don't own a ff dslr which can be used with the mc63 tube so i used my small pen epl-1 with a 35mm lens just above the zeiss s-kpl 10x eyepiece. This method gives adequate coverage and results similar to nikon objectives.

Are you refering to Nikon objectives on bellows or mounted in this scope?

Another way is to use lower power eyepieces. I've found that a 6.3X eyepiece with the 63mm Zeiss adapter is a perfect match for use with APSC cameras.
....

A problem i have is that the light in my optical field is not uniform althought i centered the lamp and the condenser.

This scope is a bit tricky in order to have even illumination. I use most time the auxiliary lens under the condenser and for low power objectives is better to remove the condenser upper lens. With the models that haven't built in illuminator it's a bit easier (more Kohler type), I have both.

I also like to some point your work table, at least during the testing phase.
What's the item placed over the light source, a diffuser?. I don't think it would be of any utility.

[harisA]

Thank you all for your "kind" words about my mess.Althought mess has the tendensy to spread like infectious decease.So I would felt not comfortable if i have to post images of my bedroom or other rooms of my house.

I agree, it's a very good classic instrument.
As others said there are other methods to couple the camere but I agree with you that the best one is afocal: be aware that the original Zeiss adapters like the MC63 and the T-mount I have work afocal.
With the camera adapters like the Pentacon, Pentax and similar chinese ones you do "eyepiece projection" and to get adequate coverage you need to raise the eyepiece over its designed position. It will work but not without problems like distorsion, spherical aberration and lack of parfocality. I dont'n know how significative this issues would be in real life work, some members use this approach with very good results.

My conclusion is that raising the eyepiece for eyepiece projection directly to camera sensor (s-kpl 10x or any other) is not an option because it is giving a lot of optical aberrations.

Are you refering to Nikon objectives on bellows or mounted in this scope?

I refer to images from nikon cfi objectives in nikon microscope.I see that images from zeiss plan objectives with the help of s-kpl 10x eyepiece and a 35mm f/2 lens are similar to those from nikon cfi objectives in nikon microscope

This scope is a bit tricky in order to have even illumination. I use most time the auxiliary lens under the condenser and for low power objectives is better to remove the condenser upper lens. With the models that haven't built in illuminator it's a bit easier (more Kohler type), I have both.

Here is a picture of my condenser (0.9 zeiss with a flip upper lens):

There is no auxiliary lens in my condenser if i understand right.I use the 2.5x and 6.3x plan objectives without the upper lens and the 16x,40x with the upper lens.If your condenser is different please post a picture.

Also i tried to use the ultra dark field condenser 1.2/1.4 with low power objectives without success.If there is an effective method to do dark field with 6.3x and 16x objectives i would like to know it.

[Pau]

There is no auxiliary lens in my condenser if i understand right.I use the 2.5x and 6.3x plan objectives without the upper lens and the 16x,40x with the upper lens.If your condenser is different please post a picture.

Also i tried to use the ultra dark field condenser 1.2/1.4 with low power objectives without success.If there is an effective method to do dark field with 6.3x and 16x objectives i would like to know it.

- I'm refering to an auxiliary lens that is placed under the condenser, attached to the condenser holder in a swing out double holder that allows to put 32mm filters. It's present in most Zeiss Standard and Universal type microscopes.

- I have several Zeiss condensers, one of them is like yours and also one for phase contrast with the same optics, and also two 1.4 acr. apl. turret condensers and two darkfield condensers: the 1.2-1.4 oil "ultracondenser" and a 0.8-0.95 dry one.
with all the BF ones I need to swing out the top lens to get even illumination even with the 10X and in almost all aplications I also tend to use the auxiliar lens even for higher magnifications, here not strictly necessary except with my hybrid DIC equipment

About darkfied, the ultracondenser has a very limited illumination field, adequate for 40X objetives but not enough for lower magnification. (and as you surely know it needs to be oiled to the slide).
For low power Zeiss made some other reflecting dry DF condensers, I recall to have seen a 0.6-0.8 and of course the 0.8-0.95 I have.
A turret phase condenser is very useful, you can use the Ph3 ring as darkfield stop for 10X and you also can put homemade stops in the blank position as I did before buying the DF ones. It also is useful to get oblique illumination partially rotating the turret.

I've never tried it but it may be possible (but not easy) to make an adapter to put a DF stop inside your condenser as close as possible to the diaphragm

Now I'm preparing for a travel and don't have the time to perform tests or to take images, but if you want I can do it in the near future, just tell me.