Wild 20/21 microscope--issue with auto focus on Nikon D200

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JDBishop5
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Wild 20/21 microscope--issue with auto focus on Nikon D200

Post by JDBishop5 »

I may have passed over and through understanding at 77.5 years. I am having the devil's own time making my Nikon D 200 focus anymore on my Wild 20/21. A stupid question, perhaps. Any help here?
Jim

Chris S.
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Re: Auto focus on Nikon D 200

Post by Chris S. »

JDBishop5 wrote:I may have passed over and through understanding at 77.5 years. I am having the devil's own time making my Nikon D 200 focus anymore on my Wild 20/21. A stupid question, perhaps. Any help here?
Jim, welcome to the forum! :D

I know a fair amount about how the Nikon D200 camera handles focus, but nothing at all about the Wild 20/21 stereomicroscopes. My naive thought would be that the Nikon's autofocus has no involvement at all in achieving focus on that (or any?) microscope.

Can you describe how you have your camera mounted on your Wild steromicroscope? Perhaps someone with knowledge of that microscope can help.

Cheers,

--Chris S.
Last edited by Chris S. on Mon Jun 17, 2019 11:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

JDBishop5
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Post by JDBishop5 »

Thanks for coming back. The Wild has a standard issue tri-mount. Everything about the assembly is commonplace architecturally.

As it was working. It focused. I am doing something wrong with the autofocus and can't find the error. I wonder if resetting the entire camera system has something to do with the answer. How do I manage that?
Jim

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

I hesitate to say this, but are you somehow thinking that the camera itself is going to focus the microscope?

Chris S.
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Post by Chris S. »

JDBishop5 wrote:Thanks for coming back. The Wild has a standard issue tri-mount. Everything about the assembly is commonplace architecturally.

As it was working. It focused. I am doing something wrong with the autofocus and can't find the error. I wonder if resetting the entire camera system has something to do with the answer. How do I manage that?
Jim,

Though I doubt it will help, here is how to perform a "two-button reset" on a D200 camera body, excerpted from page 97 of the manual, downloadable here.

Image

I'm with Lou in wondering why your camera body would focus your microscope, though I confess there is a great deal about microscopes that I don't know. The D200 does have, in its lens mount, a screw drive for focusing lenses that lack internal focusing motors. Does your Wild have some means of coupling to this and using it to focus the microscope?

If you don't mind, I'll edit the title of your thread to include the microscope make and model. That way, forum members with expertise in Wild microscopes, but perhaps not in older Nikon camera bodies, may be more likely to see it.

--Chris S.

Pau
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Post by Pau »

Jim, welcome aboard!
As other people have suspected, your camera only can autofocus Nikon or compatible lenses, not a microscope. If your setup includes a Nikon AF camera lens (in an afocal* arrangement, for example) the camera can control the lens focus but almost for sure this will not be convenient for photomicrography.

In order to understand your issue, please post pictures and details of your setup, in particular of the camera to microscope coupling.

* http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 9265#99265
Pau

JDBishop5
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Post by JDBishop5 »

Thanks for hesitating.

I understand I must first focus the microscope.

Otherwise, why would anyone take time to machine all those catchy knobs in such splendor and variety?

I will attempt resetting the camera.

I appreciate the courtesy with which you have responded.

I would blame my grandchildren, but they haven't been here to 'help' me lately.
Jim

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

I have a feeling you may not have understood our points above. A normal camera CANNOT autofocus a microscope. YOU HAVE TO FOCUS IT MANUALLY. Resetting the camera has nothing to do with it and will not change anything except to make more work for you.

JDBishop5
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Post by JDBishop5 »

A clear crisp image in the microscope is way out of focus in the Nikon D 200 Digital camera.

It used to be in focus. Now it's not. I am going to fix this and be famous.

I'll announce my victory. Thanks, folks.
Jim

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

JDBishop5 wrote:A clear crisp image in the microscope is way out of focus in the Nikon D 200 Digital camera.

It used to be in focus. Now it's not.
This must mean that something has changed in the optical coupling between the microscope and the camera. Maybe parts have been moved, swapped, or left out, such that the camera is mounted higher or lower than it used to be, or a lens has been added, removed, or changed.

If autofocus is involved at all, that can only be if there's an ordinary camera lens mounted on the camera, with the combination pointed down the trinoc tube. In a setup like that, you should turn off autofocus, then manually adjust the camera focus to match the view through the eyepieces.

--Rik

zed
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Post by zed »

If you are sure nothing has changed with the camera coupling - the only other element that would effect the parfocality is the eyepiece diopters. If these moved then your focus position for the eyepieces vs. the camera will be off.

Generally how I recommend setting these is to focus the microscope through the camera viewfinder then go back (without changing microscope focus) and adjust the R/L diopters on the eyepieces until the image is sharp.

JDBishop5
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Post by JDBishop5 »

Makes sense. I will have a look at that. Thank you.
Jim

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