A glut of Mitutoyo 7.5x Plan Apo Objectives ?

[JohnyM]

I have 1501-9398.
When compared to Mitutoyo 20x/0.42, mitu is so much better in every aspect.

Nikon does have huge image circle, but quality image circle barely fills APS-C sensor while mitu can be pushed down on even on FF.
Mitu is better on uncovered subject, obviously.
When they first appeared (Nikons) i hoped they could work well for slide scanning, but to my suprize Mitu was better on 0.17 coverslips too (now i know why).


I've paid (on previous "floods") ~130 USD for Nikon and 200 USD for Mitu. I would stay away from this thing, unless it's normal Nikon marked lens and one does have proper microscope to mount it.

[Lou Jost]

Did you ever use the right cover slip thickness with the 1501-9398? I thought it was garbage too, until this recent set of posts that showed it expects an exceptionally thick cover slip. It is a very high NA lens and can't be expected to do well without the appropriate cover slip. Used correctly, it should have almost double the resolution of the Mitu. That's a big difference.

Nevertheless, the long WD of the Mitu certainly makes it more useful for our typical subjects.

[JohnyM]

Is there a such thing? No 3 coverslips have such tollerance that allow for ~50% drop in max intensity for this objective.
Also i dont fancy swapping coverslips for every objective. But i suspect it could be possible to "fix" this objective. It might be a matter of spacer, need to figure out how to open it.

[lothman]

I've paid (on previous "floods") ~130 USD for Nikon and 200 USD for Mitu.

where could I find a Mitu 20X for 200$

[Pau]

I was referring to the Nikon labeled 0.17.

Of course, no doubt about the advantages of the Mitty for external illumination and uncovered subjects, just I thought that would be interesting to compare the 0.75 without cover against a lower NA no cover objective resolution wise: Because a 0.4 has little SA degradation with cover mismatch, may be (or not) show similar resolution.
Buying the Nikon was an impulse buy, it's so nice...although I only plan to use it in a microscope with transmitted light or epifluorescence and with cover glass, not for macro work.

[Lou Jost]

The 1501-9398 can be pushed up, perhaps to 40x or more. Not so for the Mitu.

Of course, if can't use a cover slip for your subjects or workflow, this isn't the lens for you.

[Macrero]

Your result is not so bad for a 100% crop and correction mismatch.
An interesting test would be to shot the same subject with the same illumination with a good no cover 20/0.40 like the Mitutoyo 20/0.42 and compare the images at the same subject magnification to see if the actual resolution is similar and the Nikon is only losing its theoretical advantage due to its high NA or more due to spherical aberration.

I can't perform this comparison but when I receive my copy I will be able to compare it with no cover Nikons 40/0.65 and 40/0.80 although I think that I already know the result

I don't currently have a Mitty 20, I very rarely work at 10+ magnification, but I have shot similar stacks with Mitty 20 and to my eyes the Nikon without cover glass resolves quite similar amount of fine detail as the Mitty and it is at least as well color-corrected. Image is "veiled" though and the lack of coverslip obviously impacts IQ. After editing result is more than acceptable, but without cover glass resolution is not the one you would expect from a NA 0.75 objective and working with 1mm WD is a pain in the rear...

On microscope, used as intended, it will be a completely different story.

- Macrero

[Scarodactyl]

This is probably a dumb idea, but is there any reason you couldn't fix an appropriate thickness of slide glass on front of the objective so it would work on standard slide thicknesses (or with no cover at all?) Seems like a more direct approach than trying to open the objective, though I can see it having logistical difficulties.

[Lou Jost]

Scarodactyl, I was thinking of putting the appropriate cover slip permanently on the front of the objective. I don't dare open it up.

[JohnyM]

I've paid (on previous "floods") ~130 USD for Nikon and 200 USD for Mitu.

where could I find a Mitu 20X for 200$

Ebay.
If you take your time, you can find good prices for anything.


Recently bought Mitu 10x for 150$, and Nikon CF 50x ELWD for 125$.
In fact, i have more trouble finding money than good deals

Ie: few days agou i've bought motorized BF/DF/Pol/full set of DIC prisms/Fluorescence epi-illuminator for my microphot scope (didnt even knew that model existed) for 200USD and now i cant afford any BD objective without risking decapication from my wife hand (and they are like ~50 USD each ).

[viktor j nilsson]

Are you taking about the 'Nikon Microphot Turret EPI-UA DIC / Motorized BD Turret Polarizing Illuminator' from clamebake99 that sold on December 30? Strange, eBay says that it sold for $549.

However, I've been wondering how reliable these sold prices are on eBay, really. I once e-mailed an offer to a seller that did not officially accept offers. The seller agreed and sent a sort of personal offer directly to me. If I recall correctly, the official record was that it sold for the original price ($262) rather than the price I actually paid ($150).

Was it the same for you here?

If so, this behavior from eBay really skews the information in a way that benefits the sellers and not the buyers.
.

[JohnyM]

Yup, that's the item, and everything went as you described.
Sometimes page like Watchcount can help to nail real price, but sometimes it aint working properly.

[abednego1995]

Epi whitelight illumination with the PA20x through coverslips will get massive reflections from the first coverslip surface and decrease contrast. Placing polarizers at the illumination/imaging light path will improve this, but will probably mess up the object colors. Just musing, but using thick coverslips at an angle perhaps rotatable, at the tip of a unlabelled PA20x might be able to "fine tune" the correction amount. That being, it be done within that 0.6mm of WD... :-)

[Lou Jost]

That's a good point about the reflections. But if the slip is angled slightly,maybe these would be eliminated?

[JohnyM]

Changing the angle will make the coverslip appear as different thickness to objective.