Vertical stacking set-up

dmillard · Post by **dmillard** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:48 pm

Vertical set-up with Newport XYZ linear translation stage, for anyone interested.

David

augusthouse · Post by **augusthouse** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 7:20 pm

David wrote:

Vertical set-up with Newport XYZ linear translation stage, for anyone interested.

Very interested David!

Now, is that what I think it is on stage? A peacock feather? Can we have a glimpse...........?

What is it like to work with the Novoflex fiber optic flash?

Are the digital micrometer readouts illuminated when the 'lights' go out?

Craig

P_T · Post by **P_T** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 7:21 pm

A question if I may. How do you stick that small microscope lens to your main lens at the front? is there some sort of special adaptor/attachment or something?

I really like this setup, looks nice and compact.

dmillard · Post by **dmillard** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:03 pm

augusthouse wrote:
What is it like to work with the Novoflex fiber optic flash?

Are the digital micrometer readouts illuminated when the 'lights' go out?

Craig

I like working with it a lot, but I was fortunate to buy a demo model at a greatly reduced price several years ago. At their current cost, I would think of ways to modify a fiber optic light myself instead, even though the result would undoubtedly look less elegant. Unfortunately, the digital readouts are not illuminated, but I can still read them in the relatively dim light of the room.

P_T wrote: A question if I may. How do you stick that small microscope lens to your main lens at the front? is there some sort of special adaptor/attachment or something?

I really like this setup, looks nice and compact.

Thanks P_T, it is really compact and versatile. I adapted the Olympus Telescopic Extension with a Nikon mount on the rear. There is only the single macro lens mounted on the front (a Zeiss Luminar here, with the same RMS threads as many microscope objectives). It is screwed into a conical Minolta mount attached to a Minolta to T-mount adapter, which is in turn attached to a T-mount to Olympus adapter. I can swap the Minolta mount for a much shorter Contax Luminar mount that I modified to have rear 42mm T-threads. I bought a variety of RMS adapters when they were inexpensive; a cheap and easy way now would be to cut an opening through the internally threaded base part of a plastic microscope objective container, and then secure this (using epoxy, for example) to a body cap for your camera.

augusthouse · Post by **augusthouse** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:58 pm

P_T,
Here is a link with some information regarding the Olympus Telescopic Extension:

http://www.alanwood.net/photography/oly ... -tube.html

Here is a link to a microscope objective adapter (there are 2 parts to this approach - there is more than one approach). First part is the adapter in the link and the second part is a T-mount to your particular camera.

"Ring mount with an interior thread (20.1mm / 0.7965" Dia. 36 TPI, 55° Whitworth) that accepts all DIN standard microscope objectives. Front face has male external T-thread and back face has female internal T-thread. Adds 11.5mm to system length."

http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatal ... uctID=1968

Most (but not all) of the objectives you have seen used throughout the forum have an RMS thread (20.1mm).

Craig

P_T · Post by **P_T** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 4:14 am

Oh man... that extension is discontinued in 2003... but I can see where Canon got the idea for the MP-E.

So... Would I be able to use my MP-E as the substitute for that Telescopic Extension+ mounted macro lens and attach the microscope objective to it?

This is the part where I get a bit confused. So you screw the objective to the T-mount, now how do you attach that T-mount to your lens? I'm guessing it's that conical Minolta mount?

This is probably a bit much but I'll ask anyway, would any of you be able to dismantle your rig and show the components in their particular order?

Right now I'm still collecting more infos and perhaps later compile them all and make a thread which might be able to be stickied.

augusthouse · Post by **augusthouse** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 4:42 am

P_T,
The microscope objective is the only 'lens' used. In David's setup above he is using a Zeiss Luminar macro lens which has an RMS thread. The other elements are for extension, much like a bellows.

Don't stick anything on the front of the MP-E

Link to a picture of a Carl Zeiss Luminar:
http://wannenkopfe.strahlen.org/luminaren.html

The T-mount attaches to your camera or to an extension tube that is attached to your camera, then the objective or specialist macro lens is attached to the T-Mount via the RMS adapter.

The length of the Olympus Telescopic Extension can be increased or decreased like a zoom lens; but there is nothing inside it but air. They may have been discontinued; but they are still available on eBay. Why don't you consider a bellows in the meantime...they are not very expensive (but can be). I think I can find a spare EL-Nikkor 50/2.8 and a 10x Zeiss Jenna Microscope objective for you to use with it.....

Craig

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 5:37 am

So that whole 'stand thing' the camera is mounted on is the Leitz Aristophot is it?

Nice setup you've got there! Sounds like you could do with a few less adapters but I suppose it doesn't matter if they all fit together snugly!!

P_T if you want to increase the magnification on your MP-E, just add some more extension behind it..

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:03 am

There are two versions to the telescopic extension but they differ only in the magnification markings for the 38mm and 20mm bellows lenses being present (later version) or absent. These scales are indicated in green lettering and the presence of five such groups of markings shows the illustrated one to be the later version. The actual magnification values, in white, only become visible (uncovered) on the barrel as the unit becomes extended.

Unless you are using Olympus auto diaphragm lenses you might obtain almost as much versatility with a set of manual extension tubes (in this case Nikon) of mixed lengths.

Harold

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:15 am

[quote="dmillard]

I adapted the Olympus Telescopic Extension with a Nikon mount on the rear.

I like the way you mention this almost as if it were any everyday task.

I can't remember the circumstances in which I considered the possibility of doing this to some lens or other. I have no engineering ability or tools so I would be reliant upon being able to swap baseplates and using the same screw holes. How close is this to being realistic? Are there any helpful weblinks?

Harold

Joseph S. Wisniewski · Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:28 pm

Harold Gough wrote:[quote="dmillard]
I adapted the Olympus Telescopic Extension with a Nikon mount on the rear.

I like the way you mention this almost as if it were any everyday task.

For some of us, it is...

Harold Gough wrote: I can't remember the circumstances in which I considered the possibility of doing this to some lens or other. I have no engineering ability or tools so I would be reliant upon being able to swap baseplates and using the same screw holes. How close is this to being realistic? Are there any helpful weblinks?

Get ahold of one of the Olympus to Nikon adapters that you can buy on the bay (or even from B&H, I think) for about $30. They have a "spider" that holds a crappy little lens that compensates for the registration distance difference. Cut the legs of the spider (it's not very strong), and get a bottle of flat black enamel from your local hobby shop to coat the bright cut metal.

Viola!

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:35 pm

Joseph,

Thanks for that. In fact I would be going to Olympus, not fitting Olympus to a different mount but the principle is the same. I have one adapter for M42 to Olympus OM which has such a lens at the back. ((This is the only such converter I have found on eBay, all others being T-mount adapters, which have a 42mm thread of a different pitch, such that infintiy focus is not acheivable).

Harold

Joseph S. Wisniewski · Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:42 am

Harold, you're welcome.

So, you've what have you got? Olympus tube and Olympus camera?

Normally, I mount RMS lenses like Luminars to the bellows or tube using a cone shaped (like the one in David's picture) RMS adapter. Instead of having one that goes from RMS to Minolta, I drew up one that went from RMS to T-mount, and had a local machine shot make me up a couple. That mounts to the bellows or tube with a common T-mount.

Unfortunately, the first two prototypes were prefect, but the shop just screwed up a up a short production run of a dozen of my RMS to T-mount adapters.

rovebeetle · Post by **rovebeetle** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:55 am

When I am not using the stereoscopic microscope (Leica MZ16A)for photography I either use a 75mm EL-Nikkor or Leitz Photars with a RMS to M39 adapter which fits to the objective plate of my Novoflex bellows. The bellows is attached to a Kaiser micro-positioning plate and that again to a Kaiser repro stand. In the future I have to modify that setup, though, because it is not stable enough. The danger of introducing slight rotations when focussing is to high and to correct those is a headache.

Cheers

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:27 am

Joseph S. Wisniewski wrote:Harold, you're welcome.

So, you've what have you got? Olympus tube and Olympus camera?

OM4 (2 bodies) having originally bought an OM2n from new when it was the state of the art. I have both versions of the telescopic tube, the later version only since I replaced (insurance) my f2 20mm auto bellows, stolen before I could use it. I also have the f2.8 38mm auto bellows and the 50mm f3.5 macro. Otherwise, I have Tamron SP lenses.

I can't remember in what circumstances I was contemplating swapping a baseplate, although I was doing so between two filter holders in my Hi-Tech landscape filter (mostly grads) sets, something mostly outside of the scope of this forum.

Harold