Meiji RZ compared to Wild M10?

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Rorschach
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:35 pm
Location: Finland

Meiji RZ compared to Wild M10?

Post by Rorschach »

Has anyone had a chance to compare these two directly? Would be interesting to know which one is better in terms of resolution and mechanical quality.

The Meiji does not have Planapochromat objectives, only Plans, so it should lose on the resolution front. However, some sources say that the the other optics (the zoom body, I presume) would be apochromatically corrected.

It is blatantly obvious that the RZ is a clone of the Wild M10. Just look at the images, especially the ergo tube.Image

Image

Probably a long shot but if anyone has seen the innards of both, insights on those would ve of interest as well. Mainly if it's mainly metal parts in there, instead of the flimsy plastic crap used by chinese copies and (sadly) in some Leica and Zeiss etc. models, as well.

JB
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Location: Denmark

Post by JB »

Yes, the Meiji RZ ergotube looks like a Wild clone, but to my eyes the rest of the microscope looks much more like an Olympus SZH.

I have no experience with the Meiji RZ. The Leica/Wild M10 zoom body is all metal parts inside and very robust.

Scarodactyl
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Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:26 am

Post by Scarodactyl »

Yeah, the RZ is an Olympus SZH10 clone (look at the non-ergo head, with that fitted it's literally an identical scope). The ergo head is a Leica copy (or maybe even sourced from Leica? Unlikely but probably possible) but Olympus stereo heads are (mostly) compatible with Leica stereo heads anyway.
To add a wrinkle Martin microscope sells them with a planapo objective adapted on, which appears to be from Leica (no guarantees on that though, thry don't disclose it).
Both are from makers with a reputation for high build quality. Optically I'd guess Leica/Wild even in the 90s was ahead since Meiji still doesn't make an apo stereo, but I am not sure of that.
One thing I will count against Meiji in a big way: they do not have a dual objective nosepiece for it. What the heck Meiji, that's one of the best features of thr szh, and not exactly a mechanical wonder to produce.

That all said, it would likely be more economical to get an SZH/SZH10 or a Nikon SMZU, which fit thr same niche and can sometimes be had inexpensively.

(I'm also super curious about this similar 10:1 cmo from Askania, a weird little Aus Jena successor. You can also get it with a Leica planapo objective attached (not explicitly Leica but they give Leica part numbers for them) https://www.askania.de/en/stereo-micros ... 4_Standard )

Rorschach
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:35 pm
Location: Finland

Post by Rorschach »

Yeah, it's actually a SZH clone apart from the ergo head.

I was also under the impression that Meiji makes mechanically sound scopes, albeit not quite so high quality optically as the big four.

Well, perhaps I'll luck into a broken Meiji at some point and get a chance to look inside.

Edit: yeah and that Askania seems interesting indeed, especially with a Planapo. Would love to hear of experiences. Their web site didn't seem to have prices for the scopes though.

Scarodactyl
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Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:26 am

Post by Scarodactyl »

I think it's kind of hard to say how the optics compare (aside from the obvious lack of apo objectives anyway), since most of what they do are routine stereos where the finer optical quality is less of an issue vs perfect alignment and nice mechanics. I've tried two of them now (both totally locked up with frozen grease :( ) and I thought the view was plenty good at whatever zoom they were at, which is really all that's needed. Yeah, some of the big four have apo options in their routine scopes, but that extra bit of color correction probably doesn't affect usage that much. For higher-demand usage they only have the one research-grade scope, and I've never seen any direct testimonials about it. It's apparently been around for quite a while without much change though.

Not quite as unknown as the Askania ones. I have been unable to find any pricing information, much less testimonials about their products. They apparently still have some sort of partnership with Zeiss so I assume they are at least pretty decent?

As an aside, I'm just a touch concerned about Meiji selling Chinese scopes as a lower tier (including Chinese-made clones of their own microscopes, which is kind of funny, as well as the rather good Nikon smz800/1000 clones everyone is selling). They list the Chinese scopes as "made in Holland" which I don't think is going to fool anyone. I hope they aren't going to keep moving in that direction long term.

Rorschach
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:35 pm
Location: Finland

Post by Rorschach »

Scarodactyl wrote:I think it's kind of hard to say how the optics compare (aside from the obvious lack of apo objectives anyway), since most of what they do are routine stereos where the finer optical quality is less of an issue vs perfect alignment and nice mechanics. I've tried two of them now (both totally locked up with frozen grease :( ) and I thought the view was plenty good at whatever zoom they were at, which is really all that's needed. Yeah, some of the big four have apo options in their routine scopes, but that extra bit of color correction probably doesn't affect usage that much. For higher-demand usage they only have the one research-grade scope, and I've never seen any direct testimonials about it. It's apparently been around for quite a while without much change though.

Not quite as unknown as the Askania ones. I have been unable to find any pricing information, much less testimonials about their products. They apparently still have some sort of partnership with Zeiss so I assume they are at least pretty decent?

As an aside, I'm just a touch concerned about Meiji selling Chinese scopes as a lower tier (including Chinese-made clones of their own microscopes, which is kind of funny, as well as the rather good Nikon smz800/1000 clones everyone is selling). They list the Chinese scopes as "made in Holland" which I don't think is going to fool anyone. I hope they aren't going to keep moving in that direction long term.
Yes, it seems very difficult to find reviews or user experiences on either of these.

Meiji re-branding Chinese scopes for the budget class is certainly worrisome indeed. Especially with a basic deception like a claim "Made in Holland"...

By the way what's your pro tip on freeing frozen up focus racks and gliding stages? What substance to use and how? I have a few cases like that waiting for my attention.

In the same vein, it would also be great if someone has a contacts in the scope repair industry who could hint on which grease to use for focusing racks and gliding stages, after getting them unstuck and cleaned. I am guessing the lubricants used on the mechanics inside zoom mechanisms / magnification drums are different from the former in any case. Info on those would be golden as well, of course.

atariwarrior
Posts: 78
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:07 am

Post by atariwarrior »

Hello Rorschach,

You can try mineral spirits to free up stuck focus racks and gliding stages. I'm assuming that they are metal. A few drops of WD40 might also loosen them up. Do not use either of these on plastic parts.

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